This year's A level results were a record - 90.2% of papers resulted in As or Bs. There were no Es or Us. Radley was 32nd in the Times Top 1000 Schools as measured by average UCAS points per candidate - 434 (c.f. 430 points in 2004, our previous record). We would have been higher still were not IB schools to have been included in that table; the UCAS points equivalence, IB to A level, is more than generous to IB candidates and has been the subject of heated debate in the media. Once again the decision to take all AS and A2 papers together at the end of 2 years was vindicated. The A/B% for this year group's AS papers taken this summer was over 93%.

56 boys out of a cohort of 126 got 3As or more; 7 got 5As and 2 [Alex Chadwick and Michael Shepherd] got 6As. Alex Chadwick gained one of the top 5 Electronics A level marks in the country. Michael Shephard and Peter Gwynne were in the top 10 in the country for A level Further Maths; Arthur Voelcker, Sebastian Lomas and Tobin Chew were amongst the top 10 for A Level Design and Technology out of 2,753 candidates. Radley still has a 55% pass rate for entry at Common Entrance, and therefore has a wide spectrum of ability; it is particularly satisfying that the bottom 3 Radleians on entry 5 years ago achieved AAAA, AAB and ABBB respectively, a reflection of their own motivation and application, and of the quality of teaching they received.

A great deal can be achieved if a year group is serious-minded, organised and hard-working, as this one was. It did well in Oxbridge entrance at the end of 2006 when 20 places were offered. We have – with the exception of 2005/6 – maintained that average of 20 over a number of years, but the pressures for more universities to widen access have made sustaining the average a greater challenge each year. This year group was also biddable, teachable, and rewarding. One of Radley's greatest strengths is that of its Common Room, and the Heads of Departments lead it with ambition and high expectations of even limited candidates. The fact that Radley is an all-boarding school is hugely important; there is no formal exam leave and most weekday evenings and every Sunday through the exam period see impromptu and extempore revision sessions run before impending exams. Allied to all this is the outstanding service of the Learning Support Department led by Robin Schofield; in his time scores of Radleians with literacy or organisational problems have been guided through in weekly sessions to achieving outstanding results. The year group of 2007 was no exception for there were remarkable individual feats, many boys from the Learning Support programme gaining As and Bs.

The GCSE, where 80.5% of papers were graded A* or A saw a return to the averages of the years before 2006's heroics (89.5% A*/A). They were good results with some excellent individual performances. 7 boys got 10 A*s and 46 boys got 10 A* and As. Charles Cutteridge gained one of the top 5 Spanish GCSE marks out of over 35,000 candidates and Arthur Sawbridge was amongst the top 10 in GCSE English out of 20,516 candidates.

This coming year will see some difficult decisions being made. New A levels come on stream in 2008; should we at Radley take them, despite fears about the standard and content of the Science papers, or should we embrace the pioneering Cambridge Pre-University exams being refined at present and due to be taught for the first time in 2008? As ever, the guiding principle will be to do what is right for the boys and - more pertinently - what is right for the particular cohort who will, either way, be the guinea-pig year, embarking at it will be the 6th Form in 2008.