Radley Newsletter 14

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| Life Skills | Admissions | Radleians | | The Radley Year 2011/12 | Tanzania and Borneo | Astronomy | THE RADLEY NEWSLET TER

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Life Skills This Summer Term, due to the effects of the Royal Jubilee celebrations and the manner in which the majority of GCSE/IGCSE exams fell before Half Term, we organised a wide-ranging series of activities for Fifth Formers who had finished all or most of their papers. We called it The Life Skills Course.

For two weeks, a majority of the year group chose to participate in: Krav Maga self-defence training (which taught boys how to resist street assault, including knife attacks); motivational coaching, run by the inspiring Joe Sparks; etiquette classes (which were particularly popular and run by international consultants, The English Manner); gym circuits run by the Sports Centre staff; lectures - on diet, life in the City and the Army and counter-insurgency through history; a day trip to the National Coal Mining Museum and Yorkshire Sculpture Park; and the expertly-run adventure camps in Wales and Oxfordshire. On the camps, boys were set exciting challenges, which in many cases helped them to achieve new goals and conquer personal phobias, especially vertigo. All activities were provided without extra cost to parents.

I was particularly impressed with two things. Firstly, boys

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were openly appreciative of all that was arranged for them and engaged in all activities with real energy and a positive spirit, despite being a little tired after their examinations. Secondly, the response from Common Room for volunteers to help with the project was magnificent, despite Dons’ very busy schedules at this time of year. It is very likely that aspects of the courses will be incorporated into general Radley life in future, such has been their success. We note that no competitor school has arranged a programme of postGCSE diversions on this scale and it is our intention to run a similar programme, albeit in amended form, next year.

Finally, I would like to thank all those who made it possible, especially Paul Fernandez and Will Matthews - who arranged the adventurous training camps.

Stephen Rathbone, Academic Director

The Youlbury Camps The Youlbury trips aimed to develop the pupils’ confidence, abilities and teamwork.

They navigated themselves from Radley to Youlbury, living there in close proximity, with communal cooking and washing-up. The quantities of food available went down well and the boys even came up with some new culinary treats. A pudding of waffles with melted marshmallows, chocolate drops and ice cream proved popular.

Most of the time was taken up undertaking a wide array of aerial activities, which developed the boys’ confidence at height, with a great deal of teamwork needed to complete tasks.

These included: the 3-G swing, an exhilarating two-person swing, often upside-down; an aerial trek, a series of obstacles at height; crate stacking (how high can the pair get, balancing on bottle crates?); Jacob’s ladder; teams of three negotiating ever-widening horizontal logs; archery; abseiling, both upright and upside-down; finally, zip wire, again also occasionally upside-down.

The boys relaxed by playing frisbee, football, touch rugby, plus the ‘giant connect-4’ and ‘giant jenga’. They engaged with every activity and certainly gained a great deal from their trip.

Paul Fernandez

The Wales Camps The camps in Wales were a terrific success. Radleians achieved a great deal across two three-day camps and a total of 36 boys attended. From our base, they climbed the highest mountain in Clwyd – Cadair Berwyn (827m); threw themselves into the plunge pool of the highest waterfall in the UK – Pistyll Rhaeadr (80m); conquered their vertigo on the highest rope course in the UK (a mere 21 metres high); and learned to cook spaghetti bolognese – an essential for university life!

They enjoyed the exciting challenge of white water rafting at the sport’s National Centre. They also made music with the Jenny Miller Band in the evenings.

Will Matthews

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Admissions at The number of parents registering their sons at Radley has almost doubled since 2003 and by 2006 it became apparent that the school needed a full time Registrar and the Admissions Office was quickly established. Based in the Mansion, the Admissions team is responsible for all issues regarding entry to Radley: from when boys are first registered at birth, until the moment they arrive on their first day here.

around 600 visits to Radley – an average of nearly thirty visits each week in term-time. There are no Open Days: instead all visits are arranged on an individual basis, with parents and boys meeting a member of Senior Management and/or the Registrar, and being given a full tour of the school by a current pupil. All Radley boys are considered well-qualified to offer a tour; there is no system of trained tour guides.

