N E W S L E T T E R - Radley College

Radley 

THE 

N E W S L E T T E R 

Polo At Radley | Declamations | Radley & St Helen’s 6th Form Conferences 

| Boarding At Radley | The Maths Society | Singing Their Praises 

‘Perplexed’ Radley’s 6th Form Science Society

POLO PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF MICHAELCHEVIS.COM 

polo at radley 

When one thinks of polo it is tempting to conjure up an image of privilege and exclusiveness of a sport open to only a very few. 

However, the reality is usually quite different and polo in schools has experienced a substantial growth in interest and support 

with more schools taking part in the National tournaments year in year out. It is also one of those sports which, were one to shy 

away from the risk of injury, one would normally exclude it from those on offer in any school. At professional level it is rated 

alongside paragliding by some actuaries in the insurance business. However, due to care and the skill of today’s school players 

remarkably few injuries occur. 

Polo is played differently according 

to the season. In the winter months, it is 

played in a walled arena with an inflatable 

ball the size of a small football. In the 

Summer, polo is played outdoors with a 

small hard ball the size of a hockey ball 

on a large ground which allows greater 

freedom of movement. Each player has 

a handicap which ranges from -2 to 

10 outdoors and 0 to 10 in the arena. 

In schools’ polo it is very unusual to 

encounter a player with a handicap of 

greater than 2 and most players normally 

play off -1 or 0. The difference in handicap 

of two competing teams is used to calculate 

an initial goal advantage and so you may 

find half-goals in the final score which arise 

from this. 

Because of the nature of the game and 

the demands that riders put on their ponies 

one enters into a complex world of tack 

where terms like surcingles, martingales 

and snaffles and Pelhams are bandied about 

amongst the initiated and between rider 

and groom. This is a game which often 

pushes ponies further than most other 

equestrian sports and the skilful player will 

limit the number of stops and turns which 

puts the greatest strain on the ponies. 

Radley polo, in recent years, has been 

based at Kirtlington Park where the College 

enjoys the cooperation and support of those 

operating from there. In the winter season, 

matches are normally played at Inglesham 

Polo Club near Lechlade. Although lessons 

and chukkas take place during the week the 

majority of matches and all tournaments are 

played at weekends. To encourage others to 

try the sport there is a polo taster day where 

those who, in some cases, have not even 

ridden before have the opportunity to learn 

the basics. 

Polo at Radley has always enjoyed 

success of varying degrees and the College 

enjoys the reputation of fielding teams to 

be reckoned with on the school circuit. 

Indeed, a number of Old Radleians who 

have played for the school have gone on 

to play in prestigious tournaments, most 

notably Malcolm Borwick (Cothill, A 

Social) who was captain for England this 

year playing off a handicap of 6 goals. It is 

one of Radley’s strengths that boys excelling 

in minor sports are given the opportunity 

and encouragement to pursue these. In 

polo we have been very fortunate to have a 

small group of dedicated and accomplished 

players. Their success can also be attributed 

to the generous support of committed 

parents who encourage and usually groom 

for their children to allow them to develop 

their game. It is clear that those pupils who 

have developed their polo skills through 

the Pony Club before coming to Radley 

and continue to do so during their time 

here consistently rise to be our star players. 

Currently, two of our players Edmund 

Parsons (Winchester House, H Social) and 

Josh Nimmo (Arnold Lodge, D Social) 

have been selected to train in the junior 

development squad from which England 

players are selected; this is a considerable 

achievement. 

Looking back over recent years, 

Radley has taken the indoor and outdoor 

championships, the grand slam, twice in 

the past ten years. Also, in 2003 at Gaudy, 

thanks to the support from the grounds 

staff, the Radley team played a team of 

Old Radleians on the Radley pitches: an 

occasion which attracted much interest. 

The tradition of the Radley match with a 

team of ORs was born out of this event and 

now takes place annually. 

2 THE RADLEIAN NEWSLETTER

declamations 

Dennis Silk, Radley’s Warden from 1968 

to 1991, had a knack of attracting eminent 

visitors by connections that were less than 

obvious. Thus when in 1984 the Prime 

Minister came to open the refurbished 

Chemistry Labs it was not because she was 

a scientist by training, nor because she had 

been Secretary of State for Education, but 

because she was married to a distinguished 

Rugby Union referee. Likewise Ted Hughes 

came to judge Declamations in 1990 not 

because he was Poet Laureate but because 

he was a fishing chum from Hampshire 

waters. We are lucky to have had the last 

three Poets Laureate as Adjudicators 

(Motion, Hughes and Betjeman), and the 

widow (Jill Balcon) of a fourth. 

