Strategic Update - March 2024

As I sit down to write this, I do so during an extraordinary period of success for the College We would never want to be judged just by the headline successes of the most talented boys, but it is at the same time a lovely thing to be able to celebrate tangible success at the highest level. In the last few weeks, our robotics team has achieved second place at the national finals and now heads off to the world championships; a guitar quartet reached the national final of a prestigious chamber music competition, our Midgets hockey team were national runners-up in their tier, three boys have reached the ESU debating final, a boy has won a national organ prize, a boy has qualified for the final rounds of selection for the U18 UK Maths team (he is U16), and we are national rugby champions at J15 level. I am proud of each and every one of these achievements.

Of course, such success does not come easily Each represents a huge amount of hard work from boys and staff alike. And, more than that, represents the success of strategic planning in a number of ways Attracting talented boys through our funded places programme is working. There has been a clear focus on pushing boys to achieve academic success beyond the confines of GCSE and A-Level. We are committed to being an all-round school, pursuing and celebrating success across all disciplines We continue to recruit high-calibre staff who are committed to the holistic education we offer. And we continue to be able to resource all we do as a result of sound financial planning Success is no accident.

This is the final update on the 2021-25 strategic plan; we are currently beginning work on the next iteration and that will be published in March next year, setting out our ambitions for the years between 2025 and 2030 It is a good moment, therefore, to look back and see what we have achieved and to look forward to what is to come.

The last strategic plan was put together in the context of Covid The next will be put together in the context of a likely Labour government seemingly intent on being the first government directly to tax educational provision These will be difficult times Not just because of VAT, of course; there are significant geopolitical concerns; traditional views of education are under threat; there is a shrinking market for UK boarders; the university and jobs landscape is not always a level playing field; there is the challenge of AI and all things digital. It will be ever more important to ensure that our boys are prepared for the world they will enter beyond Radley and we will need to be ever more nimble and ever more innovative if we are to stay at the top of our game.

I am optimistic, however. For three reasons. Firstly, we showed ourselves more than capable of thriving in difficult times through the pandemic. Secondly, the progress summarised in this update shows we are well placed to face the challenges ahead Thirdly, and most importantly, we have the confidence to believe in what we are and what we are doing the Radley ethos is coherent, vibrant and enduring On such solid foundations, we can and will continue to thrive.

John Moule Warden

People

We continue to see extremely healthy demand at all levels of entry. With numbers at their highest in our history, there has been an increase in registrations from talented boys at all levels of entry: applications for 13+ entry are up 8% year on year alongside a sizeable increase in registrations for Sixth Form which are up by more than a quarter

The launch of the Keys Award, a rebrand of our funded places programme, has attracted significant interest Applications this year rose by nearly a quarter We were delighted to award eight fully funded places to boys from primary school for entry to Radley in 2026 and to support them with a prep school place for Year 7 and 8 For the academic year 2023/24, 120 boys are in receipt of funding and 33 boys are on fully funded places. £3.72m has been spent, equivalent to more than 10% of fee income. As funding continues to increase, we remain committed to ensuring that it goes to those who will thrive at Radley and who will themselves bring a huge amount to the College.

The Innovation Scholarship was introduced this year alongside the Academic, Art, Drama, Music and Sport awards. It proved a popular offer and four boys received an award. Radley was honoured to be named as ‘Best Public School’ 2024 in the Tatler Schools’ awards.

The new College Management Team structure, emphasising greater interaction between the operational and educational aspects of the College, is working well The new Deputy Heads overseeing the co-curricular (Harry Crump) and the academic (Jonathan Porter) sides of Radley life are doing an excellent job. The new Deputy Head (Pastoral), Ed James, arrives in April to have a term of transition with Ben Holden before his retirement in the Summer. The Heads of Year, including Tim Lawson in a newly created Head of Sixth Form role, continue to add real value to the structure

We are delighted with the appointments we continue to make to roles both academic and operational We are conscious, however, that in a difficult market, especially in some areas, that we need to ensure we are attracting the talented and diverse candidates we need This is a priority area for review in 2024-25

Jonathan Porter | Deputy Head (Academic)

Harry Crump | Deputy Head (Co-Curricular)

Place

A small classroom and office block between the Theatre and the David Rae-Smith building is now complete and will significantly ease pressure on space, not least by giving the incomparable Radley Video Unit a much-needed home We still hope to begin the planned expansion and refurbishment of the Music School later this year subject to a successful tendering process; the final project associated with the College’s expansion.

