Radley College
Encyclopedia
Radley College founded in 1847, is a British independent school
for boys on the edge of the English village of Radley
, near to the market town
of Abingdon
in Oxfordshire
, and has become a well-established boarding school. The campus of school buildings, playing fields, golf course, lake, and farmland now covers some 800 acres (3.2 km²), including the largest continuous area of mown grass in England. It is one of the four remaining boys-only, boarding-only independent senior schools in the United Kingdom, the others being Winchester College
, Harrow School
and Eton College
, although several others, including Christ's Hospital
, Gordonstoun School, Sedbergh School
and Uppingham School
, are overwhelmingly for boarding pupils.
(1804–79) and Robert Corbet Singleton (1810–81). The first pupil was Samuel Reynolds
who in 1897 wrote his reminiscences of the school.The Founders were inspired by the Oxford Movement
in the Anglican Church and aimed to create a school for boys where Christian principles of brotherliness were reinforced by the beauty of the environment and of the furnishings and objects which surrounded them. Daily choral services in a finely decorated chapel were a key aspect of the school, and remain so today. In addition, each boy had his own private space, a study and bedroom from the second year, and an enclosed cubicle within a dormitory in the first year: this was a pioneering innovation which was rapidly adopted by other leading English public schools.
The original idea was to found a school which mirrored the social and administrative structures of a College of the University of Oxford. Thus the Headmaster is called the Warden, and the teaching staff originally called Fellows (Latin Socius), are now known as Dons. The boys were initially affiliated to individual Fellows for pastoral care, and thus became known as Sociales, from which Radley derives the unique name for its boarding houses: Socials.
The school was originally housed in Radley Hall, now known as the Mansion, built in the 1720s for the Stonehouse family. Later in the 18th century the estate passed to the Bowyer family, who commissioned Capability Brown to re-design the grounds. Elements of his design are still visible. After the school was founded, extensive building work took place, beginning with and Chapel, replaced by the current building in 1895, F Social and the Octagon, the earliest living accommodation for the boys, the Clocktower, now the icon of Radley, and the Dining Hall in 1910. Building work has continued throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, with two new Socials, a state of the art weights-room/gym, a new theatre, and a Real Tennis
court completed since 2006. The extensive grounds include a lake, golf course and woodland.
The college is an academic institution that achieves very competitive public exam results - an average of 92% As and Bs at A level examinations over the last two years - but music, art, and drama too play an important role in the life of the school, the latter more so than ever after the opening of the 400-seat "New Theatre" in October 2006. Over 20 entrance scholarships are awarded each year by examination and interview - for music, art, drama and all-round skills as well as academic excellence. Sixth Form Organ Scholarships are even awarded, to support the large Chapel Choir and choristership scheme. Recently the school has been attempting to raise funds to expand these schemes.
The school was inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate in February 2008. The inspection report rated the school's standard of education as "outstanding", which is the highest rating achievable.
In Spring 2011, the FT1000 review of A level results in the Financial Times, based on government issued statistics, ranked Radley 23rd in the UK, behind Eton (13th) and Winchester (7th) but ahead of local peer institutions Harrow (ranked 39th), Abingdon (42), Marlborough (ranked 76), and Wellington (220)
Most sports are played competitively and a number of hours are set aside for them daily. Rugby is the major sport of the Michaelmas (Autumn) Term
. The 1st XV team and their pitch is known as 'Bigside' while the first years' sports teams are known as 'Midgets'. The school fields 21 rugby teams on most Saturdays of the Michaelmas term. Radley is widely recognised for its rowing
reputation. In the Lent (Spring) term
hockey and football are the main sports, alongside fives
, for those not choosing to row, with cricket
, tennis
and athletics all popular in the Summer term
. Some recent Old Radleians have progressed to play cricket for England or captain county level cricket teams. The cricket grounds have been described as 'one of the best in the country' while the sporting facilities have been described as world class.
Recently in rowing, Radley has competed at Henley Royal Regatta
, having reached the semi-final of the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup
twice in the last two years and winning it in 1998. The boathouse is located on a stretch of the river Isis about one mile (1.6 km) away from the main college campus.
Sports such as fives
, rackets, sailing
and polo
are all well represented. A real tennis
court opened in July 2008, which made Radley College the only school in the world to have fives, squash, badminton, tennis, racquets and real tennis courts all on campus.
Despite such strong competition in so many sports, Rugby (Union) remains the most popular, and most competitive sport for boys at Radley.
The pupils live in one of ten "Socials" — see the school vernacular
— named A–H, plus J and K, built for the start of the new academic year in September 2008 (The letter 'I' was excluded since it allegedly resembled the number 1 and the letter J, and because there is a history of 'I Social' being used in satirical College publications, most recently the Chronicle - see below). In the past, some boys additionally spent a number of terms resident in Orchard House, not a Social in itself but a smaller boarding house for about 30 pupils in the upper three years, but it has now been amalgamated into J Social. The socials are sometimes known by the name of their "Tutor" (Housemaster). For example, G Social is also known as Mathews' social after Mr Will O C Mathews. Each social has an Assistant Housemaster ('Resident Sub-Tutor') and Matron ('Pastoral Housemistress') who are also resident in the building. The socials J and K have been recently built to distribute the boys, making them the newest socials added in 100 years. As a result the number of boys in each social has dropped from an average of 80 to about 70, and the overall size of the school has increased notably.
The socials compete against each other constantly in sports and extracurricular activities ranging from debating to chess, bridge, singing and, now, even the efficiency of their recycling of paper, plastic and cans. For the Shells (first years) there is even an inter-social Drama Prize - the Haddon Cup.
Many Socials put on an annual play, performed and perhaps directed by boys in that social. Alternatively or additionally they might have a "Cultural Evening" of assorted musical performances, sketches, dances and dramatic extracts, staged in the Silk Hall or one of the theatres.