What then is Declamations that it 

attracts such eminent people (poets, actors, 

Headmasters, Heads of Oxford Houses) 

to come to judge it? It is a poetry reading 

competition. Every boy in the first four 

years of the school learns by heart a piece 

of poetry (prose is allowed but is a minority 

pastime) early in the Lent Term. Form 

Masters “judge” their Forms and send 

about a quarter of them to the Semi-Finals. 

These (30 to 40 boys in each year) are 

heard again by a panel of three dons and six 

or seven are selected for the Finals a week 

later when they perform in front of their 

peers and the Judge. (In VI-2, the A Level 

year, entry is voluntary but all who have been 

finalists in previous years are automatically 

entered at Semi-Final level). The standard is 

remarkably high and the range of the boys’ 

choices is amazing. Certain writers are heard 

regularly, T.S.Eliot (frequently a winner), 

Larkin, Alan Bennett and Browning for 

instance, and certain others come in and 

out of fashion, examples being Sassoon, 

Owen and U.A.Fanthorpe. The Ant-Eater, 

The Lion and Albert and Talking Turkeys 

are all popular with Shells and Removes, 

but recent winning pieces have ranged 

from Shakespeare, Donne and Tennyson to 

Disraeli, Yeats and Heaney. Dover Beach is 

often up there in the Final and will surely 

win one day. 

As well as the range of literature we hear, 

what else is remarkable is the quality of the 

attention of the audiences. It is prime season 

for coughs and sneezes, and, to be honest, 

quite a few of the pieces are over the heads of 

quite a few of the audience, but the stillness 

and the concentration is total. The boys are 

there to be inspired and educated, yes, but 

they are there also to support their friends, 

and to recognise that here is being displayed a 

talent that they do not themselves all possess. 

And occasionally they are rewarded not just 

with the very good but with the sublime. 

Jamie Dykes (Summer Fields, F Social) with 

the closing pages of Paul Scott’s Staying 

On in 1988 and Arthur House (Sandroyd, 

B Social) with Prufrock in 2000 have 

transcended criticism utterly. 

The comment is often made that 

Declamations is “a very Radley thing” 

Other schools, notably Eton, have their 

speeches or recitation competitions, but 

no other school, to the writer’s knowledge, 

makes every boy go in for it. (And this 

happens, largely because of the enthusiasm 

of the Form Masters, with considerably 

fewer mutterings than you might expect). 

Intriguingly the event does not go back 

to the beginning of the school in 1847 but 

appears to have been founded by Warden 

Wilkes in the 1940s. All Wardens since 

have given the event their whole-hearted 

support and than the Silk Hall with its 

perfect acoustic and intimate atmosphere 

no better venue could be found. Your 

correspondent has had the pleasure of 

organising the event for the last sixteen 

years and finds things very flat each 

February once it is over. Fortunately Leave 

Away comes within a few days. 

CW Hastings 

THE RADLEIAN NEWSLETTER 3

adley and st helen’s 

This year’s Conference in November was the 11th year the two schools have 

collaborated and it was one of the best. The theme was ‘Nothing But the Truth’ and 

the aim was to encourage a becoming scepticism in boys and girls who would soon 

enough be voters and tax payers. So, Ann Widdecombe spoke on the corrosive effect 

of spin and on politicians’ manipulation and packaging of statistics before fielding 

some excellent questions. Craig Brown spoke of the satirist’s art, and higher purpose, 

in exposing cant and hypocrisy, and illustrated this from his Private Eye columns 

in which his ear for the absurdity of political language proved a hilarious interlude 

in a day of otherwise serious discourse. Craig Murray, formerly British ambassador 

to Uzbeckistan, offered a bleak insight into government deceit and raison d’etat, 

and Tom Holder, an Oxford undergraduate, was extremely popular with his young 

audience in entertainingly describing his brave stand – and that of others in Oxford – 

as part of Pro-Test, the movement inspired by outrage at the tactics of Animal Rights 

extremists engaged in obstructing scientific tests at Oxford University. 

A formula developed over the decade or 

so of such Conferences ensures that there 

is a balance in the day between listening 

to distinguished lecturers, and getting 

boys and girls involved themselves. Part 

of the latter process starts before the day 

of the Conference; a small editorial team 

produces the literature, the required 

background reading for all. And a week 

prior to the Conference day St Helen’s 

hosts an evening black tie Dinner Debate 

on a motion tied to the main Conference 

theme. On the day itself at Radley, boys 

and girls are grouped, sit and lunch 

together, and work on one particular 

aspect of the theme; in the afternoon all 

210 are involved in a floor debate skilfully 

managed by Ian Yorston, Radley’s Head 

of Digital Strategy. It is great preparation 

in public speaking and presentation 

skills. Another tradition is that a piece of 

drama on the year’s theme be performed 

at lunchtime. This time the cast of the 

college play A Few Good Men rehearsed 

for the 6th Forms the climactic scene 

when the truth of a cadet’s death is wrung 

from his commanding officer – and 

compelling courtroom drama it was. 