The Office takes around 1,500 enquiries every year and arranges

Radley is the only school still to take registrations simply in date order:

Natasha Cooper Natasha has worked in the Admissions Office since it was set up in 2008. In addition to her other duties, she provides a welcoming face to boys and parents alike, when they arrive for Scholarships and ‘Warden’s List’ Days.

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i.e. from birth. Demand is higher than ever and there is already a waiting list for 2021. If registered early, there is no compulsory ‘pretest’: it is simply a question of sitting Common Entrance at 13+, with the pass mark currently 55%, rising to 60% in 2014. This absence of any pre-testing at 11+ is an essential part of Radley’s philosophy. Registrar, Vanessa Hammond, explains why: “Boys develop enormously between 11 and 13. We benefit from having late developers coming to Radley and we pride ourselves on taking a

t Radley broad mix of boys with many varying talents.”

Offers of places are sent out three years in advance, in registration date order. The earlier boys are registered, the better their chances of obtaining a place. On receipt of a firm offer, parents are invited to visit three Socials of their choice and can discuss this choice with the Registrar. Parents can also book to meet the Warden then. The Registrar co-ordinates waiting lists for Socials which again are organized in registration date order.

Vanessa Hammond, Registrar.

Vanessa was until 2011, Development Director at The School of St Helen and St Katharine, Abingdon, where she dealt with marketing and fundraising. She herself lived in G Social for twelve years, being married to Senior Master, Harry Hammond, former Tutor there.

Around 25 places are held back for those who register too late or who have not registered at all, known as the ‘Warden’s List’. Around 80 boys apply for these limited places and come here for interviews and assessment two years before entry - also organised by the Admissions Office.

There are Scholarships held in January/February of the year of entry, with Academic, Art, Music, Drama and ‘All Rounder’ awards all open for entry to registered and non-registered candidates from the June in the previous year. About 25 scholarships are offered each year, which can be supplemented by a means-tested bursary. Generally we have around 20-25 candidates applying for an academic scholarship; whilst up to double that number often apply for ‘All Rounder’ awards, reflecting Radley’s strength across the board.

In addition, there are Foundation Awards, which are means-tested and intended for those currently at maintained schools. Assessments are held three years in advance, with the Radley Foundation paying for two years at prep school, followed by five years at Radley.

Although places in the Sixth Form are often limited, we do also hold Sixth Form Entrance assessments in November each year, for boys interested in coming to Radley for the final two years. In particular there is the Bastyan Organ Scholarship for Sixth Formers which is a means tested bursary, up to 100% of the fees, for a talented organist.

Anne Widdup Anne moved from the Foundation Office in 2010 and since leaving university, has gained extensive experience in administration. Anne’s responsibilities include arranging visits to Social Tutors and Common Entrance.

r a dleians

All this makes for a very busy year for the Admissions team: organizing advance offers of places in Michaelmas, running Scholarships in the New Year, co-ordinating Common Entrance in June. And, of course, organizing all those visits to Radley each week….

Details of how to apply to Radley are on our website – www.radley.org.uk

Henry Rees (Remove) Moulsford, J Social

I’ve been at Radley for a year, yet feel as if I’ve just arrived; the time has gone so quickly. My biggest concern was that I had never boarded before at my Prep School, but after a few days, it became secondnature to me, as I was overwhelmed with activities.

Firstly, there is the ‘Games Circus’ to keep you occupied, where you can try out all the different sports. My favourites were squash, closely followed by real tennis. Then you have Shell Athletic Standards, where you compete in running, long jump, track and field events. Even with these sporting commitments, you have some free time, which you can use to make friends. The Haddon Cup is another way of making friends within your Social, as you all work together on the same Drama production.

The best part of Radley is the freedom given to try out new things out and the fact that not everything is strictly regimented. So, for example, you can play sports, or practise music in Central Hour, an hour long period in the middle of the day. The one thing I won’t miss about being a Shell are the duties you have to complete before morning lessons, such as collecting papers or tidying up the Games Room!

At the beginning, you are put in sets based on your Common Entrance or Scholarship results; but after first-term exams, there is movement between these sets. Compared with your previous schools, there is a lot more Prep, but they do give you the time to do this in the evening. As long as you use this time efficiently, you shouldn’t need to work in your free time.

Apart from duties, I have really enjoyed my first year; it has been a great help in making me more independent and self-reliant. It has given me lots of opportunities: some of which only come perhaps once or twice in a lifetime, and some I would almost certainly not be able to do anywhere else.