Each social has Social colours, worn by all boys as both a strip on their gown and the colours of the Social tie. The colours are different to each other and easily recognisable - e.g. the H colours are yellow and dark green, whereas the K colours are white and light green.
In earlier years there was also the "Fourth Form", which confusingly was a smaller group age 12-13 admitted in the summer term, having taken the entrance exams in the spring term.
The term 'Shell' for a lower year group originates from the shell-shaped alcove in 'School' at Westminster where the younger boys were originally taught.
Training takes place on Wednesday afternoons, either in the College grounds or at local military establishments. Each Section runs one Field Weekend (Sat afternoon - Mon evening) each term; this gives the opportunity for extended and enhanced training. Clothing, weapons, ammunition, equipment and Instructors are provided by the regular Services to assist with CCF training.
.
There have been three official histories of the College, commissioned to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation, the centenary and the sesquicentenary respectively.
‘’Sicut Columbae: fifty years of St Peter’s College, Radley.’’ By T.D. Raikes and other Old Radleians. James Parker & Co., Oxford and London, 1897.
Raikes’ history of the first fifty years of the College is primarily based on reminiscences and first-hand accounts of the earliest years, informed by an author who had been schoolboy, prefect, teacher and close family member of several other Old Radleians. The sections on school sports are particularly valuable.
A second edition was produced by Ernest Bryans in 1925 under an amended title Sicut Columbae: a history of St Peter’s College, Radley, 1847–1924. Basil Blackwell, for the Radleian Society, Oxford [1925]. Bryans made a few corrections to the earlier text and added chapters which cover the intervening twenty-five years.
The history of Radley College, 1847–1947. By AK Boyd. Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1948.
Boyd’s history of Radley was written to celebrate the school’s centenary. Like TD Raikes, he had an unrivalled personal knowledge of the school, but he also sought to build on the earlier history with much more documentary material. To this end, he virtually created the school Archives by sourcing all of the extant material from anyone who had any past connection with the school, occasionally commissioning transcripts where the original was retained by the families who owned it. The strength of Raikes’ history was the depth of first-hand memoirs; Boyd’s in his use of, and extensive quotations from, the source material.
No ordinary place: Radley College and the public school system. By Christopher Hibbert. John Murray, London, 1997. ISBN 0719551765
Christopher Hibbert’s history of the College was commissioned to celebrate the 150th anniversary of its foundation in 1997. Hibbert was described as ‘the leading popular historian now living in England.’ His approach was to place the school’s history within the context of public school education in the 19th and 20th centuries. This allows a thematic approach within each chronological section.
Thomas Graham Jackson was the architect who designed the infirmary and cloisters, chapel, dining hall, H Social, the South African War memorial, and the War Memorial gateway (Mem Arch). Updated version of the 1950 edition edited by Basil Jackson
Looking at Radley: an architectural and historical survey of the earlier buildings. By M.T. Cherniavsky & A.E. Money. Radley College, [1981]
Based on three articles and a course on the history of the buildings taught by Michael Cherniavsky whilst on a sabbatical at Radley College in1979. He describes the exterior views of Radley that would still be recognised by a visitor from the time of Warden Sewell in the 1850s. Tony Money, Archivist at Radley, then wrote about the various interior uses to which the buildings have been put over the years. The book is illustrated from photos in the College Archives.
Radley Hall: the rediscovery of a country house. By Alison Maguire in Architectural History
, Vol. 44, Essays in Architectural History Presented to John Newman (2001). Detailed study of the Mansion by a member of the architectural team responsible for its renovation after the fire in 1997
Capability Brown and the eighteenth-century English landscape. 2nd edn. By Roger Turner. Chichester, Phillimore, 1999. ISBN 1860771149
A brief note in the gazetteer about Brown’s work for Sir William Stonhouse at Radley Hall in 1770–1.
Pioneering survey compiled from the field notes of the College Natural History Society, organised by classes and genera with locations
The Radley district: its history, botany, entomology and geology. Ed. by T Field. Parker & Son, Oxford, 1912.
Individual chapters on history, botany and entomology by the Warden and staff of Radley College, and on geology by M Odling, F.G.S., formerly a boy at the school, who became one of the first Demonstrators in Geology at the University of Leeds. Material was drawn from the College Natural History Society records and excursions
Argues that the political and economic stability of the British upper class and, more importantly, the enthusiasm of boys at English boarding schools, was a crucial factor in the spread of contemporary team sports around the world. Draws extensively on material from Radley College Archives.
Football at Radley, 1847-2000. Tony Money. [Radley College, 2000]
Study of the development of football in the 19th century as individual schools created their own game, including Radley Football, and the subsequent adoption of Rugby Football as a nationally recognised sport.
A forgotten genius: Sewell of St. Columba’s and Radley. By Lionel James. Faber and Faber, London, 1945.
Biography of William Sewell, founder of Radley College, by a former member of staff. Makes extensive use of Sewell’s diaries, letters and sermons
A memoir of the Reverend George Wharton, Precentor of Saint Peter’s College Radley. By Roscoe Beddoes. Oxford University Press, 1931.
‘Kitty’ Wharton was the most eccentric and long-serving of the 19th century schoolmasters of Radley
Thomas Field, D.D.: a memoir. By Harold S. Goodrich. SPCK, London, 1937.
Thomas Field was Warden of Radley, 1897–1913.
In addition, biographies and autobiographies by Old Radleians often contain brief accounts of time at the school.
Jaspar Tristram. By AW Clarke. William Heinemann, London, 1899.
‘ A sad evocation of the torments of adolescent homosexual love.’
The puppets dallying. Greening & Co., London, 1905 and Swan’s milk. Faber and Faber, London, 1924. By Louis Marlow.
Young England. By Douglas Strong. Methuen, London, 1919.
Acclaimed when it was published because the novel was written within a year of leaving the school, whilst convalescing from wounds received on the Western Front: ‘he was no blind lover of a system under which he had risen to the top; he longed for its reform, and this book describes his own constructive policy of change.’