These Conferences started back in 

1996 when Lord Hurd led a team of a 

dozen or more Radley parents involved 

in European business in a day-long 

evaluation of the EU and the benefits – or 

otherwise – of the Euro. The passions 

aroused then seem an anachronism from 

where we are now; but the next year’s 

topic, the Media, remains as relevant 

now as it did then, focusing on media 

intrusion and the responsibility of 

journalists. Pandora Maxwell spoke with 

understandable feeling, Peter Taylor 

with integrity and Simon Hoggart with 

humour about ‘Trusting the Media’, and 

the boys and girls quizzed a panel of 

famous names at the end of the day. 

In 1998, drama pieces presented by 

pupils took centre stage, with extracts 

from Brave New World and Whose Life is 

it Anyway, being both of an exceptional 

standard and ideal for provoking debate 

on the theme of the ‘Ethics of Science’. A 

year later two journalists stole the show in 

the Conference on ‘Identity’, with Andrew 

Marr, BBC’s anchorman, talking on 

political identity and David Aaronovitch, 

now of The Times, talking on global 

communication. The theme transferred 

on into the new millennium when a 

new 6.2 considered ‘Defending Little 

England’, with Peter Jay and Fergal Keane 

prompting the boys and girls to debate on 

the nature of Englishness and the threats 

to national identity – again, six years later, 

what was said was almost prescient, for 

debates about Islam, the veil, immigration 

have revisited the territory mapped out 

in that Conference. Whereas it was too 

late with the programme for Conference 

2001 already planned around ‘Crime and 


6th form conferences 

Punishment’ (with excellent speakers on 

‘Retribution and Rehabilitation’ – Michael 

Beloff QC and Sir Stephen Tumin), 9/11 

did almost predictably shape that of 2002 

when the theme was ‘Terror’. At the heart 

of a passionately debated programme 

was the Palestinian Question, and few 

who heard her will forget the cold anger 

of Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Independent 

journalist. The year after we attempted an 

‘Understanding of America’ a wonderful 

excuse for a day drenched in American 

politics, film and popular culture, and in 

2004 we focused on ‘Technology – Who’s 

in Charge?’, looking at the all-seeing 

invasion of Big Brother and the potent 

powers of the new technologies. And so to 

last year – ‘50 Ways to Change the World’. 

Unquestionably this brought the greatest 

pupil participation of all, with much 

heartening and heart-felt discussion of the 

plight of those less fortunate in the world. 

It was a huge topic encompassing Global 

Poverty, UK Deprivation and repression 

of Human Rights round the world. Julian 

Filochowsky and James Mawdesley were 

compelling speakers, and the afternoon 

debate was memorable for being the very 

first time Radley’s Theatre was used, as 

well as for the passion with which groups 

of boys and girls vied to ensure their 

particular ‘cause’ was prioritised in any 

global action plan to right injustice. 

The Conferences have flourished 

for a number of reasons. We have been 

very fortunate to have St Helen’s and 

St Katharine’s School Abingdon as our 

partner, as committed as we are to all 

the hard work and planning the events 

involve. We’ve been fortunate, too, to have 

teams of teachers from the two schools 

with imagination, and with contacts, to 

build the programmes year after year. 

Each Conference’s aftermath has had the 

same enthusiastic and grateful response 

from the boys and girls who took part 

– the day is a special event, it is different, 

it is of high quality and it is provoking. It 

is that sense that it has been immensely 

worthwhile which prompts the committee 

each January to start the discussions 

anew as to the theme for the coming 6.2 

Conference... 

THE RADLEIAN NEWSLETTER 

5

oarding 

at radley 

Boarding is one of the defining characteristics of Radley, for it is central to the 

school; indeed, Radley is one of only three all boy/all boarding schools in the 

country. As part of a recent, extremely complimentary, CSCI (government welfare) 

inspection a number of boys were interviewed; that prompted us to ask a random 

selection of boys what it is about Boarding at Radley which they value. As might be 

expected their responses differed, but certain themes recurred. 

A number dwelt on the transition from 

home and day school into a new, boarding 

environment. Sebastian Lomas (Crosfields, 

H Social) said that “Starting at a new 

school is a big step in life for a boy who 

has never boarded before, never moved 

house and never really left ‘home’ for 

periods longer than a week. The prospect 

of not having your family around you and 

always being surrounded by your peers 

seems, at the offset, a BIG ask. Which is 

why it is such a rewarding feeling when 

you are coming to the midpoint of your 

last year and you look back on your 

journey through the school with pleasure. 

