N E W S L E T T E R - Radley College
N E W S L E T T E R - Radley College
N E W S L E T T E R - Radley College
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<strong>Radley</strong><br />
THE<br />
N E W S L E T T E R<br />
| The Education of Boys | Hall | First Impressions |<br />
| The Next Generation | Les Misérables |
The Educat<br />
For long the tide has run in favour of co-education in schools; its proponents<br />
have argued for the naturalness of social arrangements, even if there is a<br />
suspicion that some Damascene conversions to co-education coincided with<br />
sickly balance sheets. A few of the great schools have cleaved to single-sex<br />
education for boys and they have been given powerful ammunition for that<br />
decision by findings of the International Boys School Coalition, a world-wide<br />
body of boys’ schools in USA, Australia, N.Z. and Europe, which includes<br />
<strong>Radley</strong>, Eton and Dulwich from the United Kingdom.<br />
Its painstaking research provides<br />
concrete proof of what many who<br />
taught or led boys’ schools long<br />
thought but couldn’t statistically<br />
prove; it also chimes in with the<br />
experience of dons at <strong>Radley</strong>. It<br />
shows that boys have different<br />
educational needs from girls, and<br />
these are often neglected in mixed<br />
groups; boys are naturally less<br />
verbal, mature physically later yet<br />
have strengths in spatial skills, have<br />
more acute vision, and are more<br />
active. Boys’ schools recognise this<br />
and have developed an education<br />
suited to boys’ needs. <strong>Radley</strong> has<br />
a great sporting tradition, but as<br />
important as the quality and success<br />
of its top teams is the sheer number<br />
of sides it fields every Saturday, and<br />
the regularity of games’ practices –<br />
all to direct the physical energies of<br />
boys.<br />
To counter boys’ lack of verbal<br />
confidence <strong>Radley</strong> has<br />
Declamations, a wonderful training<br />
for all boys to perform in public.<br />
Debating, giving talks in class,<br />
and presenting papers to societies<br />
again help boys develop important<br />
oral skills. Equally the research<br />
found that boys in boys’ schools<br />
are involved in many areas of the<br />
arts and in greater numbers than<br />
their peers in mixed schools. Fewer<br />
will sing in choirs unless they are<br />
single sex. <strong>Radley</strong> has a Chapel<br />
Choir of 85, large numbers of boys<br />
play in the Orchestra, Wind Band,<br />
Big Band, Soul Band, various<br />
ensembles, or sing in the Clerkes.<br />
Many would have given up, faced<br />
with confident and accomplished<br />
girls – at <strong>Radley</strong> the boys feel<br />
valued and so stay involved with<br />
music making. The sheer volume<br />
and quality of the boys’ artworks<br />
which colonise the campus shows<br />
the vitality of visual arts at <strong>Radley</strong>.<br />
Drama develops emotional<br />
intelligence and the range of plays,<br />
from Les Miserables to the Shell<br />
Haddon Cup competition, provide<br />
2 THE RADLEIAN RADLEY NEWSLETTER
on of Boys<br />
Radleians with every opportunity to<br />
act. Again the research found that<br />
‘boys in boys’ schools love to write<br />
poetry; in mixed schools poetry<br />
can be seen as something primarily<br />
of interest to girls’. Creative writing<br />
at <strong>Radley</strong> since the days of Harold<br />
Monro, Peter Cook and Andrew<br />
Motion has been strong, and the<br />
present generation fostered by<br />
Chris Ellott, the Head of English, is<br />
very productive, publishing termly<br />
anthologies of writing.<br />
It has long been observed that<br />
‘for young adolescent boys,<br />
performance in mixed settings<br />
often sensitive about status<br />
and the presence of girls, their<br />
performative stance may be risk<br />
averse, cloaked and cool’. Equally it<br />
may be ‘disruptive and attentionseeking’.<br />
It may, too, of course,<br />
be a very natural relationship for<br />