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The Radley Academic  At time of writing (with most A Level

re-marks complete), we had seen 92.41% of A Level results graded A* to B. At AS, which boys sit largely with A2 in the 6.2 year, 93.42% of grades were A/B (there is no A* at AS). A record number of boys (76) collected 3 A*/ As or more. Eight boys gained 5A*/A grades, of which two gained a complete row of top grades. Finally, three boys gained 6 A*/A grades. All this means that the vast majority of Radleians gained entry to their preferred university course. Indeed, some who had exceeded expectations, took advantage of the recently introduced UCAS 'adjustment' system to gain an upgrade in course and/ or university. Once again, there was strong evidence that studying four A Levels had been very significant in gaining offers from the prestigious institutions to which Radleians aspire.

 Our GCSE/IGCSE results were similarly

impressive, with (before re-marks) 90.5% of grades at A*/A. This was a rise of 4.55% compared with the previous year. Many individual performances were quite exceptional, with 19 boys gaining 10 A*s or more. There was a good number of instances where boys far surpassed their grade predictions. Despite the increased rigour of IGCSEs, which are now sat in many subjects, it seems that boys and their teachers have risen to the stimulating challenge in an impressive way. It is also notable that while the national share of A* grades fell by 0.5%, to 7.3%, we saw Radley's total rise from an already impressive 43.13% in 2011, to 57% this year. This was an enormous leap and we are very proud of what the boys have achieved. In line with our established policy, we shall not be publishing the results in the national press. However, you will agree that boys, parents and Common Room have a great deal to celebrate.

 This was the second year of boys voluntarily

taking the Edexcel Extended Project, as the culmination of their ‘Standing on the Shoulders of Giants’ courses in 6.1. Fourteen boys submitted Projects on a wide variety of subjects: over half, eight, achieved A* grades.

‘Standing on the Shoulders of Giants’ aims to encourage Independent Learning at Radley; it is clear university admissions dons like the breadth it provides. The accompanying Lectures, over 30 in the 6.1 year, have again proved highly stimulating.

 It has been an intensely competitive year

for university entry, but Radleians did well at

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Oxbridge in December, and large numbers have received offers from historically demanding universities including Bristol, Durham and Edinburgh.

on New College of the Humanities and on Philosophy. The academic and department societies enjoyed a host of guest speakers across the year.

 Tom Saunders’ (Woodleigh, h) poem

 The 6.2 Conference with

‘Beauty’ was runner-up in the Roche Court Poetry competition 2011; Freddy Rendall (Hall Grove, c) was a runner-up in the Vellacott History prize, Cambridge University’s most prestigious History essay prize for schools; Patrick Rogers (Ludgrove, k) was awarded a meritorious Nuffield Bursary and spent four weeks on a research project (Surface Topography of Metallic Bodies); Nick Ogilvie (Horris Hill, k) has just won a similar award to spend time at an engineering firm in Banbury.

St Helen’s was a great success – ‘Born to Lead’ brought

 Declamations 2012 was again

outstanding, judged by Dr Paul Dean of Summer Fields.

Tommy Siman, Senior Prefect, (Abingdon Prep, h) created history by winning for the fifth year running, this time the 6.2 class. Other winners were Jamie Robinson (Twyford, f); Alexander Johnstone (Ludgrove, c); Ned Campbell (St John’s Cambridge, e); Conor Mosedale (Christ Church Cathedral, f).

 It has been another busy

year for Debating. In October, we welcomed sixth formers from Wycombe Abbey. Our main team of John Warner (Dragon, a) and Ed Stuart-Bourne (Swanbourne House, d) then competed in the ESU Mace at St Helen’s, Abingdon. The Final of the Sixth Form Inter-Social Competition was won by H Social’s team of George Gundle (Dragon, h), Tom Saunders and Tommy Siman (Abingdon Prep, h). In addition, all Shells took part in the Grand 2012 Shells Competition, with every single boy being a main Speaker at some stage. Finally, the Final of the Removes/Shells Competition was contested in June by J and E Socials, with Alex Rae (Pinewood, j), Alex Grant (Dragon, e) and Yannis Gidopoulos (Moulsford, e) all impressing as excellent speakers.

