N e w s l e t t e R - Radley College

Radley
The
N e w s l e t t e r
West Side Story | Modern Language Trips | Country Pursuits
Court Games at Radley 1980-2007 | Romania | Radleians

west side
Sir Tim Rice, member of Radley’s Council but more pertinently Oscar-winning
lyricist and veteran of 40 years of musical theatre, wrote to the Warden in
the heady aftermath that Radley’s West Side Story production, late November
2007, was ‘one of the best school shows I have seen, anywhere, if not the best’.
He spoke for nearly 1800 people who filled the New Theatre on five successive
nights; many who queued were disappointed while some managed to sneak in
to reprise the showstoppers, ‘Officer Krupke’, ‘Cool’, and ‘I Feel Pretty’.
Director Robert Lowe planned this
production with the military precision of
the D- Day landings; rehearsals started
back in March 2007, a term was devoted
to bringing the musical numbers to
concert pitch and then in the last three
months the choreography and direction
came to the fore. The result was a
level of control and synchronisation,
of team work and of sheer verve and
attack which quite swept the audience
away. The Director had wanted the raw,
dangerous aggression of gang rivalry to
echo the feral state of parts of Britain’s
cities in 2007, but the look of the set
and of the costume was authentic Bronx
circa 1955. The set was magnificent and
the lighting and costume reflected the
shift from exhilaration to despair. In the
central operatic number of the show,
‘Tonight’ the gangs were blocked almost
architecturally, each singing their own
theme, each dressed and lit differently
to emphasise deep mutual, simmering
antipathy. This and the Rumble, where
the Jets, led by Riff (Theo Whitworth,
Aldro, C Social) fought the Puerto Rican
Sharks led by Bernardo (Fred Rowe,
Cothill, A Social) formed a rousing
climax to the act. In this, as in ‘Cool’,
2 THE RADLEIAN NEWSLETTER

story
and ‘Officer Krupke’ the choreography
was excellent, youthful exuberance and
athleticism structured and channelled
into complex movement.
The Puerto Rican girls were drawn
from all over Oxfordshire. Anita (Natalie
Batten), full of fiery Latin energy
delivered ‘America’ – with other female
Sharks – with brassy flamboyance and
the noise and colour created a high
point of the show. But for all that this
show is about gangs, about mateship
and brotherhood, the centrepiece is the
love of Maria (Nonie Cockburn) and
Tony (Alex Rose, Thomas’s, C Social).
Their singing was by turns sensitive
and powerful, and together they stilled
a theatre deeply affected by the tragic
consequence of hoodlum armed conflicts.
Challenged to master a fiendishly
difficult score, the singers on stage
and the orchestral players, did
tremendously well; the band consisted
of boys and their teachers and created
that authentic Bernstein jazz sound.
One of the most striking features was
that 6 out of the 10 school prefects
took roles in West Side Story; for
example the Senior Prefect, Will
Summerlin (Caldicott, F Social) was
a Jet and starred in Officer Krupke.
Alex Rose, head of C Social, sang and
acted beautifully – he is also a member
of the 1st VIII. Prominent in the
orchestra was Rory van Zwanenberg
(Mousford, G Social), Head of G Social
and key member of the 1st XV. So,
Radleians multi-task!
The New Theatre proved once
again to be an inspiring venue, its foyer
capable of hosting an audience of 400 for
interval refreshments, and the theatre
seating them in real comfort. This
production tested the new lighting and
sound rigs to the full and the technical
professionalism of boys like Peter Barker
(Aldro, D Social), under the direction
of the full time Theatre Manager Matt
Barker, was an important ingredient in
the show.
West Side Story set wholly new
expectations of drama at Radley and
the buzz created by the show spilled
over into all aspects of the school. In
a place renowned for its outstanding
team sports results, this was the most
successful team game of the term.
THE RADLEIAN NEWSLETTER
3