some. Nevertheless, at <strong>Radley</strong> we<br />
would concur with the authors’<br />
observation that an all-boy format<br />
frees ‘boys to be more sensitive and<br />
thoughtful in discussion’ and ‘find<br />
their freedom of expression’. The<br />
strength of our Modern Languages<br />
confirms the researchers who found<br />
boys in co-educational modern<br />
language classes often feel selfconscious<br />
about speaking up but<br />
flourish in single sex schools where<br />
there are no girls to dominate at<br />
the top of the class! The boys at<br />
<strong>Radley</strong> do, however, have a chance<br />
to debate and discuss with girls;<br />
for example, our 6.2 Conference<br />
with St Helen’s is a stimulating and<br />
successful event.<br />
It is probably true to say that<br />
many of these observations only<br />
articulate what parents have long<br />
known; ‘that boys and girls are<br />
different, and they require different<br />
approaches to help them grow up’.<br />
What is new is that now a number<br />
of prominent educationalists are<br />
arguing that boys positively need<br />
single sex education to enable<br />
them to be more confident and<br />
to help them grow up to be men;<br />
for these professionals the rush to<br />
co-education in the last few decades<br />
has actually tipped the balance<br />
in schools towards girls, and<br />
feminised education. The emphasis<br />
on coursework and modules in<br />
exams, playing to girls’ diligence<br />
and planning, are but two examples<br />
of a wider trend. <strong>Radley</strong> dons are<br />
experienced at getting the best from<br />
boys, a different skill from that of<br />
teaching co-educational classes.<br />
It is because we fully appreciate<br />
that boys require an education<br />
tailored to their needs that we have<br />
resisted siren calls to change our<br />
nature; many parents, current and<br />
prospective, seem to agree.<br />
THE RADLEIAN NEWSLETTER 3<br />
THE RADLEY NEWSLETTER 3
4 THE RADLEIAN NEWSLETTER<br />
4 THE RADLEY NEWSLETTER
Hall<br />
A Hundred Years On<br />
In July 1909 work began on architect<br />
Robert Jackson’s design of Hall and thus<br />
we celebrate this year the centenary of<br />
the completion of this imposing building.<br />
Reminiscent of the dining hall of an Oxford<br />
college with its oak panelling and portraits<br />
of past Wardens and, to some, not unlike<br />
the dining hall in Hogwarts, the present<br />
building is rendered more welcoming with<br />
the rich coral that covers the walls above the<br />
heraldic shields of erstwhile Senior Prefects<br />
and School Prefects. Before the self-service<br />
system was introduced in the final months of<br />
the 60s, there was no choice of food, which<br />
was often cold and rarely appetizing. The<br />
current Radleian benefits from an altogether<br />
more pleasurable experience, enhanced by<br />
recent refurbishments of the kitchens and<br />
serving areas. Whilst all meals are taken in<br />
Hall, he can choose when to eat, what to<br />
eat and importantly with whom to sit. Meal<br />
times now have a more informal air and the<br />
family nature of the school is reflected in the<br />
presence of the families of the younger dons<br />
at lunch.<br />
However, like an army, <strong>Radley</strong> marches<br />
on its stomach and it is the food itself<br />
that is inevitably uppermost in teenaged<br />
boys’ minds many hours of the day.<br />
Overwhelmingly, Radleians and visitors<br />
consider the food to be of a high standard<br />
and credit for this must go to the Catering<br />
Manager, Pam Dickens, and her team, ably<br />
led by the Head Chef, Tomasz.<br />
There is a great variety of dishes on offer,<br />
ranging from the well-stocked salad bar<br />
to Lamb Tagine and Hungarian Lecho,<br />
but the caterers are always mindful of the<br />
importance of a balanced and healthy diet.<br />
For most boys, however, there are two<br />
highlights of the week: burger night on<br />
Wednesday, when the McDonald’s factor<br />
kicks in, and Friday evenings when the duty<br />