Caper sauce. By SPB Mais. Hutchinson, London, c1950.
SPB Mais was a part-time teacher at Radley during the Second World War, whilst Eastbourne College was evacuated to Radley. The novel describes the wartime adventures of a family forced to keep moving to find work, with Radley and Eastbourne thinly disguised as ‘Lumbury’ and ‘Sherstin’
Radley vicarage by Radley History Club, 2005.
A report of a 'buildings record' survey and archive research undertaken to determine the history, construction, and later development of this 14th-century building
The history of Radley by Patrick Drysdale … [and others] Radley History Club, 2002.
History of the village from prehistory to the present
The Radley College Chronicle was founded in February 2005. It is edited by a team of pupils in an online Wiki-style model (using Courseforum software) before being redacted into a fixed version and published three or four times a term. Material is contributed by the team of editors, and by other pupils and 'dons'. Original illustrations accompany the articles, commissioned especially from Art Scholars at the College.
The paper has regular columns, including 'A Tutor's Diary' - a spoof diary of a housemaster of the fictional 'I Social'; 'Social Stereotypes' - similar to The Daily Telegraph
's regular series, but written about "Radley types that may be seen in a Social near you..."; 'The Rumbler' - a regular opinion piece modelled on The Times
' 'Thunderer; and 'Desert Island Dons' - a series of interviews with 'dons' (teachers) at the College in a similar style to Radio 4's
Desert Island Discs
. Nearly all of the articles are published anonymously and the Correspondence section is a mix of anonymous and signed correspondence from members of all parts of the Radley College community. The current Editor is John Warner (a VI.1).
for a series called "Public School", broadcast on BBC2 early in 1980, and directed by award-winning fim-maker Richard Denton. Capturing the end of a period when such schools felt genuinely afraid that the Labour government might push through legislation to close them down (there is a memorable scene of the headmaster expressing his delight in Margaret Thatcher
's first election victory), the programme nevertheless now seems like a period piece, if only because it shows certain teaching methods and values that would never be allowed today. .
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
for boys on the edge of the English village of Radley
Radley
Radley is a village and civil parish about northwest of the centre of Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Lower Radley on the River Thames. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire....
, near to the market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
of Abingdon
Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Abingdon or archaically Abingdon-on-Thames is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places that claim to be Britain's oldest continuously occupied town, with...
in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, and has become a well-established boarding school. The campus of school buildings, playing fields, golf course, lake, and farmland now covers some 800 acres (3.2 km²), including the largest continuous area of mown grass in England. It is one of the four remaining boys-only, boarding-only independent senior schools in the United Kingdom, the others being Winchester College
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
, Harrow School
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
and Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, although several others, including Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital is an English coeducational independent day and boarding school with Royal Charter located in the Sussex countryside just south of Horsham in Horsham District, West Sussex, England...
, Gordonstoun School, Sedbergh School
Sedbergh School
Sedbergh School is a boarding school in Sedbergh, Cumbria, for boys and girls aged 13 to 18. Nestled in the Howgill Fells, it is known for sporting sides, such as its Rugby Union 1st XV.-Background:...
and Uppingham School
Uppingham School
Uppingham School is a co-educational independent school of the English public school tradition, situated in the small town of Uppingham in Rutland, England...
, are overwhelmingly for boarding pupils.
History and ethos
Radley was founded in 1847 by William SewellWilliam Sewell
William Sewell , English divine and author, was born at Newport, Isle of Wight, the son of a solicitor.He was educated at Winchester and Merton College, Oxford, was elected a fellow of Exeter College in 1827, and from 1831-1853 was a tutor there. From 1836-1841 he was White's Professor of Moral...
(1804–79) and Robert Corbet Singleton (1810–81). The first pupil was Samuel Reynolds
Samuel Harvey Reynolds
Samuel Reynolds was the first pupil of Radley College and later became a renowned divine, journalist and man of letters.-Early life:...
who in 1897 wrote his reminiscences of the school.The Founders were inspired by the Oxford Movement
Oxford Movement
The Oxford Movement was a movement of High Church Anglicans, eventually developing into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose members were often associated with the University of Oxford, argued for the reinstatement of lost Christian traditions of faith and their inclusion into Anglican liturgy...
in the Anglican Church and aimed to create a school for boys where Christian principles of brotherliness were reinforced by the beauty of the environment and of the furnishings and objects which surrounded them. Daily choral services in a finely decorated chapel were a key aspect of the school, and remain so today. In addition, each boy had his own private space, a study and bedroom from the second year, and an enclosed cubicle within a dormitory in the first year: this was a pioneering innovation which was rapidly adopted by other leading English public schools.
The original idea was to found a school which mirrored the social and administrative structures of a College of the University of Oxford. Thus the Headmaster is called the Warden, and the teaching staff originally called Fellows (Latin Socius), are now known as Dons. The boys were initially affiliated to individual Fellows for pastoral care, and thus became known as Sociales, from which Radley derives the unique name for its boarding houses: Socials.
The school was originally housed in Radley Hall, now known as the Mansion, built in the 1720s for the Stonehouse family. Later in the 18th century the estate passed to the Bowyer family, who commissioned Capability Brown to re-design the grounds. Elements of his design are still visible. After the school was founded, extensive building work took place, beginning with and Chapel, replaced by the current building in 1895, F Social and the Octagon, the earliest living accommodation for the boys, the Clocktower, now the icon of Radley, and the Dining Hall in 1910. Building work has continued throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, with two new Socials, a state of the art weights-room/gym, a new theatre, and a Real Tennis
Real tennis
Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original indoor racquet sport from which the modern game of lawn tennis , is descended...
court completed since 2006. The extensive grounds include a lake, golf course and woodland.
Academic aspects
The school was inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate in February 2008. The inspection report rated the school's standard of education as "outstanding", which is the highest rating achievable.
