FAQs

150 new Shells (Year 9) join each year, with 15-20 boys joining Sixth Form.

We want boys who are willing to embrace all that Radley has to offer and have an enthusiastic attitude to life. Every intake includes boys from different backgrounds; boys with different outlooks and experiences, from different social, cultural and economic circumstances. Each boy is encouraged, challenged and expected to become a self-aware, confident, caring and independent young man such that when he leaves, he will be ready for the world beyond school: able to engage, lead, and shape his own future successfully.

Boys who are registered (fee paid) before their fourth birthday are included on the Radley List. All enquiries thereafter are classed as Open Entry. All boys are required to sit the ISEB Common Pre-Tests and those on the Radley List are guaranteed an interview during the Michaelmas Term of Year 6. Boys on our Open Entry list will be shortlisted following the ISEB Pre-Test results and invited for interview during the Lent Term of Year 6. Places will be offered to both Radley List and Open Entry boys in March of Year 6. Younger brothers of successful Open Entry candidates will be eligible to join the Radley List.

We recommend that families visit with their son when he is in Year 5. We have 10 Open Days scheduled throughout the year and these take place on a Saturday, between 9.30am and 1.30pm. They include a tour of the school with current boys, a Social (boarding house) tour with a Tutor (Housemaster) and a talk by the Warden (Headmaster). Details and dates can be found here.

No, we accept boys from a large number of feeder schools from all over the country and respect that there are different approaches to Year 8 assessment. However, all boys are required to sit some form of assessment at the end of Year 8 as these results will be used to determine the initial sets your son will be placed into when he arrives at Radley. Assessments include Academic Scholarship exams, Common Entrance, Prep School Baccalaureate (PSB), school summer exams or Radley Maths & English papers for those who wouldn’t normally sit any end of term exams.

Radley offers a considerable number of fully or partly funded places to talented boys at 11+, 13+ and 16+. All offers are means-tested and can be worth up to 115% of the fees. We will ask you to indicate on your Entry Form if financial assistance is required. We will then provide access to an online portal to submit your financial information which will be reviewed by the Bursar who will be able to suggest an indicative bursary amount. Some awards are linked to success in our scholarship process.

Academic, Art, Drama, Innovation, Music and Sport Scholarships are available at Year 9 entry. Further information can be found here. Our scholarships are honorary and do not carry any financial reward unless recipients have applied for means-tested funding.

Your son will sit the ISEB Common Pre-Tests in October / November of Year 6. Further information can be found on the ISEB website along with guidance on how to prepare for the tests. We will also request and review a confidential reference from your son’s current school. Boys are shortlisted following pre-test results and invited to come to Radley for an Assessment Day, which consists of an interview with a senior member of staff and a short written exercise. We strongly recommend that boys are not over-prepared for their interview. Results are sent in the March of Year 6.

The entry deadline is 31st October and following receipt of a reference from their current school, applicants are shortlisted to attend an assessment day at Radley in November of Year 11. Here they will sit an aptitude test, two academic papers in subjects that they propose to take at A-Level, attend an interview with a senior member of staff and a subject interview with a Head of Department. Results are sent to parents on 1st December.

Please contact the Admissions Team who will be able to advise you of the options available. The majority of boys who make a late enquiry, enter via our scholarship route in the Michaelmas term of Year 8. Further information about our Scholarships can be found here.

The definition of full boarding has changed over time. No longer does it mean that you drop your son off at the start of term and won’t see him again until the holidays. Boys at Radley do stay at school over the weekends when they will attend lessons, games fixtures and have down time with their friends. However, there are also many opportunities for the boys to go home, including Exeats, Leave Away (half term) and Privis (boys can leave after Saturday commitments and return to school on Sunday evening twice a term). In general, the boys have an opportunity to go home every third weekend. We warmly welcome parents to come to Radley to watch their son in a games match, music and drama performance or take them out for lunch on a Sunday.

We welcome applicants from all over the world and have pupils of 43 different nationalities at the College. The calculator in the Admissions section of the website will explain the route map for international pupils. We encourage all those shortlisted for the Assessment Days to attend in person. Once unconditional offers have been made and final entry exams have been successfully completed, Radley College will act as the Child Student Visa sponsor and will assign a Certificate of Attendance of Studies (CAS). Immigration specialists, Sable International work on the school’s behalf and will assist parents with their visa applications. We charge £750 for the administration of visas.

All boys whose parents are normally resident outside the United Kingdom will need an Educational Guardian. The Guardian must speak and understand English and live full time in the UK at a reasonable distance from the College. We will send parents and the Guardian an Educational Guardianship Agreement to complete in the summer term before entry. Guardians are required to meet with their boy’s Tutor before or on the first day of term and any changes in guardianship must be communicated to the school by parents.

There are a number of opportunities when your son will be invited back to Radley before he joins in Year 9. These include two ‘Fun Days’, one in the Lent term of Year 7 & one in the Michaelmas term of Year 8 and the ‘Warden’s Welcome’ in the Summer Term of Year 8. The purpose of these events is for boys to become familiar with Radley and also to meet the other boys in his cohort.

Application: From 1st January 2025, a fee of £480 (including VAT) is payable on application.

Acceptance: From 1st January 2025, UK families will pay an acceptance fee of £3,000 (inclusive of VAT) and a deposit of £600 (inclusive of VAT). International families will pay an acceptance fee of £3,000 (inclusive of VAT) and one term’s fees as a deposit, currently £19.200 (inclusive of VAT).

We review the waiting lists regularly throughout Year 7 and Year 8. There is always movement from the waiting lists and we encourage parents to keep in contact with the Admissions Department about their son’s progress and achievements.

Parents are given an opportunity to list their preferred Socials. We will always try our best to accommodate any specific requests however we cannot guarantee that first choice Socials will always be allocated. In this situation, we will operate a waiting list. We want talent to be spread across the school so each Social will be a mix of boys who are strong in academics, sport, music, art and drama. We also limit the number of boys from the same Prep School to a maximum of three in any one year.

Sixth Form entrants will be allocated a Social.