Tatler School of the Year 2024
Radley College is a full boarding school for boys aged 13-18 near Oxford www.radley.org.uk
Recent Exam Results We are proud of our excellent academic outcomes. Our GCSE and A-Level results have been consistently high for many years, with outstanding individual and collective performances from our boys.
A-Level 2026
A*
A* – A
A* - B
29%
67%
91%
GCSE 2026
Grade 9
Grade 8 – 9
Grade 7 – 9
38%
62%
82%
23 boys achieved Grade 9s in nine or more subjects
Radley Curriculum
Scholarships
Boarding
Admissions Process We are always keen to hear from families considering Radley for their son. There are two main entry points: Year 9 (age 13) and Sixth Form (age 16). Please use the QR code below to book an Open Day. Further information is available from our Admissions Team.
13+
16+
Families should apply by the Summer Term of Year 5 (three years before entry). In Year 6, boys will sit the ISEB Common Pre-Test and
We offer around 20 places at Sixth Form and are looking for candidates who are ambitious in their aims for university and beyond. Applications
we will request a reference from their current school. If shortlisted, interviews will take place in the Lent Term of Year 6, with results letters sent in March.
open in the Summer Term of Year 10 (the year before entry). There is a Sixth Form Open Day in October of Year 11 ahead of the assessment which takes place at Radley in November.
Book an Open Day
Admissions
Campus Tour Film
Radley’s 6.2s received 13 Oxbridge offers (10 to Oxford and three to Cambridge), along with seven early offers from leading US universities (including Harvard, Yale, Boston College, UPenn, two from and SCHOOL OFNortheastern, THE YEAR 2024 T A T L E R SCHOOL OF THE YEAR 2024 the University of Denver).
The recent redevelopment of our Music School further cements Radley’s status as one of the UK’s leading schools for music. Radley College is a finalist in the Independent School of the Year Awards for Independent Boys’ School of the Year – four Radley School Group schools also received their own accolades.
Radley’s First VIII set a course record in the 2026 National Schools Regatta.
We think it’s an absolute humdinger of a school. THE GOOD SCHOOLS GUIDE
Our sell-out production of Les Misérables was nominated for ‘best musical’ at the National School Theatre Awards and 13 boys gained places at the National Youth Theatre.
Six boys achieved the highest score category in the Canadian Chemistry Contest, with Jerome (6.2, E) coming 13th out of 600 globally.
Located just 10 minutes from Oxford, our campus setting boasts the largest area of mown grass in the south of England.
This is an unbelievably impressive place, steeped in tradition yet evolving by the minute.
Over 120 concerts over the year: from solo recitals to massed orchestral and choral performances to band gigs.
1847
Just 1 hour from London Heathrow.
550 individual music lessons every week.
Founded in 1847 on the principles of Christianity, Beauty, Privacy and Collegiality.
TALK EDUCATION
158 Chapel services attended by the whole school: that’s around 400 hymns, over 300 organ voluntaries, and 32 solo performances. 68 boys toured to Salamanca in February 2025 and our Chapel Choir is 130 boys strong. 25 A-Level subjects on offer. 23 boys are taking the mini-MBA.
Over 80 talks a year from external speakers on a range of subjects including Biochemistry, The Roman Legion, The Politics of Refugees and Wealth Management.
Talents and interests, no matter how unusual, are unearthed and nurtured here. 67 co-curricular options for boys, ranging from animals and chess, to fencing and fishing, horology and MedSoc to cooking, creative writing and model rocketry! 15,000 meals prepared every week – favourites include burger night and fish and chips.
MUDDY STILETTOS
Over 20 sports played competitively against other schools. Over 130 teams played in fixtures in 2025/26. Every boy plays for a team.
‘Renowned added value’ is a bold claim for Radley to make, but the school’s academic success proves its veracity. TATLER SCHOOLS GUIDE 2027
Radley Schools Group’s prep schools and Radley College are united by a shared commitment to educational excellence. Five of these prep schools, Aldro (Surrey), Beeston (Norfolk), Cothill, (Oxfordshire), Mowden Hall (Northumberland) and West Hill Park (Hampshire) offer boarding for pupils aged eight – 13.