In Spring 2011, the FT1000 review of A level results in the Financial Times, based on government issued statistics, ranked Radley 23rd in the UK, behind Eton (13th) and Winchester (7th) but ahead of local peer institutions Harrow (ranked 39th), Abingdon (42), Marlborough (ranked 76), and Wellington (220)
Sports
Michaelmas term
Michaelmas term is the first academic term of the academic years of the following British and Irish universities:*University of Cambridge*University of Oxford*University of St...
. The 1st XV team and their pitch is known as 'Bigside' while the first years' sports teams are known as 'Midgets'. The school fields 21 rugby teams on most Saturdays of the Michaelmas term. Radley is widely recognised for its rowing
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
reputation. In the Lent (Spring) term
Lent term
Lent term is the name of the spring academic term at the following British universities:*University of Cambridge*Kings College London*London School of Economics and Political Science*Exeter University*University of Lancaster...
hockey and football are the main sports, alongside fives
Fives
Fives is a British sport believed to derive from the same origins as many racquet sports. In fives, a ball is propelled against the walls of a special court using gloved or bare hands as though they were a racquet.-Background:...
, for those not choosing to row, with cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
and athletics all popular in the Summer term
Summer term
Summer term is the name of the summer academic term at many British schools and universities and elsewhere in the world.In the UK, 'Summer term' runs from the Easter holiday until the end of the academic year in June or July, and thus corresponds to the Easter term at Cambridge University, and...
. Some recent Old Radleians have progressed to play cricket for England or captain county level cricket teams. The cricket grounds have been described as 'one of the best in the country' while the sporting facilities have been described as world class.
Recently in rowing, Radley has competed at Henley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta is a rowing event held every year on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. The Royal Regatta is sometimes referred to as Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage...
, having reached the semi-final of the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup
Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup
The Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup is a rowing event at Henley Royal Regatta open to school 1st VIIIs.-History:The event was instituted in 1946 for public schools in the United Kingdom...
twice in the last two years and winning it in 1998. The boathouse is located on a stretch of the river Isis about one mile (1.6 km) away from the main college campus.
Sports such as fives
Fives
Fives is a British sport believed to derive from the same origins as many racquet sports. In fives, a ball is propelled against the walls of a special court using gloved or bare hands as though they were a racquet.-Background:...
, rackets, sailing
Sailing
Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
and polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
are all well represented. A real tennis
Real tennis
Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original indoor racquet sport from which the modern game of lawn tennis , is descended...
court opened in July 2008, which made Radley College the only school in the world to have fives, squash, badminton, tennis, racquets and real tennis courts all on campus.
Despite such strong competition in so many sports, Rugby (Union) remains the most popular, and most competitive sport for boys at Radley.
Socials
Vernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...
— named A–H, plus J and K, built for the start of the new academic year in September 2008 (The letter 'I' was excluded since it allegedly resembled the number 1 and the letter J, and because there is a history of 'I Social' being used in satirical College publications, most recently the Chronicle - see below). In the past, some boys additionally spent a number of terms resident in Orchard House, not a Social in itself but a smaller boarding house for about 30 pupils in the upper three years, but it has now been amalgamated into J Social. The socials are sometimes known by the name of their "Tutor" (Housemaster). For example, G Social is also known as Mathews' social after Mr Will O C Mathews. Each social has an Assistant Housemaster ('Resident Sub-Tutor') and Matron ('Pastoral Housemistress') who are also resident in the building. The socials J and K have been recently built to distribute the boys, making them the newest socials added in 100 years. As a result the number of boys in each social has dropped from an average of 80 to about 70, and the overall size of the school has increased notably.
The socials compete against each other constantly in sports and extracurricular activities ranging from debating to chess, bridge, singing and, now, even the efficiency of their recycling of paper, plastic and cans. For the Shells (first years) there is even an inter-social Drama Prize - the Haddon Cup.
Many Socials put on an annual play, performed and perhaps directed by boys in that social. Alternatively or additionally they might have a "Cultural Evening" of assorted musical performances, sketches, dances and dramatic extracts, staged in the Silk Hall or one of the theatres.
Each social has Social colours, worn by all boys as both a strip on their gown and the colours of the Social tie. The colours are different to each other and easily recognisable - e.g. the H colours are yellow and dark green, whereas the K colours are white and light green.
Vernacular
Radley, like many traditional public schools, has an unusual system for naming the school years, which can cause confusion to those not familiar with the system.- First year (age 13-14): Shell (boys are grouped by abilityAbility groupingAbility grouping is the educational practice of grouping students by academic potential or past achievement.Ability groups are usually small, informal groups formed within a single classroom. Assignment to an ability group is often short-term , and varies by subject...
from Shell 1 to Shell 7) - Second year (age 14-15): Remove
- Third year (age 15-16): Vth Form
- Fourth year (age 16-17): VI.1 ("Six One")
- Final year (age 17-18): VI.2 ("Six Two")
In earlier years there was also the "Fourth Form", which confusingly was a smaller group age 12-13 admitted in the summer term, having taken the entrance exams in the spring term.
The term 'Shell' for a lower year group originates from the shell-shaped alcove in 'School' at Westminster where the younger boys were originally taught.
- Stig - First year individual (slang)
- Midgets - First year sports teams (e.g. Midgets 1 Hockey, Midgets 6 Rugby)
- Warden - Headmaster
- Sub-Warden - Deputy Headmaster
- Don - Teacher
- Pup - School Prefect
- Social - Boarding House
- Social Prayers - the Wednesday evening house assembly (instead of an evening Chapel service that day)
- (Social) Tutor - Housemaster
- Sub-Tutor - Assistant Housemaster
- Leave Away - Half-term
- Privi (short for Privilege Weekend) - Weekend away at home
- Gaudy - Celebrations on the last day of Summer Term (Prizegiving, Tutors' Parties, Fireworks Concert on Pups' Field)
- Bigside - College 1st XV Rugby/1st XI Hockey & Cricket (also the 1st's pitch)
- Stonewall - College 5th & 6th XVs Rugby
- Mem Arch - (short for Memorial Arch) - A memorial to old boys and staff of the College killed in action. College tradition is that boys do not speak when passing under Mem Arch.