modern
language
trips
4 THE RADLEIAN NEWSLETTER

At a recent meeting of Heads of Modern Languages I heard a delegate suggest that the
increasingly risk-averse culture that seems to have become entrenched in contemporary
education has brought about the demise of the school languages exchange. I am very glad to
be able to say that here at Radley we have chosen not adopt the “cotton wool kids” approach
and that the French, Spanish and German departments offer at least one trip abroad each
academic year. Exchanges and educational trips play an essential role in the development of
an individual’s understanding and appreciation of a target language and its culture. Many
boys coming to Radley have enjoyed extended exposure to the French language during their
time at Prep. School and the benefits of the “immersion totale” approach are soon felt in the
classroom. While the basic routine of everyday life remains unchanged, the environment
in which even the most rudimentary transactions are carried out helps to provide added
stimulation, enjoyment and a sense of satisfaction, in short the context is crucial.
Very ordinary elements of language,
heard repeatedly at breakfast, on the bus
or in a shop are logged effortlessly into
the memory banks. Gentle reinforcement
of regular and irregular verbs around
the dinner table can have a magically
analgesic effect on the sometimes painful
process of learning verb paradigms.
Time spent sharing a household with a
sympathetic host family can help foster
appreciation as well as retention of
individual components of vocabulary
or idiom. But let’s not pretend that the
path to oral fluency is strewn exclusively
with daisies. Nothing is quite as effective
in reinforcing the important distinction
between the use of “vous” rather than “tu”
than the menacing stare of Madame la
boulangère immediately after being asked
“Est-ce que tu as des croissants?”
There is some breathtaking software
available on the market today which
allows an imaginative teacher to bring
aspects of the flavours and textures of a
language into their classroom but virtual
interaction, Google earth images and
slideshow presentations on Smart boards
can only go so far. Who can claim to have
fully understood the Paris métro without
buying a carnet of tickets, savouring that
unmistakably rubbery biscuity smell and
getting a little bit lost now and then?
The exchange link that exists
between Radley and the lycée Ste.
Geneviève in Paris has allowed many
A level French students to formulate
instructive comparisons between our
two educational systems and to sample
at first hand French life and culture
alongside the language. This December
the boys enjoyed two mornings in
school, visits to the musées D’Orsay and
Rodin, a look at Napoléon’s monolithic
tomb in Les Invalides and a tour of the
Panthéon to see the great and glorious
Frenchmen housed therein and of course,
Foucault’s pendulum The reciprocal visit
to Radley adds a little extra colour to
college life in the Michaelmas term as a
dozen or so French boys and girls from
an urban catholic lycée get used to the
idiosyncrasies of a protestant all boys
rural boarding school. “C’est vachement
Harry Potter ici” is a standard reaction
to the first meal in Hall. Some Radleians
go back after their A levels to work as
an English assistant at the same lycée
giving them invaluable experience and
pretty much guaranteeing oral fluency by
the end of their stay. We are have been
fortunate to have a post baccalaureate
Ste. Genevièvienne as an extra assistante
in the French department for the past
4 years helping boys with oral exam
preparation and generally bringing an
extra boost of native speaker authenticity
to the department.
The Spanish speaking world offers
some exotic and enticing destinations
for study holiday programmes and in
recent years Radleians have enjoyed
trips to Cuba, Guatemala, Calahorra,
Barcelona and Granada. All teaching
dons comment on the improved
fluency and general confidence of a boy
returning from such a trip and again the
context in which they make their new
linguistic acquisitions helps a great deal.
I remember a conversation between a
group of boys and an elderly Cuban on
the Malecón as we admired the sunset
over the straits of Florida: “And is it true”
asked the Cuban “that your presidente
has built a tunnel under the ocean?”
There can’t be that many public school
boys who can legitimately boast that they
honed their Spanish speaking skills under
a communist dictatorship albeit in the
Caribbean.
The German Department at Radley
runs a number of successful trips: For
Removes and Vths there is a combined
language and Skiing trip to Kitzbühel
– language lessons in the morning or
afternoon and skiing in the picturesque
resort or on the nearby glacier. Evenings
are spent sampling the local food in
restaurants or the Christmas market,
supporting the local ice-hockey team or
curling.
For the Shell Year there is the trip
to the Christmas Markets in Cologne:
Boys spend a few days in the stunning
town of Cologne, eating Lebkuchen and
Wurst from the market stalls, visiting
the Cathedral and trying to get as many
waffles under the chocolate fountain in
the chocolate museum as possible.
In the 6th form individual stays,
usually in the form of homestay visits are
arranged.
Over the past 15 years every member
of the Modern Languages department
has accompanied boys on a trip abroad
and I am very grateful for their continued
support and enthusiasm in maintaining
this crucial element in the linguistic
education of Radleians.
THE RADLEIAN NEWSLETTER
5

