The Bursar: turning visions into reality - Radley College

Lusimus . THE RADLEY NEWSLETTER
The New Theatre
Queen’s Court
for the Modern Languages,
English and Religious Studies
departments.
All boys eat in Hall and
in 2004 the Kitchens were
completely rebuilt with new
entrances to the counters from
Covered Passage and from
nearby D Social. There are now
four counters, three offering
a choice of hot food and
one offering salads and cold
options.
The New Pavilion was opened
in 2005 providing muchneeded
changing rooms for
visiting teams on the ground
floor and space for parents and
spectators on the first floor.
The circular design provides
a wonderful 360 degree vista
of Bigside, adjoining pitches,
athletics track and tennis
courts.
In 2005 the New Theatre,
attached to the Music School
and the Silk Hall, hosted its
first performance of School
for Scandal to rave reviews.
Radley has one of the finest
school theatres in the country
with seating for almost 400.
In addition its generous foyer,
rehearsal, dressing, lighting
and teaching facilities have
enhanced Drama at Radley.
The latest projects include
the two new Socials, J and K,
which open in September this
year. The facilities in these
Socials will be superb and one
of the first tasks of the new
Bursar will be to bring the
other Socials up to the same
standard.
Radley’s Real Tennis Court,
inspired by Ian Balding and
Mick Dean, is being built
alongside the Sports Hall and
will open in the Michaelmas
Term.
Apart from the large building
projects there have been
innumerable improvements
in other areas: the Laundry,
the Tennis Courts, housing for
staff, a new telephone system,
refurbishment of Socials, fire
doors, alarms and escapes,
an extension to the pitches, a
new roof for the boathouse, a
new Clerk of Works yard, the
Countryside Centre, upgrades
to the electricity, gas and water
supplies, the enlargement
of the JCR, the computer
network, the re-ordering of
the altarpiece, and the work on
the trees and landscaping. And
while all this is going on the
Bursary has to deal with over
6000 standard maintenance
requests each year.
Richard Beauchamp and his
team have maintained masterly
control of the College’s
finances which has allowed all
the projects to go ahead with
confidence. His huge talent is
for sympathetic development
which blends the new with the
existing buildings to provide
magnificent facilities without
changing the character of the
campus. Together with two
Wardens, Richard Morgan
and Angus McPhail, Richard
Beauchamp has turned visions
into reality.
The Bursar is respected
nationally – he is the Bursars’
Bursar, always elected by his
fellow Bursars to represent
them in matters of great
importance. The hours he has
worked have been prodigious,
with the lights in his office
burning long into the night. It
seems certain that Radley may
need more than one person to
replace him.
Learning Support is now at the
centre of Radley’s academic
effort. About 25% of all boys
need special help at some
time in their Radley careers.
Richard’s wife, Patricia, has been
a key member of the Learning
Support team for fifteen years.
She has been teaching English
for five years, is a Shell Form
Master and, with her many great
services to Radley, including
the continuing work, inherited
from Diana Silk, on the Chapel
cushions, she has made a very
special contribution to Radley.
Full appreciations of Richard
and Patricia Beauchamp
will appear in The Radleian.
Meanwhile we salute you both
and thank you.
Clockwise from above: The New Pavilion, the Richard Morgan Library, the Real Tennis Court under construction and the servery area of the Kitchens
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