Head John Moule, since 2014; previously head of Bedford School Pupils 775 boarding boys aged 13-18 Term Fees £21,216 (inclusive of VAT) Bursaries 19% of pupils, up to 100%+ Alumni Poet Sir Andrew Motion, rugby player Will Stuart, TV and Radio presenter Jamie Laing ‘Renowned added value’ is a bold claim for Radley to make, but the school’s academic success proves its veracity. In 2026, 13 of its leavers were made Oxbridge offers and seven had early acceptances from Ivy League universities including Yale, Harvard and Dartmouth; and at GCSE, 27 boys scored straight grade 9s (in fact, 40 per cent of its overall grades were 9). But that valueadded does not just apply to academics. In the past year, Radleians were crowned national debating champions for the second year running; they had two quartets in the Pro Corda National Chamber Music competition finals; and their rowing 1st VIII won gold at Wallingford Regatta.
One of the College’s core strengths is its pastoral care. ‘Well-rounded, grounded and gentlemen’ is how one parent – who admires the school's steadfast commitment to full boarding – describes the boys, continuing: ‘We wanted the consistency, and Radley has a very happy environment. It’s truly a home from home.’ (Indeed, there are Saturday morning lessons and sports in the afternoons, but weekend evenings are packed with activities, socials with girls’ schools, concerts and trips.) One of the College’s core strengths is its pastoral care, and it hosts a programme of talks for boys to explore mental health, social media and digital privacy. However, as our researcher puts it, ‘the informal support network every boy has is exceptionally good at helping them through good and bad times’. Once a week the boarding houses get a vote on what’s for supper – it’s known as ‘Social choice’ – and everyone looks forward to the ‘delicious’ burgers on Wednesday nights.
Sport: a massive part of pupils’ lives; 98 per cent represent the school in some capacity. Gorgeous pitches, rowing tank, fishing lake, boathouse, courts for every racquet sport: a sweetshop of delights. Recent push to get Radleians ‘to look up and out’ one parent says; the new head of Sixth Form’s remit includes ‘nurturing an enterprising mindset’. Single sex makes sense here – no stereotyping – boys reckoned they do more singing than they would in a co-ed environment. Respect Project with Downe House creates meaningful touchpoints, giving boys experience of working with girls rather than just peering at them across empty dance floors.
Exciting teaching gets the best out of curious boys who are willing to have a go. Radley was never the nerdy one in the gang but, particularly when the mixed selection process is considered, ‘there’s no water’ between Radley and the competition. In fact, lots of parents cited ‘fizzy’ lessons, particularly in the Sixth Form, as their reason for choosing it. And fizzy it is: super discussions being had all over the place, dons (teachers) and pupils asking insightful questions of each other. High energy and really stretching, but we didn’t pick up a particularly competitive edge; boys making intelligent points but not gloating about it. The arts and co-curricular: an astonishing breadth and depth; the new music school will make it better still and demonstrates commitment to the arts. Half learn an instrument. Chapel choir is 120 strong including, we gather, a chunk of the first XV; the sound of all those boys singing with such sincerity gave us rather a lump in the throat (shh). Singing here is cool in a way that our guides suspect it’s not elsewhere. Art department busy: ‘creative industries are for boys, too’. Huge design engineering workshop plus computer suites and electronics room.
Central dining for breakfast, lunch, supper. Food really good, especially the kung pao chicken. Much excitement around ‘Shop’, the new dining room in which Socials take turns to have lunch: ‘It’s like a restaurant!’ Cook-ups back at your Social, too. Cocoa, at 9pm each night, also brings the Social together… talking about the world and the things which matter to them… ‘Deep, deep friendships form in the Socials,’ we hear. Distinctive sense of collegiality between boys and adults – relationships respectful but relaxed, based on shared experiences, interests, humour. High praise for pastoral care: ‘His tutor went the extra mile.’ ‘Sicut Serpentes, Sicut Columbae’ is Radley’s motto: ‘be ye wise as Serpents and harmless as doves’. Wise isn’t the first word that springs to mind (most of those we met still had freckles and train tracks), but they’re on their way to becoming so. Harmless? Yes, but better than that: they’re bright-eyed and bushytailed, bursting with anecdotes from RockSoc, facts about Mount Everest and stories of marsupials. Radley is changing, attracting a broader intake of talented, enthusiastic boys. Still boarders, still boys, still gowned – but in its characteristically quiet and classy way, Radley has been sharpening up. The result? A faithful old dog with some carefullyexecuted new tricks. We think it’s an absolute humdinger of a school.
Leavers’ University Destinations
Edinburgh
Durham Newcastle
Manchester
Cambridge Oxford Bristol
Imperial King’s College London London School of Economics Queen Mary University College London
Exeter
13
24
97%
Oxbridge places offered in 2025
boys received offers from international universities, including Ivy League
received offers from Russell Group Universities