country
If you thought that the only animals Radley had were beagles, you were
mistaken. Dexter cows, Oxford sandy & black pigs, pekin bantams, silver
pheasants, Lady Amherst’s pheasants, guinea fowl, call ducks, Jacob
sheep... even the boys’ ferrets now live at the new Countryside Centre.
The Countryside Centre began life in
2005. When Albert Hickson returned to
Radley (having left as Kennel Huntsman
in 2003), his new job was to be much
wider. As Countryside Officer, he would
still be in charge of caring for the beagles,
but a small farm was to be established,
so that boys could gain experience of
more diverse animals, so that a broader
spectrum of boys could be involved, and
crucially so that the local community
could also be involved in Radley’s
countryside activities.
In the two years since its foundation,
it has certainly been productive: three
litters of pigs (another is due in February);
two generations of lambs (more are due
in February); two calves (another is due
in... February), plus countless chicks and
ducklings, many taken home by proud
boys to their long-suffering parents.
It has involved a new group of boys -
those doing ‘Countryside activities’ as a
Wednesday option - mostly Fifth formers
for whom this is their service to the
community. Around sixty boys have been
involved with this so far.
It has also proved popular with local
schools - particularly the very local
(Radley Primary School, just across the
road), and Abingdon School - it is good
to see a town school getting involved
in the country... We have taken on a
boy from Bessels Leigh School (a local
special needs school) on work experience.
James Fournier (Ludgrove, F Social) even
included working at the Centre as part of
his Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in 2006.
Albert has also revived clay pigeon
shooting as a regular activity on Sundays
- these days we cannot do this at Radley,
due to lack of space and safety margins,
but boys travel to a local shooting school
for lessons.
You have probably been wondering,
what about the beagles? How have
they coped since the ban on hunting
in 2005? In fact, beagling has never
been in better shape. We have been
able to take advantage very successfully
of the exemptions in the 2005 Act,
and support is actually increasing -
matching the pattern seen in hunting
across the country. This year, under the
triple mastership of Robbie Henderson
6 THE RADLEIAN NEWSLETTER

pursuits
(Sandroyd, G Social), Freddie Bolton
(Summer Fields, G Social) and James
Fleming (Maidwell Hall, H Social), a
very good number of Shells have been
out, helped by the establishment of a
Hunt Supporters’ Club by joint secretary
Harry Gosling (Dorset House, D Social).
In addition since Albert’s return in 2005,
the Beagles have been outstandingly
successful in hound shows, taking seven
championships (before Albert’s first in
2002, it had been 51 years since Radley
had won a championship at all). Indeed,
so successful were the hounds in 2006
that under the rules we could only
attend two shows this year, at Ardingly
and Honiton, and yet still managed to
take Champion Beagle Doghound at the
former with Whiplash.
So Radley’s status as a country school
is assured; boys can be involved in a
wider variety of country activities than
ever before; support is increasing; and the
local community is benefiting.
THE RADLEIAN NEWSLETTER
7

RADLEY
m f dean
Alex Hackett (Downsend
School and H Social)
8 THE RADLEIAN NEWSLETTER