- Prep - supervised time in the boarding houses each evening when prep (corresponding to homework in a day school) is tackled
- Wet Bob - A boy who rows in the Lent and Summer terms
- Dry Bob - A boy who plays hockey and cricket in the Lent and Summer terms
- Grockey - Grass Hockey (also refers to the senior 4th and 5th XIs for Hockey, which may be referred to as Bigside Grockey as opposed to Bigside Hockey which would be the senior 1st team who play on astro).
CCF - Combined Cadet Force
CCF at Radley College is compulsory in the Remove year. Each Remove is expected to attend all training sessions, including Field Weekends, to attend either the Easter or Summer Camp (these last one week and take place in the Easter or Summer holidays respectively - see below). Selection for each Service is made at the end of the Shell year. Boys are given the opportunity to choose which section they join, but unfortunately the sizes of sections are limited and boys may not always be given their first choice. As well as learning specific Section skills, all boys will be given instruction on Navigation, First Aid etc. in the Adventure Training Wing culminating in spending a weekend camping and walking in the Brecon Beacons. On moving to the V Form they may then choose to remain in the CCF as an NCO where they are encouraged to continue to the 6.2 year in a leadership role.Training takes place on Wednesday afternoons, either in the College grounds or at local military establishments. Each Section runs one Field Weekend (Sat afternoon - Mon evening) each term; this gives the opportunity for extended and enhanced training. Clothing, weapons, ammunition, equipment and Instructors are provided by the regular Services to assist with CCF training.
College Oak
By the lake, College Oak resides. The Oak tree was planted around 948AD, which makes it around 1062 years old and not only one of the oldest trees in the UK but one of the oldest in Europe. Other websites cite the tree as being 400 years old. Either way, the original trunk's interior is rotten and as a result no accurate dating can take place.Books, articles and periodicals
Foundation documents include the diary of Robert Corbet Singleton, co-founder and first Warden of Radley has now been published for the first time. It is available on the web at http://singletonsdiary.wordpress.com It is a primary resource for the history of educational reform in the mid-19th century and the Oxford MovementOxford Movement
The Oxford Movement was a movement of High Church Anglicans, eventually developing into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose members were often associated with the University of Oxford, argued for the reinstatement of lost Christian traditions of faith and their inclusion into Anglican liturgy...
.
There have been three official histories of the College, commissioned to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation, the centenary and the sesquicentenary respectively.
‘’Sicut Columbae: fifty years of St Peter’s College, Radley.’’ By T.D. Raikes and other Old Radleians. James Parker & Co., Oxford and London, 1897.
Raikes’ history of the first fifty years of the College is primarily based on reminiscences and first-hand accounts of the earliest years, informed by an author who had been schoolboy, prefect, teacher and close family member of several other Old Radleians. The sections on school sports are particularly valuable.
A second edition was produced by Ernest Bryans in 1925 under an amended title Sicut Columbae: a history of St Peter’s College, Radley, 1847–1924. Basil Blackwell, for the Radleian Society, Oxford [1925]. Bryans made a few corrections to the earlier text and added chapters which cover the intervening twenty-five years.
The history of Radley College, 1847–1947. By AK Boyd. Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1948.
Boyd’s history of Radley was written to celebrate the school’s centenary. Like TD Raikes, he had an unrivalled personal knowledge of the school, but he also sought to build on the earlier history with much more documentary material. To this end, he virtually created the school Archives by sourcing all of the extant material from anyone who had any past connection with the school, occasionally commissioning transcripts where the original was retained by the families who owned it. The strength of Raikes’ history was the depth of first-hand memoirs; Boyd’s in his use of, and extensive quotations from, the source material.
No ordinary place: Radley College and the public school system. By Christopher Hibbert. John Murray, London, 1997. ISBN 0719551765
Christopher Hibbert’s history of the College was commissioned to celebrate the 150th anniversary of its foundation in 1997. Hibbert was described as ‘the leading popular historian now living in England.’ His approach was to place the school’s history within the context of public school education in the 19th and 20th centuries. This allows a thematic approach within each chronological section.
The buildings and grounds
Recollections: the life and travels of a Victorian architect. Sir Thomas Graham Jackson, 1835–1924. Ed. by Nicholas Jackson. With an introduction and gazetteer by James Bettley. Unicorn Press, London, 2003. ISBN 0906290724.Thomas Graham Jackson was the architect who designed the infirmary and cloisters, chapel, dining hall, H Social, the South African War memorial, and the War Memorial gateway (Mem Arch). Updated version of the 1950 edition edited by Basil Jackson
Looking at Radley: an architectural and historical survey of the earlier buildings. By M.T. Cherniavsky & A.E. Money. Radley College, [1981]
Based on three articles and a course on the history of the buildings taught by Michael Cherniavsky whilst on a sabbatical at Radley College in1979. He describes the exterior views of Radley that would still be recognised by a visitor from the time of Warden Sewell in the 1850s. Tony Money, Archivist at Radley, then wrote about the various interior uses to which the buildings have been put over the years. The book is illustrated from photos in the College Archives.
Radley Hall: the rediscovery of a country house. By Alison Maguire in Architectural History
Architectural History
Architectural History is the main journal of the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain .The journal is published each autumn. The architecture of the British Isles is a major theme of the journal, although it includes more general papers on the history of architecture. Member of...
, Vol. 44, Essays in Architectural History Presented to John Newman (2001). Detailed study of the Mansion by a member of the architectural team responsible for its renovation after the fire in 1997
Capability Brown and the eighteenth-century English landscape. 2nd edn. By Roger Turner. Chichester, Phillimore, 1999. ISBN 1860771149
A brief note in the gazetteer about Brown’s work for Sir William Stonhouse at Radley Hall in 1770–1.
