Our Strategic Vision

Our goal is to provide opportunities for a greater number of talented and deserving boys to enjoy the benefits of a Radley education.

With numbers at their highest in our history, there is healthy demand 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. 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.  The newly introduced Innovation Scholarship has proven very popular, and four boys received an award.
With all new appointments in place, the new College Management Team structure is working well, emphasising greater interaction between the operational and educational aspects of the College. The priority area for review in 2024-25 is to ensure that, especially in some areas, we are attracting the talented and diverse candidates we need, despite it being a tough market.

Our goal is to ensure we provide, and are known for providing, world class teaching in world class facilities.

We have completed a small classroom and office block between the Theatre and the David Rae-Smith building and it has significantly eased pressure on space, not least by giving the incomparable Radley Video Unit a much-needed home. The planned expansion and refurbishment of the Music School, the final project associated with the College’s expansion, is still planned for later this year, subject to a successful tendering process. We are encouraged by several developments in the day-to-day life of the College over the last year Highlights include:

our Robotics team reaching the international finals in Texas; our debating team winning The English-Speaking Union’s Mace debating competition, a first in our history; 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.

Our goal is give our boys the understanding, skills and global awareness to contribute positively to a changing world.

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.

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.

Our goal is to enact positive change locally and nationally; for the remarkable organisations we work with and in our boys.

Partnership is now a core theme in life at Radley. Our 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 initiatives 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.

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.