Over the five years I have on numerous 

occasions been heard calling school ‘home’ 

and I am now surrounded not by peers, 

but by another family.” He went on to 

say: “If I had the choice of starting again 

and choosing between boarding or dayschool, 

I would pick boarding any day. The 

amount of time that is saved by boarding 

from not having to commute daily is huge 

and enables so much more to be done 

in a day. In addition by removing home 

from school, you can create two entirely 

different environments whereby school can 

be linked purely with work, and home with 

relaxation”. 

Myles Watkiss (KCS Wimbledon, 

H Social) also reflected on that contrast 

between day and boarding, the better 

able to make the comparison because he 

left a top London day school to board at 

Radley at the start of Y10, the Remove Year. 

Several aspects struck him: “Being at a day 

school just over a year ago, moving in to 

full boarding was not only an exceptional 

leap of faith that I would enjoy myself, but 

also a great shock. 

I was, and still am, amazed by the 

facilities available almost 24/7 and the 

flexibility to have help, whether at 7.30 in 

the morning or at 9.00 at night.” 

And again “One of the aspects that 

I most enjoy is the trust that I am given, 

enabling me to have freedom to organise 

and amuse myself. Though if I were to 

be disorganised, then there are plenty of 

friendly people who would help organise 

me”. 

Others also reflected on the symbiosis 

of greater trust and independence, on the 

one hand, and help and support on the 

other. Harry Mayes, (Pinewood, Head of G 

Social), writes that 

“As you move up the school you become 

much more independent and self-reliant; 

the independence which you gradually 

get prepares you for real life and allows 

you to develop self-respect”. Philip Råge 

(Sussex House, C Social) echoed this, but 

emphasised the importance of the dons: 

“And that is the amazing thing, even with 

all these distractions, the main focus is still 

clear, work. Although, like many I can say 

that I went through periods of better and 

less good work, I feel that in my final two 

years you are given freedom a lot more and 

encouraged “it is your life”. However there 

is always the Radley safety net waiting to 

catch you if you do fall, and even if you do 

feel as if you are falling, all you need to do 

is ask. You can never be afraid to ask, even 

if it is not a teacher or an older year. This 

is what I like so much, the camaraderie, 

not only shown between boys and years, 

but also among the boys and teachers. 

This can be seen by the active involvement 

of teachers with boys’ free time projects, 

societies boys have set up or even just 

putting aside some of their own free 

personal time to help someone who does 

not quite grasp a concept.” 

Will Stinton (Sandroyd, B Social), 

amongst much else, valued that structure: 

“Not only does boarding at Radley offer 

the chance to make extremely strong 

friendships – and have fun – but also it 

sets you times and incentives to work”. 


For many, Radley boarding is 

inextricably entwined with their experience 

of the Social, and the development of 

close and lasting friendships. In a lecture 

to 6.2 in September 2006, Simon Wolfson 

O.R., Chief Executive of Next, argued that 

Radley’s greatest gift to him was to foster 

an ability to get on with all sorts of different 

people and tolerate, converse with, even 

come to understand, them. It had stood 

him in good stead professionally. Henry 

Woodward-Fisher (Summer Fields, G 

Social) says much the same thing as he 

ponders the arrangements for Shells at 

Radley, and articulates the affection he has 

for the Social: “For me the boarding system 

at Radley is great, as it allows you privacy 

if and when you want it and also a very 

sociable atmosphere. In the Shell year the 

cubicle rooms are fantastic as they are a big 

step up from prep school dorms, offering a 

degree of privacy whilst also not being cut 

off from the other guys in your year group. 

I have heard occasionally people say that 

they wish there were actual rooms for the 

Shells. However, in my opinion this would 

be a big disadvantage because there would 

not be such a buzz of conversation between 

the rooms as there is with the cubicle 

system and some may feel alienated from 

their peers. So in that respect the Shell 

boarding system is a great environment 

in which people thrive and learn to get on 

with one another. Moving up the school the 

rooms generally grow in size; certainly then 

there is a lot to be said for having your own 

room. Many people will gather in one room 

for a chat or to watch a film etc. and in 

this way everyone gets on with each other 

and really enjoys being part of their Social. 

All the Socials have rings-rooms, places 

where you can cook food, make a hot drink 

and go to Cocoa in the evening. Equally 

important to the boarding system at Radley 

are the Tutors, Sub-Tutors and Matrons. All 

these people are there to offer advice if it 

is needed and they will also provide some 

sort of Cocoa in the evenings. Being able to 

live with the people who teach in College 

means you get to know the Dons better 

as well as having someone to turn to with 

any problems. The Social system at Radley 

offers huge opportunities, as well as forging 

lasting friendships; one can also represent 

the Social on the sports field and on the 

academic side of things”. 