Natural history and geology
The fauna and flora of Radley and the neighbourhood. By the Radley College Natural History Society. James Parker, Oxford, 1906.Pioneering survey compiled from the field notes of the College Natural History Society, organised by classes and genera with locations
The Radley district: its history, botany, entomology and geology. Ed. by T Field. Parker & Son, Oxford, 1912.
Individual chapters on history, botany and entomology by the Warden and staff of Radley College, and on geology by M Odling, F.G.S., formerly a boy at the school, who became one of the first Demonstrators in Geology at the University of Leeds. Material was drawn from the College Natural History Society records and excursions
Sport
Manly and muscular diversions: public schools and the nineteenth-century sporting revival. Tony Money. Duckworth, London, 1997. ISBN 0715627937.Argues that the political and economic stability of the British upper class and, more importantly, the enthusiasm of boys at English boarding schools, was a crucial factor in the spread of contemporary team sports around the world. Draws extensively on material from Radley College Archives.
Football at Radley, 1847-2000. Tony Money. [Radley College, 2000]
Study of the development of football in the 19th century as individual schools created their own game, including Radley Football, and the subsequent adoption of Rugby Football as a nationally recognised sport.
Biographies
The College Archives contain a collection of unpublished memorabilia by Old Radleians. The most significant biographies about specific Wardens and staff are:A forgotten genius: Sewell of St. Columba’s and Radley. By Lionel James. Faber and Faber, London, 1945.
Biography of William Sewell, founder of Radley College, by a former member of staff. Makes extensive use of Sewell’s diaries, letters and sermons
A memoir of the Reverend George Wharton, Precentor of Saint Peter’s College Radley. By Roscoe Beddoes. Oxford University Press, 1931.
‘Kitty’ Wharton was the most eccentric and long-serving of the 19th century schoolmasters of Radley
Thomas Field, D.D.: a memoir. By Harold S. Goodrich. SPCK, London, 1937.
Thomas Field was Warden of Radley, 1897–1913.
In addition, biographies and autobiographies by Old Radleians often contain brief accounts of time at the school.
Radley in fiction
Notable early novels set in Radley:Jaspar Tristram. By AW Clarke. William Heinemann, London, 1899.
‘ A sad evocation of the torments of adolescent homosexual love.’
The puppets dallying. Greening & Co., London, 1905 and Swan’s milk. Faber and Faber, London, 1924. By Louis Marlow.
Young England. By Douglas Strong. Methuen, London, 1919.
Acclaimed when it was published because the novel was written within a year of leaving the school, whilst convalescing from wounds received on the Western Front: ‘he was no blind lover of a system under which he had risen to the top; he longed for its reform, and this book describes his own constructive policy of change.’
Caper sauce. By SPB Mais. Hutchinson, London, c1950.
SPB Mais was a part-time teacher at Radley during the Second World War, whilst Eastbourne College was evacuated to Radley. The novel describes the wartime adventures of a family forced to keep moving to find work, with Radley and Eastbourne thinly disguised as ‘Lumbury’ and ‘Sherstin’
Radley village
Radley village supports a flourishing local history society who have produced a number of publications and maintain an archive of local material.Radley vicarage by Radley History Club, 2005.
A report of a 'buildings record' survey and archive research undertaken to determine the history, construction, and later development of this 14th-century building
The history of Radley by Patrick Drysdale … [and others] Radley History Club, 2002.
History of the village from prehistory to the present
Periodicals
The College has a long history of journal and pamphlet publication, beginning with The Radleian which has been in continuous production since 1864. Other journals have been Emergency ration and College Block, both produced during WW2; a series of 'alternative' journals particularly The Petreian and The New Radleian, and short-lived satirical works, such as The shrew. Individual Socials and Academic Societies have also produced journals from time to time, most notably the Natural History Society in the 1920s-1940s, and (currently 2009) the Economics journal In Demand. The Radleian is now an annual report on all school activities, supported by The Old Radleian published for the Radleian Society.The Radley College Chronicle was founded in February 2005. It is edited by a team of pupils in an online Wiki-style model (using Courseforum software) before being redacted into a fixed version and published three or four times a term. Material is contributed by the team of editors, and by other pupils and 'dons'. Original illustrations accompany the articles, commissioned especially from Art Scholars at the College.
The paper has regular columns, including 'A Tutor's Diary' - a spoof diary of a housemaster of the fictional 'I Social'; 'Social Stereotypes' - similar to The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
's regular series, but written about "Radley types that may be seen in a Social near you..."; 'The Rumbler' - a regular opinion piece modelled on The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
' 'Thunderer; and 'Desert Island Dons' - a series of interviews with 'dons' (teachers) at the College in a similar style to Radio 4's
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
Desert Island Discs
Desert Island Discs
Desert Island Discs is a BBC Radio 4 programme first broadcast on 29 January 1942. It is the second longest-running radio programme , and is the longest-running factual programme in the history of radio...
. Nearly all of the articles are published anonymously and the Correspondence section is a mix of anonymous and signed correspondence from members of all parts of the Radley College community. The current Editor is John Warner (a VI.1).
Television series
During the 1979 summer term, the school's activities were filmed by the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
for a series called "Public School", broadcast on BBC2 early in 1980, and directed by award-winning fim-maker Richard Denton. Capturing the end of a period when such schools felt genuinely afraid that the Labour government might push through legislation to close them down (there is a memorable scene of the headmaster expressing his delight in Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
's first election victory), the programme nevertheless now seems like a period piece, if only because it shows certain teaching methods and values that would never be allowed today. .