Social chooses the menu, often of the Caesar<br />
Salad/Chicken Kiev variety. Formal dinners<br />
for dons, boys and guests are, of course,<br />
outstanding.<br />
Twice a term the Senior Master’s Advisory<br />
Committee (the acronym SMAC may<br />
be a brave one in these litigious times),<br />
which includes a representative from each<br />
Social, meets with the Catering staff to<br />
discuss catering issues. These range from<br />
queuing times to the lack of salt on tables,<br />
from why smoothies cannot be produced<br />
everyday to why a particular variety<br />
of onion has suddenly appeared in the<br />
spaghetti bolognese. The most popular<br />
dishes and the least favoured are discussed<br />
and, importantly, the catering staff take<br />
heed of the boys’ views. Occasionally a<br />
tasting session is held to decide which is, for<br />
example, a preferred variety of sandwich or<br />
flavour of ice cream.<br />
Socials, too, play their part in keeping the<br />
boys well fuelled, particularly at Cocoa from<br />
9.00pm onwards when the boys benefit<br />
from a spread of cakes and biscuits as well<br />
as stimulating conversation. On Saturday<br />
evenings the Tutors have open house in the<br />
winter months when the boys are treated to<br />
a roast joint or a pizza, while in the summer<br />
the sound of meat sizzling on the barbecue<br />
can be heard most weekends. As if this were<br />
not enough, the boys can stock up between<br />
meals in Shop, which offers such delights as<br />
chicken rolls, chips and sweets.<br />
Charlie Barker,<br />
Senior Master<br />
THE RADLEIAN NEWSLETTER 5<br />
THE RADLEY NEWSLETTER 5
Meeting the other K Social Sheels on Day 1<br />
Fir<br />
Impres<br />
My first term at <strong>Radley</strong> has been, to say the least, busy<br />
from day one. As you stand in your cubicle wearing<br />
your new uniform and trying to get used to the strange<br />
gown that is falling off your shoulders you do not quite<br />
realise how quickly the next few weeks will go.<br />
In the first couple of weeks we did the games circus<br />
which is an opportunity to try all of the minor sports<br />
that <strong>Radley</strong> has on offer, including real tennis, rackets<br />
and squash. I have enjoyed playing rackets and fives for<br />
the first time and most boys have found a new sport<br />
that they enjoy playing.<br />
On the first Sunday of term there was the Shells’ tug of<br />
war on pups’ field followed by a barbecue. During the<br />
second week the Shell athletics standards took place;<br />
this is held on two afternoons when every boy in the<br />
first year takes part in as many athletic events as they<br />
can to earn points for their Social, and my Social, K,<br />
won!<br />
The New Boys’ Swimming Test<br />
The Haddon Cup, the Inter-Social Drama<br />
Competition, auditions started early on in the<br />
third week of term and then each Social began to<br />
rehearse their different plays in preparation for their<br />
performance a week before half term. The Haddon<br />
Cup is great fun and every Shell boy takes part in it<br />
to try and claim the prize. It was a really good way of<br />
Tucking into a hot dog at the Shell Barbeque<br />
Rehersals for the<br />
Rugby Trials<br />
6 THE RADLEY NEWSLETTER
K Social Shells are shown the Golf Course as part<br />
of the New Boys’ Games Circus<br />
st<br />
sions<br />
getting to know all of the boys in Social and a great<br />
thing to do.<br />
There is a new responsibility with your work and more<br />
independence, forcing you to learn how to manage<br />
your time. The Shell projects are a big part of the first<br />
term; each boy has to pick a person from before and<br />
after 1960 and then write about them in depth and<br />
compare them. There is a wide range of activities that<br />
you can do; the art and music departments are always<br />
open.<br />
Relaxing in Social Hall at the end of Prep<br />
I have been going to boarding school for five years<br />
already but there is a huge difference from prep school<br />
