Other Activities

Community Partnerships

Introduction

Helping the community has always played a large part in the ethos of Radley. The highly successful Wednesday Activities programme in which all fifth formers (unless they continue with CCF) help with projects useful to the local community continues to go from strength to strength.

From mid September to mid February, each Wednesday in term time (except one week in October after CCF weekend, when we move to Monday) boys work in one of the community service groups. After time spent travelling, the work session is between one & one and half hours. The earliest group leaves Radley at 1.10pm and the latest returns about 4.20pm in time for evening lessons, which start at 4.40pm.

Aims of the Programme

• To develop a deeper sense of social responsibility in Radley boys through greater awareness of wider society
• To develop social skills of the Radley boys by broadening their experience of and engagement in the local community
• To develop specific skills of Radley boys depending on the community work undertaken (e.g. gardening skills)
• To provide useful volunteering help to our partners in the community

Projects currently include:

• Concert Parties (several groups of musicians visit residential homes for the elderly to perform music and chat over a cup of tea)
   
• Visiting elderly residents at Mayott House
   
• Working as volunteers at local schools:
   
  • Oxford Academy (Latin teaching)
  • Radley Primary School (learning support & outside projects)
  • St Swithuns Primary School (learning support)
  • Appleton Primary School (chess club)
  • St Nicholas Primary School (chess club)
  • Rush Common Primary School (maths for gifted pupils, chess club)
  • Thomas Reade Primary School (after school sports)
  • Kingfisher School (specialist school for learning difficulties)
  • Mary Hare (school for the deaf)
      
• Gardening (Littlemore Church & Radley Church)
   
• Dog walking for local residents
   
• Abingdon Wellbeing Resource Centre (Day Centre - visiting their elderly clients & producing their monthly newsletter and offering IT help for the elderly)

In addition there are two long running overseas projects. In Romania groups of 6.1 boys teach underprivileged children and in Kerala, South India, those in 6.2 have the opportunity to work on house building projects. As well as being extremely valuable to the boys who go on them they are of genuine and considerable help to the communities with which we are working.
Radley College has established a partnership with Gehandu School in Mbulu, Tanzania which will involve annual visits for the 6th form.