The following is an extract from Radley’s new Five Year Strategic Vision 2025-2030. The full publication can be read here.
WE KNOW WHAT WE ARE
We are a boarding school
All boys board at Radley. And boarding is about so much more than the physical space or the logistical fact of living on site. We have the advantage of time: for individual pastoral care for conversation for academic enrichment. We have the advantage of resource: remarkable facilities; staff living on site breadth of activity. We have the advantage of community: strong relationships; a common purpose; a shared identity. We are a ‘College’ with ‘Socials’ for a reason: we do what we do together.
We are a boys’ school
The first fundamental of a school is for it to be a good school and we would want prospective parents to choose Radley as such. But we would also want them to embrace it as a boys’ school: a place where boys can be themselves; stay younger for longer; where a Bigside prop can play the flute; where an actor can row in the 1st VIII. Where academic aspiration is not constrained by a desire to ‘look cool’; where teaching is geared to an individual’s needs; where every penny is invested in boys. Successful boys’ education combats the dangerously superficial presumptions that are often made: it proves that boys can work hard; they can be thoughtful; they can be aspirational. And, crucially, it provides a space where boys can develop and express themselves emotionally at their own pace and in their own way. In our world, that is of priceless value.
We are an all-round school
We are academically ambitious and expect boys to do well in exams. We encourage boys to pass their music grades, succeed on the sports pitches, win competitions: to set goals and achieve them, at whatever their level. But we remain firmly wedded to the principle that education is about much more than measurable results, though they matter. We want boys to try new things, learn to take risks, take themselves out of their comfort zones. And we will continue to promote an all-round education in which intellectual stretch, sport, culture, conviviality and fun are at the heart of what we are about.
So, we know what we believe in, and we know what we are. Foundations that have served us well in the past and will do so in the future. Over the lifetime of the 2025-30 Strategic Plan, therefore, we remain committed to combining the wisdom of the old with the excitement of the new.
Of course, we judge success by much more than measurable KPIs. The things that really matter? The new don that comments unprompted that she is loving every minute. The hard work of a boy that gets them over the grade boundary. The visitor who points out how pleasant and polite the boys are. The bonding of a team in victory or defeat. The support boys always show to each other in times of difficulty. The singing in Chapel, the buzz at Cocoa, the camaraderie in the JCR. And so much more. No strategic plan can capture that. As you read these pages, remember that Radley is so much more than a set of numbers or a list of bullet points. It is a vibrant, dynamic, friendly community, where all staff, academic and operational – join together, committed to the pursuit of one goal: the nurturing of young men of fine character. The young men that the world needs.