boarding life, where nearly every minute of your day<br />
is planned out, to public school where you are given a<br />
responsibility to use time sensibly yourself. The first<br />
place that you learn your way around when you arrive<br />
at <strong>Radley</strong> is your Social where you work, sleep and<br />
spend much of your free time and most boys settle into<br />
it very quickly.<br />
I have really enjoyed my first term at <strong>Radley</strong> and look<br />
forward to the rest of my time.<br />
Hector Neill-Edwards,<br />
Ludgrove and K Social<br />
e Haddon Cup<br />
The Inter-Social Tug of War<br />
Standards - the Inter-Social Athetics Competition<br />
7
The Next Genera<br />
When asked about <strong>Radley</strong>’s strengths, parents and boys will overwhelmingly point to<br />
the quality of Common Room, the dons’ outstanding teaching and coaching, and the<br />
warmth and support by which boys are sustained. So, making appointments which<br />
maintain those standards is of central importance to the school. Every few years, as a<br />
generation of experienced schoolmasters retires, the task of recruiting a phalanx of new<br />
young dons becomes crucial. Over the last two years this has happened at <strong>Radley</strong>, but<br />
we have been exceptionally fortunate in the ten or so young teachers we have appointed.<br />
All are academically able and<br />
highly qualified, with most being<br />
Oxbridge graduates, several with<br />
Masters and PhDs, experienced in<br />
teaching undergraduates at Oxford<br />
and Cambridge. Several played for<br />
their universities, with a rugby blue,<br />
university lightweights and divisional<br />
rugby representation among them.<br />
Several were choral scholars, several<br />
professional actors, and a couple were<br />
experienced in banking and intergovernmental<br />
organisations. A couple<br />
had taught before, or had done PGCE<br />
teaching practice in other schools. Most<br />
had grown up with boarding, and all<br />
seemingly instinctively understood the<br />
demands of a seven day week boarding<br />
environment. Readers of the national<br />
press know how difficult it is to appoint<br />
teachers of real academic quality to<br />
schools, but it is perhaps because<br />
schools like <strong>Radley</strong> still demand much<br />
of their pupils, still believe in learning<br />
for its own sake, and still encourage<br />
the pursuit of academic enthusiasm as<br />
important in its own right, that talented<br />
young people want to go back into our<br />
schools.<br />
Similar things strike these ‘new boys’<br />
about their first few terms at <strong>Radley</strong>.<br />
Tony Jackson, historian and rugby blue<br />
loves the ‘total’ curriculum that can only<br />
be gained through a boarding education,<br />
where you can build and develop<br />
relationships through seeing boys in<br />
different areas. He is struck forcibly by<br />
the quality of Common Room, ‘where<br />
everyone is welcoming and a communal<br />
ambience is created’. ‘Support is always<br />
available’. Above all, ‘you cannot go<br />
further than mentioning the boys – to<br />
have the chance to work every day in the<br />
classroom, on the sports’ field or in the<br />
boarding house with young men so keen<br />
to learn, who want to do well and yet<br />
are ready to have a laugh, is an absolute<br />
pleasure’. Ed Tolputt, Cambridge<br />
physicist, choral scholar and formerly<br />
professional actor also enthuses about<br />
the boys; ‘when I have taken guests<br />
into the school the polite friendliness<br />
of the boys around and about made<br />
me glowingly proud’. For Tim Lawson,<br />
politics teacher, Loughborough trained<br />
rugby and cricket coach, ‘the respect<br />
between staff and boys – I simply could<br />
not believe how polite the boys are at all<br />
times’ – explains the ‘whole atmosphere<br />
of <strong>Radley</strong>’.<br />
Gareth Hughes, geographer, Cambridge<br />
doctorate, a Welsh rugby player,<br />
rower and runner, talked of the<br />
