Gazette - 2023 Events

At the end of last year, to round off the 175th year of the College, a magnificent school timeline was installed in Covered Passage, making the most of the iconic linear space. Starting near the Richard Morgan Library (previously ‘School’ or ‘Big School’), the timeline charts the development of the school, and ends near Cloisters, with the 175th Anniversary celebrations in 2022. You can explore it online by visiting https://bit.ly/RadleyTimeline. Better yet, if you are visiting the College on Old Radleian Day (14th September 2024) or for another event, make sure you take a stroll down Covered Passage.

This year we have had the opportunity to celebrate the commitment of several long-standing dons, with some much-loved characters retiring from the College after many years of service (see the Vales section for more info). One individual particularly stood out for RadSoc, for his contribution to the College, but also for his 8 years of service to the Radleian Society Committee: Richard Greed (RMCG). In May, we hosted his retirement party in London, and it was an incredibly heart-warming evening. I felt a real outpouring of affection for a member of Radley staff who had clearly impacted the lives of so many Radleians – in B Social, where he was Tutor, on the rugby pitch, in the history classroom, and in a multitude of other ways. What struck me at the event was the huge breadth of our community, as I looked around at the crowd of Radleians of all ages, standing alongside parents and dons.

The Radleian Society is so much more than it was founded to be back in 1888, an association of Old Radleians. Alongside ORs, our community now includes current and former parents, past and present dons who have made a significant impact on the school, as well as special friends of the Society. We are all the richer for this, as expanding our network allows us to bring in further expertise and

EDITOR’S NOTE

In this edition of the Old Radleian we hear from ORs working in film and theatre, a thriving part of the creative industries sector which was estimated to contribute £109 billion to the UK economy in 2021.

Film and theatre are much more than a pleasant distraction from our frenetic world of technological innovation and geopolitical instability. They are a way of understanding ourselves, each other, and the world around us. They remind us that the experiences, feelings, beliefs and motivations of others are different to our own, by seeing the world through other eyes, and walking a mile in other shoes.

And it’s not all about exploring the real ‘lived experience’ of those around us. Film and theatre can take us to worlds vastly distant from our own, transporting us through space and time to the blood-soaked good will, enriching the business ecosystem that we have created to support all Radleians. Find out more about this in the new ‘Radley Business Network’ section of this edition of the Old Radleian.

2023 also saw the launch of a new Radleian Society website, including the RadSoc ‘Hub’ homepage, bringing together the latest news, sports updates, and OR career stories from the community. The vibrancy of this online space is a testament to the incredible variety of activities and work that you all do. I recommend exploring these pages to access a wealth of fascinating articles: careers as varied as paramotoring, craft beer brewing, and ecological activism, as well as brilliant slices of history from the Radley Archives.

Our thriving OR sports clubs have had another busy year of fixtures and matches, and have been enriched by a new cohort of recent Radley leavers. In January, the leaders of all the sports teams gathered in London, the first time this has happened, to meet and share their experiences. This has deepened the connection between the clubs, and with RadSoc, and there are plans afoot for a new event in the 2024 RadSoc Calendar – a Sportmen's Social – more to follow on this in our Event Bulletin.

The Radleian Society offers so many ways of staying connected to Radley. Whether it is through the packed events programme on offer, by using or supporting our business network, playing your favourite sport alongside other ORs, or exploring the latest news and stories on the Radleian Society website or Instagram … we invite you to get involved!

Finally, so much of the change has been driven by the Radleian Society office under the directorship of Caroline Monaghan. I would like to thank Caroline and her team for their efforts and energy. The overall Radleian Society committee deserves thanks too for their efforts on behalf of the whole community.

Sam Melluish (1976, B) Radleian Society Chairman

sand of the Colosseum, to the neon dystopia of a future Los Angeles, or even to a galaxy far, far away (points if you can name all three).

Films and plays entertain us, encourage us to practice empathy, express truths that are complex or painful, interpret our collective history, and help us consider what future we want to build. In this edition, we will hear from ORs who have worked on blockbusters like A Clockwork Orange, and Top Gun: Maverick, from a Radley don who has nurtured a passion for filmmaking in hundreds of Radleians, and from those using theatre and documentary films as a vehicle for education and social change.

Drama has roots much deeper than Ancient Greece, stretching back through ritual, dance, and storytelling, beyond the earliest cities and human societies. Doubtless some of our stories will continue to have meaning 2,500 years from now, and beyond.

Sophie Torrance Engagement Office & Editor of the Old Radleian

Radleian Society Committee Meeting And Agm

The annual Radleian Society Committee Meeting & AGM took place on Wednesday

10th May at the East India Club, London. At the AGM the Committee was bolstered with a healthy influx of new membership including Old Radleians James Pritchett, Chris Tufnell, Harry Behrens and Paddy Langdale (who will become Treasurer of the Radleian Society in 2024). We were also delighted to welcome two new Radley parents onto the Committee, Rosie Jenkins and Joanna Thompson. Long serving member of the Committee, Richard Huntingford, stepped down, as did Richard Greed, retiring from the College too, and George Coles, Old Radleian. We thank them for their dedication and service to the Committee over the years, they will be missed.

After the Committee business was completed, the RadSoc Vice Presidents joined the Committee for dinner, with speeches from Sam Melluish, Committee Chairman, and the Warden. The dinner was a wonderful opportunity for Committee members, VPs, Old Radleians, parents and dons to come together and share stories of the College.

Heads Of Sports Clubs Dinner

The leaders of the various OR sports clubs gathered for the first time on Thursday 26th January at the Cubitt House Pub, London.

This fruitful meeting allowed the sports club leaders to discuss their operations, and best practices, exchange ideas on recruiting new members, and plan for the coming years. A number of useful ideas were raised, including a plan for a joint OR sports dinner to which members of all the OR sports clubs will be welcome … watch this space!