Radley College

Tatler’s Public School of the Year 2024, Radley College is a full boarding school for boys aged 13-18 situated on a beautiful 800-acre estate of rural countryside in Oxfordshire. As a proudly traditional school with a Christian ethos, we seek to create a community where boys will be happy, grow in self-confidence, thrive academically, and make the most of the many opportunities on offer.

Founded in 1847 and numbering 770 pupils, Radley is renowned for added value, outstanding pastoral care and strong community. Every boy is known as an individual and, alongside the teaching staff who live on site, the daily evening Chapel services and central dining promote the sense of family that is so special to Radley.

We pride ourselves in the pursuit of excellence both inside the classroom and out, and on encouraging boys to develop their talents and discover new interests. We want our boys to be ambitious; to set challenging goals and to meet them. We want them to become impressive young men who lead by example and hold the core values of humanity, compassion and empathy. We want them to be adventurous; to try new things and to work in partnership with, and for, others. Above all, a Radley education is about the values that will underpin success in all its forms throughout a Radleian’s life: as leaders and as human beings. A wealth of societies, eminent visiting speakers, entrepreneurship initiatives and our expanding partnership programme all support these objectives.

We have a thriving academic culture. The three-year rolling averages for A-Level results (to reflect the varying conditions in which examinations have been sat in recent years) are strong: A* - 42%, A* - A 75%, A* - B 92%, as are GCSE results: Grade 9 44%, Grade 8-9 69% and Grade 7-9 85%. 94% of our Sixth Form candidates went on to Russell group Universities and 6% to international universities, particularly in the US with offers from Harvard, Stanford, Duke, Yale, NYU, Columbia and Princeton. The school offers a wide range of subjects at GCSE and A Level, including Drama, Design Electronics, Computer Science and Geology. Alongside our A-Level provision we also run the Curriculum Extension Programme to encourage breadth and depth – courses include music technology, international relations, film studies, robotics and a mini MBA.

There is a wealth of co-curricular opportunities enabling boys to receive a genuine all-round education and every boy is encouraged to take part in the wider life of the community. We offer 18 different sports at a competitive level but our focus activities are rugby, hockey, cricket, tennis and rowing. Our sports facilities are genuinely world class, and we strike a happy balance between elite performance with participation. Our U15 rugby team won the National Schools Cup in 2024, we regularly reach the final stages of The Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta, and we are a national centre of excellence for racquet sports.

Musically, there are at least three concerts a week which often include an eclectic mix of classical instrumentalists with singers, rock groups and even DJs. Alongside orchestras, brass ensembles and percussion groups, boys regularly form their own chamber ensembles, with our Guitar Quartet reaching the national final of the Pro Corda Chamber Music Festival in 2024. The 130-strong choir leads the music in Chapel where the boys are renowned for their gusty hymn singing. In the professionally equipped theatre, performances range from full-scale musical productions to more intimate performances of Shakespeare and modern classics. There is a play for each year group led by a professional director, with support from fellow boys. Radley is renowned for nurturing talent in any discipline and our societies provide a home to those less comfortable on the sports field or on stage. Most famously perhaps is Radley Video which live-streams fixtures, creates all the College’s promotional video and enters films into small film festivals around the world. Radley has quickly become one of the country’s top schools for robotics. In 2023 and 2024, the College qualified for the VEX World Championship finals held in Dallas, Texas.

We are fortunate to do all this in our stunning rural campus inspired by the nearby city – and university – of Oxford, an hour and a half’s drive from London. Here boys make the most of the outstanding opportunities available to them be those our Art and Design Engineering workshops and Gallery, our robotics playground, the Strength and Conditioning Centre, golf course, indoor rowing tank, rackets, fives and real tennis courts, the recording studio and recital hall.

Boys join one of 11 Socials (houses), each with a dedicated pastoral team. The boys sleep in cubicles in their first year in small dormitory areas before moving to their own individual study bedsits thereafter. Cocoa is a regular nightly gathering after prep in each social where every year group meets and chats within a friendly environment. Boys eat most of their meals centrally in the Dining Hall, enabling them to build friendships across the whole year. A combination of exeats, half term and privilege weekends means most boys will be home every second or third weekend and parents are welcome at matches, Sunday Chapel and various concerts, plays and cultural weekends throughout every term.

Boys can be registered from birth but later applications are also welcome through Open Entry (registration in Year 5). All candidates sit the ISEB Common Pre-test in Year 6 with interviews and Heads’ reports also playing a key role. Common Entrance at 13+ is for setting purposes. Scholarship places (academic, music, drama, art, innovation, sport and all-rounder) are offered in the year of entry. Radley has a range of generous funding programmes, which aim to ensure the College welcomes families from all walks of life. The Radley Keys Award is an all-inclusive scholarship for talented and ambitious boys from state school backgrounds, and there are other programmes for boys requiring part-funded awards. Some funding is linked to success in the scholarship process.

Our sector-leading partnership programme builds on our existing links with organisations locally and across the globe, allowing our boys and staff to challenge their perceptions of the world and enhance their understanding of societal issues. The ongoing development of our campus will ensure Radley is a world-leader in sustainability and digital learning now, and in the future.