Recent history
In 2005 Radley College was one of fifty of the country's leading independent schools which were found guilty of running an illegal price-fixing cartel which had allowed them to drive up fees for thousands of parents, thus putting into practice the declared ethic of the school i.e. "Christian principles of brotherliness". Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £21,360 and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling three million pounds into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared. However, Jean Scott, the head of the Independent Schools Council, said that independent schools had always been exempt from anti-cartel rules applied to business, were following a long-established procedure in sharing the information with each other, and that they were unaware of the change to the law (on which they had not been consulted). She wrote to John Vickers, the OFT director-general, saying, "They are not a group of businessmen meeting behind closed doors to fix the price of their products to the disadvantage of the consumer. They are schools that have quite openly continued to follow a long-established practice because they were unaware that the law had changed."List of Wardens
- R C Singleton (1847–1851)
- W B Heathcote (1851–1852)
- W M Sewell (1853–1861)
- R W Norman (1861–1866)
- W Wood (1866–1870)
- C Martin (1871–1879)
- R J WilsonRobert Wilson (priest)Robert James Wilson was an English Anglican priest and academic, who was Warden of Keble College, Oxford from 1894 until his death.-Life:...
(1880–1888) - Henry Lewis Thompson, (1888–1896)
- T FieldThomas FieldThomas Field was born on 9 November 1855 and died 20 May 1936. He was a priest in the Church of England.-Life:He was the son of Thomas Field of Folkestone, a draper...
(1897–1913) - E G Selwyn (1913–1919)
- Adam FoxAdam FoxAdam Fox , Canon, was the Dean of Divinity at Magdalen College, Oxford. He was one of the first members of the "Inklings", a literary group which also included C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Between 1938 and 1942 he was Professor of Poetry. Later he became Canon of Westminster Abbey and he is...
(1919–1925) - W H Ferguson (1925–1937)
- J C Vaughan WilkesJohn Vaughan WilkesJohn Comyn Vaughan Wilkes was an English educationalist, who was Warden of Radley College and an Anglican priest....
(1937–1954) - W M M Milligan (1954–1968)
- D R W SilkDennis SilkDennis Raoul Whitehall Silk, CBE , is a former schoolmaster and international cricketer. He was also a close friend of the poet Siegfried Sassoon, about whom he has spoken and written extensively....
(1968–1991) - Richard Morgan (1991–2000)
- Angus McPhail (2000 onwards)
Former pupils
- James BachmanJames BachmanJames Bachman is an English comedian, actor and writer.He has written for many U.K. radio and television programmes, including That Mitchell and Webb Look , That Mitchell and Webb Sound , Popetown , and Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway...
, comic writer and actor - Gerald BrenanGerald BrenanEdward FitzGerald "Gerald" Brenan, CBE was a British writer and Hispanist who spent much of his life in Spain.He is best known for The Spanish Labyrinth, a historical work on the background to the Spanish Civil War, and for South from Granada: Seven Years in an Andalusian Village...
, writer. - Peter CookPeter CookPeter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
, comedian. - Jamie DalrympleJamie DalrympleJames William Murray "Jamie" Dalrymple is a Kenyan-born English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and off-spin bowler....
, cricketer. Has represented England in a number of ODI's. - Ted DexterTed DexterEdward Ralph Dexter CBE is a former English cricketer...
, cricketer. - Alexander DownerAlexander DownerAlexander John Gosse Downer is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was Foreign Minister of Australia from March 1996 to December 2007, the longest-serving in Australian history...
, former Australian Foreign MinisterMinister for Foreign Affairs (Australia)In the Government of Australia, the Minister for Foreign Affairs is responsible for overseeing the international diplomacy section of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In common with international practice, the office is often informally referred to as Foreign Minister...
. - Mark Durden-SmithMark Durden-SmithMark Durden-Smith is a British television presenter. He began his presenting career as host of Sky Sports live rugby union coverage, which included weekly English Premiership fixtures, domestic and European cup competitions and Internationals Tests, including the English home Six Nations matches...
, television presenter. - Sir Ivan Ewart, 6th Baronet, Northern Irish naval officer and charity worker.
- Jeremy FlintJeremy FlintJeremy Flint , an English bridge player, author and horse racing enthusiast, was one of the world's leading professional players.- Life & bridge career :...
, bridge player. - Andrew GantAndrew Gant-Biography:Andrew attended Radley College before going on to read Music and English at St John's College, Cambridge. He was a choral scholar and sang in the College Choir under George Guest. He subsequently studied composition with Paul Patterson at the Royal Academy of Music and completed his PhD...
, chorister and composer - Richard GibsonRichard GibsonRichard Gibson is an English actor, probably best known for his role as the archetypal Gestapo Officer Herr Otto Flick in the BBC hit sitcom series, Allo 'Allo!.-Career:...
, Actor, best known as Herr Flick in the BBC series 'Allo 'Allo!'Allo 'Allo!'Allo 'Allo! is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC One from 1982 to 1992 comprising eighty-five episodes. It is a parody of another BBC programme, the wartime drama Secret Army, and was created by David Croft, who also wrote the theme music, and Jeremy Lloyd. Lloyd and Croft wrote the first 6...
. - Christopher HibbertChristopher HibbertChristopher Hibbert, MC, FRSL, FRGS was an English writer, historian and biographer. He has been called "a pearl of biographers" and "probably the most widely-read popular historian of our time and undoubtedly one of the most prolific"...
, historian. - Cyril HollandCyril HollandCyril Holland was the first son of Oscar Wilde and Constance Lloyd and brother to Vyvyan Holland....
, son of Oscar WildeOscar WildeOscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
. - Charles HowardCharles Howard, 20th Earl of SuffolkCharles Henry George Howard, 20th Earl of Suffolk, 13th Earl of Berkshire, GC was an English bomb disposal expert who was also an earl in the Peerage of England, belonging to the ancient Howard family. He was styled Viscount Andover until 1917...
, Pioneering bomb disposal expert in WW2. - Ben HuttonBen HuttonBenjamin Leonard Hutton , is a retired English cricketer.-Early life:Ben Hutton was educated at Radley and Durham University for whom he opened the innings with the current England captain Andrew Strauss....
, Cricketer. - James LovegroveJames LovegroveJames Lovegrove is a British writer of speculative fiction. His first novel was The Hope, published by Macmillan in 1990. He was short-listed for the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1998 for his novel Days and for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 2004 for his novel Untied Kingdom...