 Again we were fortunate to attract

distinguished visitors to the school including John Nugee, Ziya Meral, Clive StaffordSmith, Lord Feldman, John Bridcut. Jonathan Edwards came to inspire us to aim high in Olympic year. Professor AC Grayling spoke

together David Richards, CEO Aston Martin; Ed Smith, writer and cricketer; Fru Hazlitt (on Leadership in the Media), and Commodore Jake Moores.  Creative writing has had another strong

year under Christopher and Cathy Ellott; Creative Writing Anthologies continue to be published regularly.

Year 2011/12  The rebirth of the Medical Society

during Michaelmas Term produced an early highlight as Hamish Miller (King’s Hall, a) won a medical lecture competition against fellow prospective medical students from Harrow School and Wycombe Abbey School. Hamish presented a

Activities  Back in September, the whole school

embarked on a sponsored walk.

Originally the brainchild of Dr Jim Summerly, who was too ill to organise it, Tim Lawson masterminded an excellent day. Boys walked 20 miles of the Ridgeway and raised £83,000. One newly arrived Shell, Oliver Smith (Dragon, k) raised £1,860 alone.

 Ed Barber (Summer Fields, d), Tom

Stables (Ashdown House, d) and Will Travers (Aldro, d) raised £47,500 for A-CET and Combat Stress by cycling from London to Monte Carlo. In total over £200,000 has been raised by the College and its individuals in 2011/12.  In this Jubilee Year, 4

cadets from the CCF Royal Naval Section, Johnny Hayes (Horris Hill, k), Freddie Light (Cumnor House, h), Ben Mills (Summer Fields, k), and Ed Walker (Ludgrove, k), formed part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant in the Admiral Bowyer, one of the RN Section’s New Trinity 500 craft. Radley’s was the only CCF crew to take part.

thoughtprovoking lecture entitled ‘The Ethics of Predictive Testing: Huntington’s Disease’.  Radley dons keep themselves fresh by

writing: Rob King’s 20th book whilst at Radley has just been published – Revision Notes in A Level Chemistry.

 There was a successful Biennial CCF Inspection conducted by Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Craig of Radley. On November 11th we had a moving presentation from Harry Parker OR, badly wounded in Afghanistan, and his uncle Edward Parker of ‘Walking with the Wounded’.

Remembrance Sunday saw a packed Chapel, with Sally Thorneloe in attendance, for a special Remembrance Sunday Service, complete with flypast from a WW1 plane. Radley’s Armed Forces Fund, to educate children of service personnel injured or killed in action, now stands at £1.23m; it was given a great boost by the Silver Ball in November 2011, attended by over 900 guests, and raising over £250k on the night.

 Radleians continue to do a great deal for Community Action Projects: teaching in primary schools, helping cub packs, teaching visiting children and teaching Y8/9 pupils Classics for Beginners at the Oxford Academy, being members of Concert Parties going out weekly to Old People’s homes in Oxfordshire. 48 separate homes were visited. March saw the link established with a new Academy, Desborough School, Maidenhead, to which Radley will be educational advisors.  A large number of trips and expeditions have taken place – historians to Russia and Nomandy, classicists to Rome and the Bay of Naples, politics students to Washington and rugby players to Italy.  In July 2011, thirteen 6.2 boys joined EJT and Annette Hack for a 10 day building project in Kerala (South India).

Working alongside local tradesmen, they helped build homes for two families on the island of Mankotta, whose current accommodation dipped below the waterline during the rainy season. Following the project, the boys independently (in groups of four or five) explored Kerala and its neighbouring states.  Also in July 2011, Andrew Shouler, Matt and Kirsty Pringle led fourteen 6.1 boys in running a summer school for 12-16 year olds in School no. 2 in Moreni, Romania. The boys taught English, craft and engaged in cultural exchange activities. Bertie Johnstone (Ludgrove, c) and Turoe Holder (Caldicott, f), in particular, distinguished themselves for the quality of their lessons and preparation. This July (2012), seventeen 6.1 boys (and one 6.2) travelled to Tanzania with MRJ, GJAH and AMH. After climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, they met our new partner school (Gehandu Secondary School in Mbulu) to get involved in teaching activities and cultural exchange. The boys’ fundraising will provide them with school textbooks and equipment. At the same time, WOCM and DP took twenty 6.1 boys on a joint trip to Borneo with Tudor Hall.