We are encouraged by several developments in the day-to-day life of the College over the last year Highlights include: continued national level success in Robotics; a significantly increased numbers of debates and debaters; increased entry into US universities, including Harvard, Stanford, Duke and Yale; two organ scholarships at Cambridge; continued sporting success at a national level in a number of sports; much improved communication with parents through Bulletin; musical excellence seen in individual achievement, high levels of participation and outstanding ensemble performance; an expanded networking programme through the Radleian Society; a College-wide focus on teaching and learning strategies; and a healthy ongoing debate with boys, parents and staff about digital dependency.

Priorities for the coming year are to review academic structures and provision in advance of a new strategic plan; to enhance the use of data in measuring and analysing admissions and academic performance and to review communications with parents through the reporting process. We will also complete the review of our approach to digital matters and adjust it accordingly.

Impressions of New Recital Hall, Music School Foyer and Silk Hall

We have developed a sustainability strategy that has now been in place for a year. We are, as it were, at the end of the beginning Progress is encouraging and centred on three main goals: efficiency of use, renewable energy and carbon sequestration. Good progress has been made on the first with better baseline and real time measuring of energy helping us analyse, compare and reduce usage on site In terms of the second aim, we are currently working on the business case for a solar farm; the data suggests we might be able to cover up to 70% of current usage and work is in hand to test our existing network in terms of resilience and cabling.

Finally, we have put together a woodland creation that is currently with the Forestry Commission for approval; the plan is to plant 40,000 trees in three manageable phases. We have also developed a baseline measurement of our campus biodiversity and, along with the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust, are now putting together a targeted action plan of habitat improvements

Partnership

There is no doubt that the theme of Partnership is now fully embedded into Radley life

We continue to plan strategically, looking to ensure that there is exposure to partnership work for each Radleian under the ‘Awareness to Agency’ pathway over five years, and that each initiative is part of a wider programme with clear and shared goals

I am deeply proud of the way in which boys are making a difference to the local community in what they do and, equally importantly, are being exposed to experiences that in turn make them better people. It is particularly encouraging that Socials have developed their own programmes in local primary schools, that boys seek to continue involvement beyond their Fifth Form programme, and that there are examples of boys leading initiatives to establish partnership activity Successful projects include:

Extensive encouragement and facilitation of music in Oxfordshire primary schools

Countryside Centre programme offering alternative provision in local state schools

Link with Active Oxfordshire to support physical literacy in areas of disadvantage

Link with Oxfordshire Youth to develop a programme of youth work and advocacy

Respect Project with Downe House, developing thinking about healthy relationships

An expanding series of events and initiatives through the OX14 partnership

Targeted collaboration with our partner school Broadway Academy

Local project work with local primary schools and the Radley Parish Council

STEPS enrichment programmes for talented children in local primary schools

Radley ‘Zoo’ supporting KS1 / KS2 science curriculum enrichment in local schools

Supporting the work of the Commonwealth Education Trust

The priorities for the coming year are to continue to review Partnership programmes to ensure each has clear measurable impact objectives in delivering key aims over time; to increase access to the Countryside Centre for local schools and to develop a clear, sustainable pipeline of philanthropic support to underpin the programme.

From the outset, it was clear that Radley has a serious and deeply-held commitment to community and partnership. Our collaboration became a happy marriage of equal ambition but with shared resources and skill.

PAUL MCCREESH ARTISTIC DIRECTOR | GABRIELI CONSORT & PLAYERS

Purpose

We are acutely conscious of the importance of preparing boys for the future beyond Radley and see that as being at the heart of the next strategic plan. It is all too easy, however, to presume that what is new and exciting requires us to jettison what has served us well in the past We continue to believe in a traditional liberal arts education; that strong values and character formation must be the most important thing and that there is no false dichotomy (indeed often a synergy) between that approach to learning and preparation for the workplace and the world.

Radley is an unbelievably impressive place, steeped in tradition yet evolving by the minute.

As I reflect on the achievements of the last year, I hope – I believe – that we are getting that balance right In a world so often defined by and presented by ‘crisis’, we continue to be positive and optimistic as we educate young men to embrace the opportunities the world offers. We do so in a community confident of what it stands for, underpinned by our Christian foundation and values Most importantly, our boys are happy; nothing matters more.

We have, I think, done well in difficult times to make excellent progress in recent years and we are determined to continue to do so. We believe in what we do.