Issue 2, Feb 2001 (Back to Contents)

John Pattisson writes about the new Radley Foundation. John was at Radley in the 1940s; he was elected to Council as one of the first two Radleian Society representatives in 1965 and has been its Vice-Chairman since 1992. He is Chairman of the Foundation Trustees.

As many of you will know, early last year Radley began the process of setting up a new charitable Foundation. The Radley Foundation has as its objective the establishment of a major endowment fund for Radley, with two principal aims: to augment significantly the funds available to support scholarships and to help Radley carry out major specific developments on the scale likely to be required in this challenging new millennium.

The initiative for such a Foundation must be credited to the energy and far-sightedness of former Warden, Richard Morgan, and the concept has been enthusiastically endorsed by his successor Angus McPhail. Much, too, is owed to planning and vigorous support by my fellow OR and Council member, Tony Robinson. Perhaps the most important step was Council's appointment last year of Judy Longworth as full-time Foundation Director. Judy came to us from Balliol College, Oxford, where she had deservedly achieved acclaim for building up relationships with its alumni and as a very successful fund-raiser. At Radley, Judy is working with Jock Mullard and the Society's Committee to support the growing revitalisation of Radleian Society activities - as well, of course, as taking on the responsibility for Radley's fund-raising.

The Foundation will continue and extend the admirable work over two decades and more of the Friends of Radley, which has been reconstituted with the full support of its outgoing trustees as the new Foundation. The Foundation trustees, by whom I am privileged to have been invited to be Chairman, will have a largely supervisory role, particularly as regards the funds that will be raised - which, of course, will be held separately from those of the College.

There are now six Foundation trustees, three appointed by Council (Christopher Clarke, Thomas Seymour and myself) and two by the Radleian Society (Michael Wigley and Michael Van der Gucht, their current President and Chairman), with Tony Robinson, an ex officio member, as Chairman of the active Foundation Board, which will be the driving force, with Judy Longworth, of our fund-raising efforts.

We are encouraged, too, that a small but highly respected group of ORs and others who have had a strong affiliation with Radley have agreed to become Patrons of the Foundation. Their names appear on this page; we are enormously grateful to each of them for this demonstration of support for the Foundation's aims.

At this stage, you may well be wondering why Radley needs an ambitious new Foundation! The school is riding high, demand for places continues unabated and Radley's financial position appears stronger today than it has ever been. However, further ahead the outlook may be much less assured. The best in education will remain expensive; the costs of expanding technology alone will make it increasingly so and the pace of change can be expected to accelerate rather than diminish. If Radley's academic standards, its outstanding Common Room, its sporting and cultural facilities and physical amenities are to be maintained and enhanced, a much stronger financial base will be needed as the twenty-first century advances.

Radley's current financial position needs to be seen in perspective. We are fortunate to have such a beautiful campus, but historically Radley has never had the significant financial endowment of other leading schools (for example, recent published accounts show Eton having financial investments alone valued in excess of £120 million and Rugby having an annual rental income of £1.9 million).

Invested funds to support scholarships at Radley, which a generation ago were virtually non-existent, have been built up to nearly £6 million but their income still covers less than half of the existing level of awards. Not surprisingly, successive Wardens have dearly wanted to see this gap reduced in order to be able to increase and widen the range of scholarships that Radley can offer. The free financial assets, the Reserve Fund, are currently some £8 million - many would say an enviable figure, but in truth little more in today's conditions than a prudent retention to meet unforeseen eventualities. The hugely successful Queen's Court and the recently-opened languages and humanities building together cost £5 million. A new theatre and a sports clubhouse the two most urgent of a longer list of "desirable" projects – would cost as much again. The margin for the future is clearly very thin.

Council is proud that prudent management, for which Bursar Richard Beauchamp deserves the credit, has achieved consistent operating surpluses in recent years, but deliberately Council has not sought to achieve the level of surpluses that might have been justified in a wholly commercial organization. It expects to put aside increasing sums in the future from fee income to maintain and improve existing facilities, and to contribute to new ones. But, looking ahead, it is evident that the College's needs will go considerably beyond what can be funded from fees and existing resources. It should be added that, while there may be scope for further land sales, that source of funding is likely to be much less significant than in past decades. The success of the Foundation will be of crucial importance to Radley in the years ahead.

In due course, the Foundation will be asking for your financial support. Unlike the 'one-off' appeals of the past, the Foundation will have a wider brief and a longer-term horizon. We shall focus on the improved and simplified tax reliefs now available for charitable donations, particularly for those who are able to consider gifts of shares, and we shall not hesitate to talk about the benefit Radley can derive from legacies.

Everyone approached will be encouraged to give at a level and in a way with which they feel comfortable. I know that these approaches will be conducted in a professional, confidential and sensitive manner, and they will not intrude into occasions when Radleians meet socially and for fellowship.

There will, of course, always be competing claims on individual resources, but I am confident that when the time comes the many who have developed a great affection for Radley, as boys, dons or parents, will want to play their part generously in securing its future as a continuing centre of excellence among independent schools. Let us at the very least do all we can to ensure that Radley remains - in the Founder's words - "No Ordinary Place"!