His enthusiasm is shared by Theo 

Whitworth (Aldro, C Social) who says: 

“Living abroad while prep schooling 

in England for three years freed me of 

the shackles of homesickness, leaving 

me to enjoy my boarding here from 

the beginning. The conversations that 

ricocheted off the cubicle walls around the 

Shells’ corridor bonded everyone in our 

year immediately”. And he concludes “The 

trust that has been built up through closequarter 

living is unrivalled, and although 

at times the delights of the big city might 

seem more attractive than those in Social, 

we know that although ennui is a possibility, 

loneliness never is”. Again, Harry Mayes says 

“Being able to get on with people, who you 

may not necessarily choose out of school, is 

a valuable quality to have”. 

Will Summerlin (Caldicott, F Social) 

develops that theme of Cocoa, an institution 

unique to Radley: “Perhaps the most 

enjoyable facet of boarding life is the one 

that is the most perplexing to prospective 

parents. I know from my experience of 

conducting tours with parents that trying 

to explain the benefits of Cocoa is quite 

difficult as it would seem to be so dull. 

However, I find that it’s such a useful forum 

for discussion after a typically full school 

day. Despite a member of staff always being 

present it is refreshing that most dons 

appear to adopt an unwritten convention 

whereby ‘what happens in Cocoa, stays in 

Cocoa’ so that anything said in frustration 

is never picked up on come 8.30 am the 

next day!” 

Finally, the facilities, and the time to 

use them fully, strikes many boys. Joshua 

Rencher (Abingdon, D Social) put it like 

this: “One of the best things about Radley 

is that it is contained on one campus. This 

means it is easy for boys in one Social to 

mix with boys in other Socials, which is 

much harder in schools like Eton, Harrow 

or Winchester. In schools like this, to visit 

other boarding houses you have to trek 

across town. Often, there you even eat in 

your own boarding house. Another benefit 

of the one campus is that it is easy to reach 

the facilities in spare time. The swimming 

pool, the astros and the DT workshop are 

examples, they give boys opportunities to 

try new things by themselves and with the 

organisation of Dons.” 

And Myles Watkiss, contrasting the 

boarding experience with his day school, 

writes: “Personally, sport and music are 

my main hobbies and up until I went to 

Radley these always seemed to clash, yet 

not only is there now enough time to do 

both but I am able to do them to a higher 

standard. This is due to having music 

teachers on duty from 7.45 in the morning 

to help with my practice, and to having 

the time to play sport every day”. 

Will Stinton’s remarks make for fitting 

last words on the subject: “Boarding at 

Radley offers many different activities 

in which many people can be involved. 

Radley would not be the school it is 

without the boarding”. 


THE 

MATHS SOCIETY 

If the 

If the numbers of both boys and also dons 

who attend regularly, and voluntarily, is 

anything to go by, then the Maths Society 

must be one of the most thriving of the 

academic societies at Radley. But that has 

not always been the case. In the early days 

the focus was on visiting speakers. With 

Oxford close by, there is a ready supply 

of talented academics. But to pitch a 

mathematics talk at a mixed audience, so 

that the subject matter is both accessible 

and entertaining is no easy task. It was 

quite possible for an outside speaker to lose 

all of his audience with the first ‘blackboard 

of sums’. And, once lost in the middle of 

a mathematical argument, it is almost 

impossible to regain the thread. 

In recent years during which the 

society has flourished, firstly under the 

stewardship of Roger Shaw, and more 

recently with Paul Teale at the top, the 

thrust has been towards homegrown talent. 

And the audience has been treated to some 

outstanding presentations. Nick Hamshaw’s 

last talk, ‘Archimedes, War Machines and 

Circles’, elegantly combined mathematics 

with some inspired historical background, 

and was of such a standard to be exported 

on an ‘away-day’ to a local state school 

which was running a Maths day for ‘gifted 

and talented’. We have also been fortunate 

to welcome back old boys. Ronan Cantwell 

(Summer Fields, C Social), for example, 

was able to tell how his Maths degree from 

Cambridge had led to a career in futures 

and options in both London and New York. 

And he was not yet 30…. 