Whilst there, they completed a building project in a remote jungle location.

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Arts  Drama has once again had an exceptional year. Individually the boys have flourished and Jon Tarcy (Shrewsbury House, g) gained a place at the Central School of Speech and Drama, while Henry Mcpherson (The Downs, d) and John Warner (Dragon, a) are preparing to direct West Side Story for Pegasus Theatre. Jon Tarcy was a brilliant Sweeney Todd in Robert Lowe’s excellent production of Sondheim’s masterpiece in November 2011. There has never been anything like it at Radley for its professional quality in what is musically a fiendishly difficult work. The company, with girls from across Oxfordshire, sang exceptionally well; the stage and costumes were wonderful and sell-out audiences in all six performances were wowed. In the Lent Term the Removes performed The Madness of George III with a marvellous and convincing title role from Thor Winkler von Stiernhielm (Eagle House, h), while 6.1 performed ‘Arcadia’ with a very strong cast. The Shell Play, Treasure Island, was directed

by Henry Mcpherson (The Downs, d) and Jamie Robinson (Twyford, f). The Theatre was busy, too, with Charity Games Shows, written and chaired by Robert Lowe, raising £1,800 for Sobell House, with a wonderful Leavers’ Recital from Tommy Siman (Abingdon Prep, h) and Jon Tarcy (Shrewsbury House, g), and with the second year of the Milligan Cup for Musical Theatre, won again by Jon Tarcy.  Music, too, continues to flourish. In the Michaelmas Term, Scholars Concert, Ferguson Singing Competition (with huge numbers of competitors), the Hudson String Competition, a wonderful and impressive Choral Evensong at Worcester Cathedral (whose canons said they’d never seen a choir 115+) as large in the Cathedral, and the high quality Carol services and Christmas Concert; the Lent Term was marked by John Warner (Dragon, a) and Tom Bennett (Hall Grove, a) gaining Performance Diplomas, only the 4th and 5th boys to achieve that accolade at Radley, and

by Will Ford (New College, b) gaining a Choral Scholarship to New College, Oxford, Lawrence Halksworth (St George’s Windsor, e) a Vocal Scholarship to the Royal College of Music, and James Moore (Hereford Cathedral School, e) winning two piano competitions at the Oxford Music Festival. Our leading musicians came together for an excellent Concerto Concert in February and for an equally arresting Piano Extravaganza.

The Summer Term saw a packed Silk Hall witnessing a varied and entertaining Warden’s Music, and a Wharton Piano

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Competition of real and rare quality. Nor is all the music conventionally classical; guitar playing, rock music and musical theatre flourish.  The Art Department has struggled manfully with the demolition of its gallery space; once again the examination shows were of a very high standard. The department eagerly awaits the opening of the new Clocktower Square (due in Summer 2013), and boys’ work is being prepared to adorn the huge and inviting spaces there.

Sport

almost 60% of matches played were won. Individual honours went to James Todd (Cheltenham College Junior, g), Hugh Gordon (Winchester House, c), James Mahon (Cothill, c) and Andrew Pfaff (Cheam, e) who were selected to play for Oxfordshire at their respective age groups. Hamish Miller (King’s Hall, a) was an excellent captain. The 1st XI Soccer had a slow start to the season but reached the final of the LB Cup for the second year running, narrowly losing to Loughborough Grammar School 1-0.

 Radley is one of the strongest sports schools in England, judged both by the sheer number of teams it puts out – 24 Rugby XVs in Michaelmas Term, 18 Hockey XIs and 11 Soccer XIs and 10 VIIIs in the Lent Term, 18 Cricket XIs, numerous Tennis pairs, 10 VIIIs in the Summer Term – but also in the success those teams have against strong fixture lists. It is very rare indeed for the school not to win the majority of its matches in a block fixture. And looking at the top teams in each sport – Rugby 1st XV won all but 2 games; Hockey 1st XI won all but one game; Cricket 1st XI winning all but one game; 1st VIII bronze medallists in the National Schools; 1st IV Tennis last year in the top four schools nationally. It is quite some record.  In the Rugby, 70% of matches were won. Against Oundle 16/17 matches were won, against Sherborne 17/20, Bedford 14/17, Marlborough 14/17. The 1st XV was powerful, and in close encounters had the strength to come through and win: Sherborne beaten 8-7; Tonbridge 12-11 (their only defeat); Bedford 14-10. Oliver Wynne-Griffith was an outstanding and inspirational captain. The 5th XV, (Stonewall) and JC4 and 5 were unbeaten.  The 1st XI Hockey had another excellent season finishing with a record of Won 8, Drawn 1, Lost 1 to win the Charlie Barker trophy for the second year running. They also won the Oxfordshire U18 County Tournament.