, SF novelist. - Desmond LlewelynDesmond LlewelynDesmond Wilkinson Llewelyn was a Welsh actor, famous for playing Q in 17 of the James Bond films between 1963 and 1999.-Early life:...
, actor best known for playing Q in many James Bond filmsJames Bond (film series)The James Bond film series is a British series of motion pictures based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond , who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. Earlier films were based on Fleming's novels and short stories, followed later by films with original storylines...
. - Sir George MallabyGeorge Mallaby (public servant)Sir Howard "George" Charles Mallaby, KCMG, OBE , was an English schoolmaster and public servant. He received the US Legion of Merit in 1946 and was knighted in 1958...
, public servant, High Commissioner to New Zealand - Charlie Mayfield, Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership.
- Harold MonroHarold MonroHarold Edward Monro was a British poet, the proprietor of the Poetry Bookshop in London which helped many famous poets bring their work before the public....
, founder of the Poetry BookshopPoetry BookshopThe Poetry Bookshop operated at 35 Devonshire Street in the Bloomsbury district of central London, from 1913 to 1926. It was the brainchild of Harold Monro, and was supported by his moderate income....
. - Andrew MotionAndrew MotionSir Andrew Motion, FRSL is an English poet, novelist and biographer, who presided as Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1999 to 2009.- Life and career :...
, poet and former Poet Laureate. - Roderick Newall, murdered his parents, Jersey, 1987.
- Lord Scarman, former judge.
- Sandy NairneSandy NairneAlexander Robert "Sandy" Nairne CBE is a British museum director and writer. Since 2002, he has been the director of the National Portrait Gallery.-Life and career:...
, Director of the National Portrait Gallery. - Dennis PriceDennis PriceDennis Price was an English actor, remembered for his suave screen roles, particularly Louis Mazzini in Kind Hearts and Coronets, and for his portrayal of the omniscient valet Jeeves in 1960s television adaptations of P. G...
, former actor. - Michael ReevesMichael ReevesMichael Reeves was an English film director and screenwriter. He is best known for the 1968 American International Pictures/Tigon motion picture Witchfinder General...
, film director. - Professor Sir Mike RichardsMichael Adrian RichardsProfessor Sir Michael Adrian Richards, CBE MD FRCP DSc is a leading British oncologist. Since 1999, he has been the National Cancer Director in the UK Government's Department of Health....
, UK National Cancer Director - Brough ScottBrough ScottJohn Brough Scott is a British horse racing journalist, radio and television presenter, and former jockey. He is also the grandson and biographer of the noted Great War soldier "Galloper Jack" Seely....
, Horse racing journalist, radio and television presenter, and former jockey. - Clive Stafford SmithClive Stafford SmithClive Adrian Stafford Smith OBE is a British [see talk] lawyer who specialises in the areas of civil rights and the death penalty in the United States of America....
, campaigning lawyer. - Andrew StraussAndrew StraussAndrew John Strauss, OBE is an English cricketer who plays county cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club and is the captain of England's Test cricket team. A fluent left-handed opening batsman, Strauss favours scoring off the back foot, mostly playing cut and pull shots...
, cricketer (Current England captain. Captained England to an Ashes victory in the summer of 2009. Represents Middlesex. Opening Batsman.) - Lieutenant-Colonel Rupert ThorneloeRupert ThorneloeLieutenant Colonel Rupert Stuart Michael Thorneloe MBE was a British Army officer who was killed in action on 1 July 2009 near Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. , Thorneloe is the highest-ranking British Army officer to be killed in action since Lt Col 'H'...
MBE, killed in action in Afghanistan on 1 July 2009 - Collingwood TinlingJames Collingwood TinlingJames Collingwood Burdett Tinling was an ex-RAF officer who joined with Rolf Dudley-Williams and Frank Whittle in 1936 to set up Power Jets Ltd, which manufactured the world's first working jet engine....
, builder of first jet engine. - Nigel Twiston-DaviesNigel Twiston-DaviesNigel Twiston-Davies is a British racehorse trainer specialising in National Hunt racing. He is based at stables at Naunton, Gloucestershire....
, Cheltenham Gold Cup winning horse trainer. - Peter WildebloodPeter WildebloodPeter Wildeblood was a British-Canadian journalist, novelist, playwright, and gay rights campaigner. He was one of the first men in the UK to publicly declare his homosexuality.-Career:...
, journalist and playwright and celebrated gay rights campaigner. - Richard Wilson, Baron Wilson of DintonRichard Wilson, Baron Wilson of DintonRichard Thomas James Wilson, Baron Wilson of Dinton GCB is a cross bench member of the British House of Lords.-Career:...
, former UK Cabinet SecretaryCabinet SecretaryA Cabinet Secretary is almost always a senior official who provides services and advice to a Cabinet of Ministers. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powers, including general responsibility for the entire civil service...
. - Major General Sir Edward WoodgateEdward WoodgateMajor General Sir Edward Robert Prevost Woodgate, KCMG, CB, was a British Army Officer.-Military career:Woodgate was born in November 1845 in Belbroughton Worcestershire, the son of Rev Henry Arthur Woodgate, the rector of Belbroughton Holy Trinity Church. He was educated at Radley College and...
, KCMG, CB, who died of wounds sustained during the Battle of Spion KopBattle of Spion KopThe Battle of Spion Kop was fought about west-south-west of Ladysmith on the hilltop of Spioenkop along the Tugela River, Natal in South Africa from 23–24 January 1900...
. - Charles WorsleyCharles Worsley (cricketer)Charles Edward Austen Worsley was an English cricketer. Worsley was a right-handed batsman. The son of Edward Worsley, he was born at Evenley, Northamptonshire and educated at Radley College....
, cricketer who played first-class cricket for Northamptonshire.
Literature
- Christopher Hibbert, No Ordinary Place: Radley College and the Public School System 1847–1997, 1997, London: John Murray General Publishing Division, ISBN 0-7195-5176-5.