Indeed, the Society fulfils many 

purposes. It’s main aim remains the 

stimulation of the audience into areas of 

Mathematics beyond the confines of the 

A level syllabus. This year two Radleians, 

Alex Gilbert (Cothill, B Social), the 

secretary, and Peter Gwynn (West Hill 

Park, D Social) each gained offers to read 

Mathematics at two of the top Cambridge 

Colleges, St John’s and Trinity, confident 

as they attended their interviews, that they 

had been exposed to many branches of 

Maths that were out of the reach of many 

of their competitors. They had also made 

their own presentations to the society 

earlier in the term – no easy challenge for a 

Sixth Former when your audience includes 

about forty of your peers, and ten dons. But 

it was a challenge that both carried with 

distinction. 

An unexpected consequence of such 

a strong society is the stimulus for the 

dons. Preparing a talk requires research, 

and none of us has given a presentation 

without discovering something new in the 

process. I, for example, happened upon a 

very elegant proof of Pythagoras’s Theorem 

– a proof that I had not seen before. We 

learn a lot from each other, both from the 

mathematical content of the talks, and 

also through both being observed, and 

observing, another practitioner. 

The society also has the good fortune 

in being supported by other departments. 

Physics and IT have been particularly 

generous with their time, and even dons 

from departments as unrelated as English 

and Geography have been known to make 

an appearance. Perhaps that gives boys 

an idea about what education is really all 

about? Our subjects should not be seen as 

islands. At university one hopes that our 

better students will become polymaths. 

Attendance at the Society is not 

compulsory. Yet in recent terms it has 

been rare to have seating room in room 

M1. A glass of wine, and a little intellectual 

stimulus. What a nice way to pass forty 

minutes on a Monday evening…. 

G Wiseman, Head of Maths 


‘PERPLEXED’ 

RADLEY’S 6TH FORM SCIENCE SOCIETY 

The science of wine, crime, sex, war and entertainment are all topics that have 

been covered in ‘Perplexed’, the Radley Sixth Form Science Society. There are 

three lectures a term in the Michaelmas and Lent terms, during which the topic 

of the term is covered from the point of view of each of the three sciences. So, with 

wine, the Chemists discussed blends and mixtures, with reference to the particular 

chemicals that give rise to smells such as ‘burnt rubber tyres’ in the bouquet. 

The Physicists discussed why bubbles in Champagne show you that you have an 

unclean glass, and the Biologists explained why overindulgence challenges one’s 

ability to sustain verticality. 

The rationale for ‘Perplexed’ is that we 

feel it is essential that Radleians should be 

exposed to more Science than that solely 

covered by an A level syllabus; indeed there 

is so much interesting and beautiful science 

in our World for us to appreciate, that it is a 

necessity for us to aim to expose Radleians 

in this way. Science is also challenging and 

the ways in which it seeks to comprehend 

and inform us about the World in which 

we live makes it a subject to be genuinely 

passionate about. ‘Perplexed’ aims to raise 

those challenging issues and to allow boys 

the opportunity to think about the wider 

aspects of our World. 

Even when not discussing wine, there 

is always a glass on offer during the Monday 

night meetings. The Dons who talk are 

thoroughly prepared and inevitably well 

received by the Radleian science elite, who 

enjoy seeing their teachers indulge their own 

passion for their subject. Mostly the talks 

are ‘in-house’ productions, but occasionally 

visiting speakers have been introduced, for 

example when we had a lecturer from the 

Ministry of Defence to tell us about the use 

of the electromagnetic spectrum in warfare, 

courtesy of the Head of Physics’ old Army 

contacts. 

Through ‘Perplexed’, boys hoping to 

study sciences after Radley are given an 

opportunity to see their sciences applied 

beyond the confines of the syllabus. They 

are stretched in their thinking and their 

knowledge base, hopefully while being 

entertained, too. It must be recorded that it 

takes a large amount of effort for a Don to 

prepare one of these talks, but it can be one 

of the most rewarding aspects of teaching 

Science at Radley. 


SINGING 

THEIR 

PRAISES 

A recent survey at Radley asked boys to list 10 things that ‘make Radley Radley’. 

Singing in Chapel came high on the list in second place. 

This struck me on my arrival at Radley 

in September 2002; boys really do see it 

as part of their lives here. There are Full 

Chapel services 5 times a week; all boys will 

sing perhaps 400 hymns in an academic 

year. A glance at our own hymn book 

confirms the wide variety of music that is 

enjoyed. Boys learn by a mixture of osmosis 

and weekly Congregational Practice some 

rare gems, such as a movement from 

Mendelssohn’s Elijah, the Dambusters’ 

March (from the film), and The March 

of the Hebrew Slaves (from Verdi’s opera 

Nabucco). Visitors are frequently moved by 

the sound of 620 boys singing Jerusalem as 

if their lives depended on it. 