Other teams to excel included the 2nd XI, 4th XI, M4 and M5 who all won their respective ISHL leagues. The club as a whole set high standards and

 The Cricket has been led by three extraordinary schoolboy players, Captain Wilf Marriott (Farleigh, g), Nick Gubbins (Elstree, h) and Alex Hearne (Dragon, j), all of whom have had representative honours, and have played in the XI for four years or more. Wilf scored five centuries, and a 50 and Nick Gubbins’ 130 v Bradfield was one of the best schoolboy innings

ever seen on the ground. Against Eton, the pair scored 236-0 in their opening partnership, and topped that by scoring 252-0 against Abingdon (Marriott 138 n.o.

Gubbins 102 n.o.). But all the cricketers have suffered from terrible weather. Other notable scalps have been Marlborough, Charterhouse, Winchester and Harrow, with really comprehensive wins at Harrow and at Tonbridge, where Tonbridge were dismissed for 87 when pursuing Radley’s 237. For the first time Radley won both the Cowdrey Cup (versus Eton, Tonbridge,

Regatta and a third place in the eight at Wallingford Regatta. The J16s showed good form throughout the season with a win at Nottingham City Regatta, second place Wallingford Regatta and a solid fourth place in a record-breaking final at the National Schools’ Regatta. The 2nd VIII had a good win at Worcester Regatta (where they also won in the coxed four event) and have improved steadily during the season. The 1st VIII started the season with a fifth place in the Schools’ Head and achieved second place in Elite Eights at Nottingham City Regatta. They were in an excellent record-breaking National Schools’ final where they clinched the bronze medal, and both the coxed and coxless fours reached the A-final in a large and very competitive field. At Henley they reached the final of the Princess Elizabeth Cup, losing narrowly to Abingdon. For the fifth time in the past decade they posted the second fasted time of the whole competition, but still lost out.

Ollie Wynne-Griffith (Aldro, j) and Charlie Shaw (Westbourne House, j) also represented Great Britain at the Munich International Regatta.  On the Athletics track

history was made. Blair McCallum (Moulsford, b) broke school records at 100m (10.6), 200m (21.6), helped the 4x100m relay team to a new record (43.1) and in winning the Achilles Relays 4x100m (best performance of the day award, too) and came second in the Scottish Senior Championships 200m.

George Gundle (Dragon, h) broke a long standing record at 400m with 50.4. 21 boys and 20 dons/adults took part in the 50k relay race at Radley; the team of 3-5 took between 2hrs 46 minutes and 3hrs 41 minutes.

Charterhouse and Wellington) and the John Harvey Cup (versus Marlborough, St Edwards, Winchester and Bradfield).  It has been a challenging season for the

rowers with many events cancelled due to adverse weather conditions. The J15s have improved steadily during the course of the season and achieved an excellent win in the quad event at Marlow Town

 The Golf team also had notable success – Tom Beasley (Abingdon Prep, c), Johnny Wright (Summer Fields, c), Keith Seward (Hereward House, b), Robin Eliot (Ashdown House, b) and Charlie Bailey (Dulwich Prep, c) won the West of England Championships.  In Real Tennis, Ben Boddington

(Moulsford, g) and Hamish Miller (King’s Hall, a) were schools’ National Doubles Champions; Ben Boddington won the National U19 dubles and Felix White the National U15 Doubles.  The Lawn Tennis Club has gone from

strength to strength over the past few years, largely due to the commitment and enthusiasm of the Masters in Charge,

Harry Crump and David Cresswell.