TENNIS
Lawn Tennis
The profile of Lawn Tennis, as in many schools, is rather higher
now than a generation ago. Radley now has 20 courts in constant
use in the summer rather than 8, and Radley has improved more
than most. Over 100 boys now play lawn tennis as a their full-time
summer sport, compared to about 15-20 in 1980.
James Male, a double handed U14 international, was the first
to help Radley win a national trophy, the 1979 U15 Thomas Bowl
for Public Schools. He did this with Andrew Harriman (a later
rugby cap for England), and almost reached the senior Youll Cup
(the Public Schools Championship) final in 1982.
It was 2003 and 2004 before Charlie Monbiot (Colet Court, D
Social), Hugo Thompson (Abberley Hall, H Social), James Jeans (The
Hall, H Social), Matt & Will Brooke-Hitching (Farleigh, A Social),
Alex Hackett (Downsend School, H Social) & Tom Dance (Dragon,
H Social) reached the Youll Cup semi-finals for 2 straight years,
losing only to the ‘professional’ outfits of Millfield and Epsom.
Both Charlie Monbiot (Glos U18 champion) and Alex Hackett
(twice) were also selected to represent the Annual Independent
Schools team to play the All England Club at Wimbledon, the first
Radleians ever to do so. Alex went on to win a single ATP point in
the year after he left Radley (a feat not to be underestimated), and
currently plays for Nottingham University, ahead of several scholars
from the Nottingham LTA full-time squad.
In 2005, Alex Hackett led the team to the national finals of
the Glanvill Cup, only achieved once before in 1997, by Ben Dean,
Jamie Howard, Henry Brind and Alastair Mitchell-Innes.
Recently, the Radley team has participated in newly formed
league structures through the summer term, winning the
Oxfordshire based OXIST league on 6 occasions since 2000, the
RHWM league in 2005 and now being founder members of the
16-school ISL league which includes many of the best schools
from Oxon, Berks, Surrey, Hants, Sussex and Kent. Will Strang
(Hall Grove, C Social) has been an outstanding No.1 for 2 years,
while Tom Dance (Dragon, H Social), Harry Nicholls (Cothill,
A Social), Will Dryer (New College School, A Social) (captain in
2006), Nick Showering (Milfield Prep, E Social), Douglas Johnson
(International School, Luxemburg, D Social) and George Hackett
(Downsend School, H Social) have shone in the senior team.
Juniors like Ed Monbiot (Sussex House, H Social), Rory
Odam-Smith (Cothill, B Social), Gus McAlpine (Cothill, A
Social) and Tom Buckley (Moulsford, B Social) all look capable of
repeating recent successes.
Recent tours to Cape Town have brought a foreign flavour to
the sport; the high point of the last tour was when Will Strang
won the invitation singles from other English tourists and Cape
Province all-comers in 2006.
Real Tennis
As a ‘minority’ sport, representative and national honours have
been rather easier to win compared to squash or lawn tennis, but
honours there have been in plenty, even though players have had
to travel to Oxford to play.
This is about to be remedied, however, since a brand new
court is under construction as I write, and is due for completion
in April 2008. This court will be available to all Radleians as
well as housing an outside club. The court adjoins the renovated
sports hall, pool, gym and squash complex and will make Radley
the only school in the country with both a Real Tennis and
Racquets court on site.
School matches have been played all over the country, both
against schools, and on tours to Manchester and Newcastle. In the
National Schools event, held annually, Radley has won the team
event 3 times in 2000 (with Will Rudebeck, Cyrus Molavi (Sussex
House, H Social), Guy Demetriadi (Emscote Lawn, A Social),
James McEwen (St. John’s College School, C Social), Patrick
Sutton (Arnold Lodge, A Social) and Will Shortt (Cothill, E
Social)), in 2001 (with Freddie Bellhouse (Dragon, A Social) and
Jamie Brownlee (Oratory Pre, E Social), and in 2003 with Will
Nicholls (Old Buckenham Hall, H Social) and Charlie Monbiot
(Colet Court, D Social). Tom Dance (Dragon, H Social) won the
2nd pairs event in 2005 with Jamie Stallibrass Milbourne Lodge,
C Social and the 1st pairs in 2006 with Jamie Stallibrass.
Radley’s new Real Tennis Court
Recently, Edd Crichton (Sandroyd, C Social) and Will Strang
(Hall Grove, C Social) have captained teams against Oxford
University, while excellent younger players (Ed Lyle (Sandroyd,
G Social), Joe Manners (Maidwell Hall, H Social), Tom Buckley
(Moulsford, B Social), Angus McAlpine (Cothill, A Social) and
Dan Brownlee (Oratory Prep, E Social)) already promise to
surpass past glories.
However, as in racquets, Julian Snow and James Male are the
two pre-eminent players of the last 30 years, and have certainly
been the two best amateur players in the world since 1980. Both
have won the British Open Championship against the top world
professionals, Snow several times, before challenging twice for
the actual world singles title. Snow’s record 18 British Amateur
Singles titles are among innumerable major singles and doubles
titles won by the pair.
THE RADLEIAN NEWSLETTER
9