‘incredibly high academic pedigree of<br />
Common Room’, and yet of <strong>Radley</strong>’s<br />
encouragement to dons to pursue<br />
non-academic interests and hobbies<br />
to help them be roundEd He points<br />
out the centrality of the department in<br />
providing the early support network and<br />
8 THE RADLEIAN RADLEY NEWSLETTER
tion<br />
how senior dons (like outgoing Head of<br />
Geography John Harris) provide superb<br />
mentoring in those first terms. He was<br />
also struck by the ‘formidable breadth<br />
and depth of musical, academic and<br />
sporting talent in the boys’. His only<br />
caveat; he worried that so excellent was<br />
the academic provision that some boys<br />
could avoid developing that necessary<br />
self-reliance.<br />
For many, the boarding experience is<br />
a vital part of their <strong>Radley</strong> life. Charlie<br />
Scott-Malden, English and Learning<br />
Support, Cambridge graduate, Hockey<br />
and Cricket coach, commented on the<br />
pleasure of ‘playing an active part in the<br />
new, happy and thriving J Social’. Ed<br />
Tolputt, again, mentioned that being<br />
associated with F Social, as one of the<br />
sub-tutorial team, provides opportunity<br />
for non-teaching, <strong>Radley</strong>-style support.<br />
Dan Palmer, physicist, Oxford graduate,<br />
a formidable rugby prop, has previously<br />
taught in a state boarding school, and<br />
has loved the intellectual stimulus,<br />
in particular the Oxbridge sessions.<br />
Beyond the department he is struck<br />
by ‘the fantastic standard of Common<br />
Room’; ‘it is refreshing and interesting<br />
to be able to talk at lunch about your<br />
subject (or listen to another don who is<br />
passionate about his or hers)’. His only<br />
concern is that the sheer amount on at<br />
<strong>Radley</strong> can ‘eat into boys’ teaching time’.<br />
It is a balance a busy school constantly<br />
needs to review.<br />
It is gratifying that several new young<br />
dons were educated at <strong>Radley</strong>. Oli<br />
Langton, Edinburgh historian and<br />
cricketer, and Ed Holt, Oxford classicist,<br />
have both returned to their alma mater.<br />
They know both the expectations, and<br />
the form. Ed Holt, for example, says<br />
that ‘it has struck me afresh how much<br />
each individual don contributes, and the<br />
breadth of skills in Common Room’.<br />
It is this talented cohort which will<br />
provide the next generation of tutors<br />
and heads of department; indeed, the<br />
process has started with Gareth Hughes’<br />
appointment after his first year to be<br />
Head of Geography in September 2010.<br />
If <strong>Radley</strong>’s past is a guide, some will stay<br />
on and become senior masters or sub<br />
warden; and some will go off to be heads<br />
at top schools in the future. But for now,<br />
we feel the future at <strong>Radley</strong> is all the<br />
brighter for their being part of it.<br />
THE RADLEIAN NEWSLETTER 9<br />
THE RADLEY NEWSLETTER 9
Les Mis<br />
10 10 THE THE RADLEIAN RADLEY NEWSLETTER<br />
NEWSLETTER
ables<br />
THE RADLEIAN NEWSLETTER 11<br />
THE RADLEY NEWSLETTER 11
Les Misérables<br />
Around 2000 people over six performances witnessed something special in late November<br />
at <strong>Radley</strong>, a school play which was about as far removed from standard examples of the<br />
genre as it is possible to be. Spontaneous standing ovations occurred every evening; and<br />
milling audiences afterwards talked of being emotionally drained, but also exhilarated,<br />
by an exceptional production. A packed and enthusiastic matinee performance for Prep<br />
and Primary school children showed that the appeal was universal.<br />
What made Robert Lowe’s production so<br />
special? Above all it was the teamwork;<br />
over 140 people were involved and they<br />
worked together to the highest professional<br />
standards. Overcoming difficulties of<br />
aligning orchestra (behind the stage) with<br />
singers out front; unobtrusive miking of<br />
all the lead singers; the sophistication of<br />