So in a school that takes singing 

seriously, the Chapel Choir has a vital 

function, and undertakes a full programme 

of rehearsals, services and other 

engagements (both at Radley on Sundays 

and further afield). However, providing the 

top line in a boys’ secondary school is not 

straightforward. One possibility would be 

to ask the boys who arrive at 13 (most with 

breaking voices) to sing treble. Another 

option would be to nurture a choir made 

up solely of altos, tenors and basses. A third 

option would be to import girls, but by far 

the most challenging solution is to start a 

Choristership Scheme and train a group of 

boys aged between 7 and 13. 

The Choristership Scheme is now in its 

third year and things are running smoothly 

with boys coming from both local state and 

prep schools. It has also proved popular: 

recruitment (now word has got around) 

is very competitive and places are only 

available in school years 1 and 2. 

However, starting such a scheme was 

always going to be tricky. It is impossible 

to recruit mature trebles, who will have 

learned their skills as a result of being 

committed to another choir. Since 80% 

of the treble sound is made by the oldest 

20% of the boys in the choir (their voices 

are more powerful and developed, as are 

their musical skills) it necessarily takes 

some years to develop to full strength. The 

younger boys in the meantime are learning 

the tricks of the trade (vocal technique and 

theory) and, in a sense, we are investing in 

them, and waiting for that time when their 

voices are ready to take their turn in making 

the sound of the group. 

The Choristers come to Radley after 

school on Thursdays and Fridays for 

rehearsals, and also for services, which 

usually means Sundays and extra events 


such as Carol and Confirmation services. 

A sense of belonging for such a potentially 

disparate group is vital, so they bring with 

them a Radley Choir folder containing 

their music and theory prep (marked and 

returned on a Friday) and they wear a blue 

Radley Choir sweatshirt over their own 

school uniform. In addition to voice classes 

and rehearsals, the boys receive theory 

classes, and we pay for all of them to learn 

at least one instrument. They also receive 

pocket money at the end of each term. 

I expect that when choristers ‘graduate’ 

from the choir (when their voices break, 

or when they reach the end of year 8) their 

destinations will vary. We hope and expect 

that in the future some will be successful 

in applying for music awards to Radley, 

but this is not the aim of the scheme, and 

the standard required to win a music 

award at Radley remains high. 

How does this affect the rest of 

Chapel Choir? We have a large contingent 

of altos, tenors and basses (around 55 to 

60, a fair number for a school of our size) 

and there is no doubt that the balance 

of the choir, now that the trebles are 

producing such a strong sound, is far 

better. 

Last term was one of the busiest so 

far: the Fauré Requiem in a liturgical 

version for Remembrance Sunday in a 

candle lit chapel, with incense and a visiting 

orchestra, was powerful. Remembrance 

morning itself, the Confirmation, Evensong 

at New College, Oxford and four Carol 

services have certainly kept us busy too. 

This term the boys have sung in London 

(St John’s, Smith Square) and are taking 

a leading part in our large scale Choral 

Society concert at the end of term, singing 

with orchestra (something they particularly 

enjoy). With the choir stalls in chapel 

now stretched to their full extent, and 

an established track record of providing 

Oxbridge choral scholars, choral music at 

Radley is in fine form. 

SDJ Clarke, Precentor 


adleians 

Alexander Rose (VI-1) 

THOMAS’S CLAPHAM, C SOCIAL 

When asked by a prospective parent what 

Radley is best at, it always seems both 

horribly sycophantic and pathetically banal to 

say “everything”. However, with the wealth of 

opportunities offered here and the strength of 

every department, being good at everything is 

exactly what Radley is best at. 

With such a variety of opportunities 

available, I have found that, during my time 

here, there has been more than enough to keep 

me busy. Music, and in particular singing, has 

been a passion of mine for a long time, and 

upon my arrival at Radley I was keen to pursue 

this further. Since arriving, I have found myself 

immersed in music of various kinds. Since 

joining the choir in my first year, it has taken 

quite a meaningful commitment on my part, as 

with anything that one takes seriously, however 

in return has given me enormous pleasure. 

At the beginning of my second 

year, I was honoured to be invited 

to join the exclusive close harmony 

group, the Radley Clerkes. And 

since then we have performed 

for many dinners and various 

concerts at Radley, and most recently at an 

Old Radleian dinner hosted at the RAC club in 

London. The Clerkes is the more light hearted 

side of singing at Radley yet despite the carefree 

exterior, rehearsals are rigorous. I am also a 

member of the Compline Clerkes, in which we 

sing plainsong around twice a term at short 

evening services. The highlight of this for me 

was when four other soloists and I performed 

the first part of Tallis’ Lamentations of Jeremiah, 

an exquisitely written eight minute piece where 

my sight-reading ability or lack thereof, let me 

down a little too often. 