This year the club grew to over 150 players for the first time and over 1,450 competitive sets were played against opposition schools. The season began with a successful pre-season tour to Mallorca. Thereafter, the Bigside team returned and won the ISL doubles Shield on the second weekend of term. Strong performances followed in the RHWM and OXIST leagues. These achievements were matched by a highly successful Colts VIII who won the RHWM league and played a leading role in the Junior ISL team. Notable club successes were a 45-35 win against Eton and a 49-46 win against Bradfield, where the first ever Saturday Midgets teams won to turn the fixture in Radley’s favour. Finally, congratulations must go to Hamish Miller (Bigside captain) (King’s Hall, a) who was selected to play for the Independent School’s VI versus the All England Club at Wimbledon at the end of last season.  It has been the most successful season

for Rackets in many a year. Our first pair, Hamish Miller (King’s Hall, a) and Charlie Beardall (Moulsford, e), improved throughout the season and beating Harrow on their court was the highlight which gave them No 3 seed spot in the Public Schools’ Doubles in March. They then went on to reach the semi-final but were beaten by Eton, the number 2 seeds.

George Buckley (Moulsford, b) and Rupert Boddington (Moulsford, g), however, produced the biggest upset during the doubles championship by beating the No 2 seeds in the Colts and reaching the final.

This success was down to the fact that nearing the championship they found time around all their other commitments to practise. They reaped the rewards for their hard work and it was thoroughly deserved.  Squash: during Michaelmas Term

Jack Roddan (Caldicott, c), Hugh GillenToon (Caldicott, j), Jonathan Backhouse (Lockers Park, f) and Samuel Austin (Cothill, c) played in the Oxfordshire County Championships (closed). Sam Austin, playing in only his second season of squash, won the U15 Plate, and Hugh Gillen-Toon came a highly respectable second in the U17 group. During the Lent Term the seniors played in division one (after promotion last year) of the Roehampton Schools Invitational tournament where they competed well at the highest level against many of the best independent school teams in the country.

The club is sorry to be losing two of its best contributors over the past few seasons to retirement: Jack Roddan and Charlie Grimshaw (Woodcote House, c) who have represented Radley at the highest level for many years.

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Tanzania Over the Summer holidays, organised parties of Radleians travelled to far-flung places and continents, with the aim of stretching their horizons and, at the same time, benefiting the diverse communities there. One such trip was to Tanzania.

As the sun rose over Heathrow, a steady trickle of bleary-eyed Radleains arrived for the journey to Tanzania. Our destination – Nairobi – was eventually reached at the unholy hour of 2am.

The next day, a cramped, bumpy twoday bus journey led us to the foot of

Africa’s highest mountain (5895m), Kilimanjaro. We took the picturesque Rongai route, scheduled to take seven days. Our climbing entourage was impressive: three guides, five assistant guides, one cook, two waiters, four tent crew, one camp manager, nearly forty porters. To the battle cry of “Pole!

Pole!” (“Slowly! Slowly!”) this small army embarked on the dusty climb.

Enthusiasm and spirits ran high. This energy was quashed however, with our first casualty to altitude sickness at 3400m. Temperatures plummeted to -15°C, making the midnight toilet dash a particularly unpleasant experience.

The arrival at Base Camp at the Kibo hut (4700 m) saw nerves and excitement move up a notch, as boys and staff geared up for the final push.

At this elevation, even getting out of the sleeping bag was an energy-sapping endeavour and a number of the boys were struggling. The remaining 1200m climb to the tip of the granite titan seemed daunting.

“The Big Push” started at midnight.

The head-lamps from our group lit up the mountain like fireflies.

Despite the positive mood, the 5000m boundary proved critical for many: stomach-cramps, headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting and the extreme

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cold (temperatures dropped to a low of around -25°C) resulted in six more ‘casualties’. Of the 21 starters, only twelve made it to the top, demonstrating the extreme physical demands of this expedition. Those that did make it were justifiably elated; those that didn’t still felt extremely proud of their efforts.

Before long the group was swept off on another lengthy journey over bumpy African roads. After a brief encounter with some serpents at Meserani Snake Park, we arrived at our partnership school, Gehandu Secondary School in remote Mbulu.

Set in spectacularly dusty and scrubby mountains, Gehandu is a government-funded secondary school with the same number of students as Radley, but with only twenty-two teaching staff and no ground staff. Students and staff spend two hours per day collecting water from a hand pump at the bottom of a valley, harvesting beans and maize from local fields, cleaning classrooms and toilets; all of these tasks were essential to ensure the school remains self-sufficient. Everyone from Radley noted the great sense of community.