adley in
Back in 1993 Steve Rathbone (currently Tutor of A Social) led a holiday club for children
from all around the Romania based in an ex-Communist Propaganda Camp called
Caprioara. That was just four years after the revolution which saw the end of Communism
and the execution of dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu. The children in most cases had never
met foreigners before but they were universally welcoming and desperately keen to discover
about what life in another country was like.
Since then the Romania project has
established itself as an almost annual
event. The 2007 trip comprised of
seven Radleians and eight girls from
Headington School who between them
organised holiday activities for 120 eleven
to sixteen year olds. Also present were
15 Romanian sixth formers who acted
as translators and instantly befriended
the English group. The brief for the
volunteers was, firstly, to improve the
English of their pupils, secondly, to
improve their self-confidence and
appreciation of their own country and
finally to remove any misconceptions
they had about the western world. This
was not always the easiest of tasks even
with the help of the translators but the
children loved every minute and treated
the Radleians and Headingtonians like
celebrities.
Max Rendall (Westminster Under
School, B Social), one of the Radley
volunteers writes: “Language barriers and
the exhausting enthusiasm of my class
aside, I loved absolutely every minute I
spent at that school without question.
Everybody you passed walking up the
stairs, or out to the football pitch would
wave and say hello even if they weren’t
in your class. The moment enough
white t-shirts had been bought for
every student, translator and volunteer,
everyone was running around getting
signatures, messages and photographs. It
was like being famous, and it was fun, lots
of fun.”
There is also always time on these
trips for seeing a bit of the country.
During the first weekend we visited
Brasov, a beautiful Saxon town in the
Carpathian mountains and Bran, a gothic
castle in Transylvania dubbed for the
tourists as “Dracula’s Castle”, although
it is likely that Vlad Tepes (the Imapler)
only spent a few nights there. At the end
of the project we went to Targoviste, a
city steeped in history. It was here that
Vlad Tespes and his father Vlad Dracul
really ruled and where Ceaucescu was
caught and executed - live on television
10 THE RADLEIAN NEWSLETTER

omania
on Christmas Day. Another real
highlight was the visit to Castle Peles
in Sinaia. In contrast to the poverty
which was present everywhere, this
magnificent palace, which was one of
the royal residences before the days of
communism, has everything including
it’s own cinema and a central vacuuming
cleaning system.
Josh Chew (Moulsford, D Social)
concludes: “The hardest part of any
trip like this is to have to say farewell to
people who have become your closest
friends. On our last day there was a
real sense that two weeks was just not
long enough, an I know that everyone
on the trip would like to go back again,
even if only for a few days. No doubt
this summer will see another equally
successful trip and I strongly encourage
anyone reading this to consider going.”
THE RADLEIAN NEWSLETTER 11