However, the crowning point of my musical 

career at Radley so far, was the trip to Venice 

in February of last year. The opportunity to 

perform in St. Mark’s is a once in a lifetime 

opportunity and a memory that I shall always 

treasure. I have no doubt that this term’s trip to 

Prague will not disappoint. 

Having attended a London day school, I 

could not compete with the cricketing prowess 

of some of my peers who had played daily 

at prep school. Having also never had the 

chance to wield a hockey stick, I decided to 

journey down to the river at the beginning 

of the first Lent term, whereupon I stumbled 

on new passion. Despite having only made 

the second boat in the Shells, I went on to 

make the first boat in the next two years. We 

enjoyed numerous successes with only Eton as 

a serious competitor and I now look forward 

to what will hopefully be a very successful 

season this summer under the new Director 

of Rowing and perhaps even a long awaited 

win in the Princess Elizabeth Cup at Henley. 

Of course with so many extra-curricular 

activities and the amount of commitment 

which they entail, it seems easy to gloss over 

the academic demands of Radley. I admit 

that during the summer of my GCSE’s, I 

sometimes wondered whether my exam 

results or the outcome of the forthcoming 

regattas mattered more to me. However due 

to the strength of the Radley community, it is 

possible to excel in all areas without having 

to make too many sacrifices. I 

have no doubt that my next two 

years here will bring even more 

challenges and successes, and I 

hope they will be as enjoyable as 

the last three have been. 

Rory Mounsey- 

Heysham 

(Second Prefect) 

AYSGARTH, AND H SOCIAL 

I remember looking at Radleians with 

total awe as a prospective new boy. At my 

prep school there was merely a picture of 

the cricket pavilion, yet strangely this was 

sufficient for me to idolise Radley; and I 

never enjoyed cricket. 

Equally, there is the life-changing time in a 

Radleian’s school career when you say goodbye 

to your damp-eyed parents at tea-time on a 

September afternoon at the start of your very first 

term. It is strange to look back to this time and see 

how things have subsequently progressed. 

The majority in my year in my Social 

just happen to be extremely intellectual. As a 

result I was enormously embarrassed when 

my contemporaries (whom I had not quite 

plucked up the courage to speak to) and I went 

to discover in which Shell sets we had been 

placed. I, sadly, did not make it higher than the 

bottom set in any subject at all! I also signed 

myself to be in the top rugby game as I thought 

myself quite the sportsman. I was a little miffed 

when, within the first two games sessions, to 

put it mildly, I found myself to be slightly less 

Left Alexander Rose and right Rory Mounsey-Heysham 

of a star and eventually just managed to secure 

a position in the fourths where we had a great 

deal of fun. I now look at those enormous 

blokes in the 1st XV with horror; to think that I 

had hoped to play with them. 

I have been extremely fortunate to be 

appointed deputy head boy. It is a fair question 

to ask why on earth this is the case, due to the 

fact that I am clearly not clever, nor sporty and 

I am certainly not musical! Yet I would like to 

think I have dabbled in just about everything 

Radley has to offer. I very much enjoy this role 

and try to be the mediator between the boys 

and dons as effectively as possible. I have loved 

playing the bagpipes and the atmosphere that 

goes with playing in school and Social sports 

matches. In my earlier school career I also 

found enormous pleasure in performing in 

school plays such as ‘Another Country’ and 

‘Black Comedy.’ 

However it has been in my final two 

years that I have really found my passion. I 

imported 1000 ‘RADLEY’ pyjamas 

considerably cheaper than I sold 

them here, making money for 

charity. Since then I decided there 

was very little point in stopping 

there and so have embarked on doing the 

same for Eton, Ampleforth, Oundle, Bedales, 

Uppingham and Winchester for simple profit. 

While I do not see my future prospects in 

pyjamas, I certainly do not intend to leave it 

at that so am hugely excited about the next 

step which would not have been possible if the 

Radley enterprise was not a success. Radley has 

made me an entrepreneur! 

I suppose the aspect of Radley that I 

most value is the boarding house atmosphere. 

One spends 5 years in close proximity with 

those in both your house and year and I have 

thoroughly enjoyed the experiences which have 

produced a real sense of comradeship amongst 

us. In which other situation would I be able to 

dress up as a voluptuous woman 4 years in a 

row in front of 250 people? 

I should imagine that in 20 years time the 

less good memories of Radley will have faded 

leaving only the best remaining and while I do 

not want this to seem obsequious I think those 

happy memories remaining will accurately 

reflect my time here. 

12 THE RADLEY NEWSLETTER Website: www.radley.org.uk . Admissions enquiries: 01235 543174 . admissions@radley.org.uk

N E W S L E T T E R - Radley College

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