Most of our week was focused on teaching the students, but the Radleians also dutifully took part in the aforementioned chores. The boys rose to the challenge heroically: teaching a total of 57 periods in the space of five school days. Lessons were a great hit with the students and staff of Gehandu: these ranged from writing Japanese haikus, to understanding irony and sarcasm.

Our student-led approach excited the Gehandu crowds and left their mark.

A huge success was the visit to the

neighbouring primary school, Titiwi.

Everyone was greeted by a sea of smiling children, desperate to make an impression on the fair-skinned aliens. It was an opportunity to visit local farms and homes, where the warmth of our reception - often provided with sugar cane, tea and bananas - was nothing short of extraordinary.

We were also carried away by Tanzanian football fever during the trip. After adjusting to the oxygendeprived conditions at 1900m, the Radley team (boys and staff) achieved a respectable W 4, D 1, L 2 record against Gehandu and the Catholic seminary school.

The highlight for many were the safaris to Lake Manyara and the Ngorongoro crater. We caught glimpses of the “Big Five”: lions, hippos, elephants, giraffes and rhinos. Our now-legendary encounter with the lions in Ngorongoro was perhaps a little too close for comfort, with a pride of nine resting on our jeeps.

All too soon the trip drew to a close and Gehandu gave Radley an emotional send-off. It was made clear that we had contributed a great deal in a short period. Apart from helping with the teaching and learning in lessons (all conducted in English, their third language), we raised over £4000 for school resources and donated 200kg of second hand school textbooks from College. The trip provided a wealth of valuable experiences and set up what we hope will be a worthwhile and sustainable partnership. The boys should feel proud of their achievements and their significant contribution to a disadvantaged community.

Borneo The trip was massively successful.

It was a real adventure, without straying into the bracket of misadventure. We returned safe and sound and employed safe practices whilst there. Our comfort zones were stretched and our minds expanded outside the classroom.

And we successfully worked on a sustainable and worthwhile community and environmental project, alongside people from the host country and local skilled workers, with the boys working as a team in the process.

The Radleians remained positive and enthusiastic throughout and return into 6.2 with a wealth of ‘life experience’ – something we should benefit tremendously from as a school.

The jungle can bring out the best people have to offer – pupils and adults alike. Quite apart from all the chances to integrate with different cultures and people, the physical and mental challenges it provides offers an excellent opportunity for personal introspection.

Along with a group from Tudor Hall School, we helped to construct a shelter at the Causirina site, part of the new Pa Umor Eco‐Tourism Trail. The Causirina Camp is the final camp on the eco‐tourism circuit, connecting four other camps. All of these trekking shelters provide accommodation and facilities for tourists to the area. The aim of the circuit is to link a number of cultural sites on a journey through the rainforest. The focus is on eco‐tourism and responsible and sustainable travel. Building the camp represented a massive challenge, because of its remote jungle location. Personal goals boys had set themselves were also fulfilled: e.g. Ollie Williams’ desire to learn about expedition medicine, prior to university.

T he R adley N ewsletter THE RADLEY NEWSLET TER

11 11

Almost everybody has looked up at the night sky at some point in their lives and thought about our place in the universe and it is the ability of Astronomy to prompt questions from boys that makes it such a wonderful subject. From the Shell and Remove years, when we look at our solar system, to the Sixth Form, when we study exoplanets and calculate the surface temperature of distant stars, it is a part of lessons at all stages of a boy’s time in the Physics Department.

But it is also a wonderful opportunity to make links across different departments. A recent talk on the history of the Transit of Venus from a Greenwich Royal Observatory researcher and a performance of Sousa’s Transit of Venus March are two recent examples of this: as is the talk in the 6.1 Lecture series about the Copernican revolution. 6.1 physicists visited Greenwich Observatory this year and on clear nights, boys have the opportunity to use the Physics department telescopes. A new specialist telescope will also make it possible for boys to directly observe the sun and so the Astronomy tradition at Radley, stretching back to its earliest days, will continue on into the future.

Kevin Mosedale, Head of Physics

Astronomy at Radley 12

T H E R A D L E YWebsite: N E W S L www.radley.org.uk ETTER

Admissions enquiries: 01235 543174 admissions@radley.org.uk