adleians
Rory Robinson (Fifths)
Twyford School and F Social
After a hectic first two years at Radley, I
expected no less from the Fifth form. I wasn’t
wrong. There is still such a wide range of
activities, from the Silk Hall to the sports field,
and also in my case to the river. The Remove
year gave us all a wider choice of sport to do,
though most still choose to do rugby in the
first term. The Colts 4 team which I was a
part of had a very successful season, winning
the majority of our matches, and instead of
rowing like last year, I chose to do football in
the Lent term. This was very different to the
river, not being as well documented, but was
still very much enjoyable.
One key aspect of my Radley life is
music. Being a scholar, life is very full, with
many music rehearsals taking place in central
hours. I have come 2nd in the Gunn Cup (the
woodwind competition) on the saxophone,
and have entered the BBC Young Musician
competition, which began last summer.
The Fifth form year is academically more
challenging than the before, with GCSEs
become a reality. Being in Set 1 for Maths
and French, I have done both early, as well
as music, and now do French and Maths AS
Levels. With the pressure growing on public
exams, revision has become very important,
but I hope that it will pay off and that come
August I will get the results I want.
I have realised in my first three years of
Radley that F Social is the foundation stone
of all my successes. Living with friends in a
boarding house and participating in Social
activities are things which can only be done
in a school such as Radley, and these great
privileges have allowed me to wake up every
morning with the expectation of a happy and
satisfying day. Being part of F social has given
me many close friendships, many of which
I am sure will remain during and beyond
Radley.
I have had a very enjoyable third year
at Radley, and it is hard to believe that I
am already past the half way point of my
time here. It all goes so quickly, and so it is
imperative for me that I get all that I can out
of here in my remaining two years.
David Lyons (VI-2)
BournEmouth School, and F Social
I joined Radley College 6.1 from a state
grammar school in September 2006. It
has proved one of the happiest and most
fulfilling experiences of my life so far.
After prep school and then five years
at Bournemouth School, I saw Sixth Form
as a time of transition and potential newbeginnings
and was drawn to the wellrounded
but widely challenging experience
that life as a boarder and a school, such as
Radley, could deliver.
Historically, I never seem to do things by
halves and, having won two 11-plus places for
grammar school, I then gained three offers
and scholarships for places at public school
Sixth Forms. However, there was always
absolutely no doubt in my mind. Radley was
my first choice and I and my family were
delighted that having ‘chosen’ Radley, Radley
duly chose me - and I have never looked back.
When I arrived at Radley I was struck by
many things - the welcoming atmosphere,
the awesome campus, the calibre, total
professionalism, yet realism, humanity
and humour of the Dons and Staff and the
friendliness and generosity of my fellow
students, who took time to get to know me
and to include me in every aspect of Radley.
These things are what makes Radley special
and you cannot find them anywhere else!
In my experience, I like to think Radley
takes the boy and makes the man. We are
taught nothing is impossible with hard work
and determination and that it is important
to give back in life, wherever possible. I
have been encouraged to embrace every
opportunity on offer, to ‘reach for the stars’,
both academically and personally and this is
further driving my established ambition to be a
Medical Officer in the Armed Forces.
Obviously sport is a great part of Radley
life. Once accepted and ‘on-board’ as a
Radleian, I was instantly invited to join the
2006 Rugby tour to Italy and, not knowing a
soul, I duly arrive at Gatwick to join everyone.
I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the teamwork
and wonderful camaraderie of this
experience. It was a great start to my life at
Radley and I thank the Dons for the foresight
in suggesting this immediate entry into Radley
life. Since then, I have taken part in many
sports, including Rugby, Football and for the
first time in my life Rowing. I thoroughly
enjoy the opportunities to hear notable
speakers, to be informed of the wider world
and the opportunity to complete my Duke of
Edinburgh Gold Award.
All-in-all, my life at Radley means I have
made good friends and I am now looking
forward, with them, to the challenges of
the next phase of my academic career with
strength, confidence, excitement - some natural
trepidation - and the belief that, with hard
work and determination, I can and will, make
a difference.
12 THE RADLey NEWSLETTER Website: www.radley.org.uk . Admissions enquiries: 01235 543174 . admissions@radley.org.uk