the lighting so that no two scenes were<br />
ever the same; a stage set which involved<br />
a wonderful barricade of mountainous<br />
proportions; costumes which were<br />
colourful and rich. All these were the<br />
technical casters on which the show<br />
smoothly ran. And with these in place the<br />
actors could perform to their best, and they<br />
certainly did. What impressed most was<br />
the consistency, from the character with<br />
but one line through to those playing major<br />
roles – all acted in part every moment they<br />
were on stage. Everyone who sang a solo<br />
line was spot on – powerful, confident,<br />
convincing, and the choreographed big<br />
numbers showcased that discipline and<br />
focus. Some of those routines – ‘Master of<br />
the House’, ‘Red and Black’, ‘Do You Hear<br />
the People Sing?’ – were superb, being<br />
inventive, colourful, varied and witty.<br />
Of course there were even brighter stars<br />
shining out, those leading players taking<br />
central roles: Natasha Edwards as Fantine<br />
importantly set the tone and the standards<br />
for the rest of the show with the early<br />
brilliance of her ‘I Dreamed a Dream’. The<br />
girls had come from thirteen different<br />
schools and colleges, and played a key part<br />
in the success of Les Misérables. Charlotte<br />
Smith as Eponine, Hetty Gullifer as Cosette<br />
and a rumbustious Lucy Hole as Madame<br />
Thénardier all sang and acted beautifully.<br />
Of the boys, Piers Saich (Papplewick, K<br />
Social) as Javert was wonderfully sinister<br />
and dangerous, a powerful, terrifying, yet<br />
tortured figure. Tom Milligan (Caldicott,<br />
K Social), fresh from starring with the<br />
National Youth Music Theatre in the<br />
summer, was consistently excellent in the<br />
major part of Jean Valjean, Ali Maxwell<br />
(Cothill, A Social) was a dynamic Enjolras,<br />
leader of the revolutionary uprising,<br />
Jonathan Tarcy (Shrewsbury House,<br />
G Social) ensured that his Marius was<br />
charming and winning, where in others’<br />
hands it might have been merely soppy, and<br />
Owen Petty (Elstree, C Social) as Monsieur<br />
Thénardier was the living incarnation of a<br />
burlesque figure from a Gillray cartoon –<br />
simply larger than life, a scene stealer.<br />
Perhaps even more impressive than the<br />
quality of the leading players was that<br />
so many of the supporting actors were<br />
involved elsewhere in <strong>Radley</strong> life. For<br />
example: Fred Ahern (Sussex House,<br />
F Social) acted but was also a member<br />
of a successful 1st XV, Head of Chapel<br />
Choir and Head of F Social; Jamie Bruce-<br />
Crampton (Winchester House, F Social),<br />
1st XV, top oarsman, and Chapel Choir<br />
member; Owen Petty and Jack Emmett<br />
(Moulsford, H Social) rehearsing and<br />
acting, but also playing for the 2nd XV,<br />
and Tommy Siman (Abingdon Prep, H<br />
Social) lighting up the students’ routine and<br />
playing – and defeating – Harrow Colts<br />
1st XV in the afternoon of the Saturday<br />
performance. <strong>Radley</strong> expects boys to multitask....<br />
Putting on such a show requires stamina;<br />
rehearsals started in April, seven months<br />
before the performance. It relies on real<br />
talent in Common Room. Stephen Clarke,<br />
Musical Director is also Precentor and<br />
his skill in training singers and choirs<br />
was at the heart of this strong musical<br />
performance. Matt Barker (lighting and<br />
stage manager), and Lianne Oakley-<br />
Rowland (costumes) are exceptional,<br />
giving hours of expertise to getting things<br />
just right. Finally, Robert Lowe, Director,<br />
had a clear vision of what Les Misérables<br />
could be, and his energy and drive, his skill<br />
at drawing performances from his cast,<br />
his persistence, and insistence on only the<br />
best, brought this great enterprise to its<br />
triumphant conclusion.<br />
12 12 THE THE RADLEIAN RADLEY NEWSLETTER Website: www.radley.org.uk . Admissions enquiries: 01235 543174 . admissions@radley.org.uk