Radley or Sherborne?

[LadyLovealotte]

DS has got a place at both- we love both and struggle to decide! Would love some feedback from current parents if possible.

Thanks for the more recent and interesting replies. We visited the house with the ex RM HM too and really liked him and his approach but we haven’t visited any other houses and have heard they differ greatly.

From a personal perspective we have a DD who is a few years behind and Sherborne would offer a neat solution with SG. Downe House has similar links to Radley however I don’t think they are as full boarding as SG.

Like mentioned above I also liked the fact that they can explore a little independence in Sherborne. Having said that Radley has got Oxford close by and as DS is a bit of a country boy who likes fishing, shooting etc it has quite a draw. I also like that everyone does CCF, most sports etc as shells at Radley. Those things came across as more optional at Sherborne and I fear DS might not get drawn in initially.

I’m not concerned about the academic aspect as such. DS is bright and will get what he needs in both places. There’s a value to broad intake as well as a value to an overall more academically demanding environment.

Any current info on the different houses? @Chilbolton

My DS is not in the house with the Royal Marine but the one with the rugby player HM. He is also absolutely excellent. DS had a big wobble when he first arrived at Sherborne - he had boarded at prep but this was very different! It could not have been handled better. HM was brilliant and matrons also wonderful. They still are. Nothing but praise.

Well of course every boy's house is the Best House @LadyLovealotte so I'm probably biased. We looked at outside space and geographical location within the school/town. We shortlisted three that are close to- but not within- the school, for easy logistics and with rainy February breakfasts in mind. There's a House that's very handy for the station and another that's closest to the sports fields, which must have an appeal after matches. We were choosing during Covid restrictions so couldn't visit- but if starting over I'd want to observe staff interactions with boys, how civilised the ablutions are and whether there are spaces specific to different age groups, particularly the Y9s. And if you have outdoorsy boys I think a big garden that they can access is important.
By the way everyone does CCF- it's compulsory for Y10, as is rugby for Y9- thereafter they can choose from all sorts of mainstream or quirky sports. CCF and some other sports and hobbies are joint with SGirls. Sailing is very big, boys can also do shooting, and there are several keen fly fishing boys in House who organise trips out at weekends- you see them at drop-off lugging rods and nets back from home!

surely if you have an out doors, shooty type, then it has to be Radley with it's Countryside centre. They even have their own Beagle pack. (= v v v cute puppies!!)
Oxford is a very short cycle ride/bus/train ride away.

I know this thread is cobwebby but can I dust it off… we are also trying to decide between Sherborne and Radley for two sons. Elder one has just got in to both. I don’t think either will be a wrong choice, but I am aware it will affect the rest of their lives and I am finding it so hard to choose! People say go with your gut… my gut is unfortunately a fickle creature and loves both.
Radley was initial no brainer but he is at prep school near Sherborne and he now really wants to go there because he has friends going there. Both boys like sport but not A team material, elder is SEN and not doing brilliantly at prep school academically but Radley said they liked his enthusiasm at interview and they could work with his ADHD and processing issues (they have seen his EP report). Sherborne ditto. Both boys can be a bit work shy!
Younger one is more academic - at the moment we like idea of them going to same school as they are close.
Both schools have great extra curricular, with Radley fractionally winning because of rowing.
Radley would be more academic - but this is a double edged sword. Might DC1 get more confidence at a less academic school? But then he might be pulled along by more academic cohort - rising tide raises all ships thing.
Wish I could skip ahead in time and see which would make them happier, more confident and ultimately more likely to succeed in whatever path they choose!
Sherborne is definitely easier logistically and more of their friends from prep school are going there. It seems more of a local school though, and we don’t live near there, I don’t want them only to have a Dorset/Somerset crowd. But maybe Radley is all Oxfordshire/Home Counties?!
I have had great chats with parents at both but they are obviously championing their own choices. Anyone got good experience with both schools?

Thought I was on the baby names board.

I’d choose Sherborne since Radley is the name of handbag with a dog on it.

@LadyLovealotte which did you end up choosing?

@Illegalbeagle no bad choice here, and I think both suit good all-rounders and enthusiasts. Radley is probably a little grander, Sherborne has more of a reputation for producing extremely nice young men. We were put off by the admissions process at Radley which seemed to create something of a two-tier culture. That might well have changed as they've decreased the proportion taken via early registration, but I didn't like that Warden's List boys had limited choice of socials, for example. Radley is perhaps more international, Sherborne more musical. I wouldn't say Sherborne is particularly local, not least because there are so many schools in Dorset/Somerset. But it is generally South of England plus military families of the smarter variety who need the full boarding. The train line means lots of boys travel from both ends of the M3- A303 corridor, and quite a lot of London families choose it to get their boys out of the big smoke, or for the links with Sherborne Girls.
I have more indirect knowledge of Radley (my DS having attended a feeder prep) and don't have anything bad to say about it- it's clearly a terrific school.

It could maybe boil down to whether your DS would prefer to be in a town or campus setting.

Is the teaching better at Radley, any thoughts? Someone suggested they keep boys on track more, and that they are all a bit more enthusiastic about school life generally. We seem to be coming down to academics/rowing at Radley vs locality/already having friends/ possibly having more confidence at Sherborne due to others in similar SEN boat

Yes you are right: harder to get in is not the be-all and end-all.

I’d agree Radley is more competitive, but not everyone wants that ( or not just that). I know lots of people really happy with Sherborne - possibly more than with any other school.

I know quite a few boys from both and would say Sherborne boys are more personable, charming and polite in general.

If I’m brutally honest - since honesty seems to be the mood on this thread - Radley always strikes me ( and others I know treat it similarly) as the place for boys who weren’t quite sharp enough by a whisker to get into Eton or Winchester.

Sherborne is doing something quite different. But well done to your DS: Radley and Sherborne are both great schools regardless.

Yes, I know that reputation - and probably guilty of thinking it of others in the past. In reality, it is no longer true - I can think of two boys who recently turned down Eton for Radley, in one case because they felt Eton had got too international and academically hothousey and in the other because they thought the pastoral support at Radley was so much better. Not saying either of those things are true, but it is how the parents felt.

Your post also confirms our feeling - Sherborne seems a fractionally ‘nicer’ school turning out lovely boys, Radley seems to turn out slightly more ambitious boys who get better academic results. We just need to figure out which is more important to us! I feel like Verucca Salt but I want both! Hence the dilemma. Still - very first world problems. Getting all out of proportion in my head. Thank you for all the advice.

I don’t know if this helps but I was in Paris on a tourist river boat with two sets of school trips. One set swore, effed and blinded and screamed throughout the whole journey, so much so that I complained to their teacher.

The other group were really sweet, courteous and well presented. They were from Sherborne Girls.

Sherborne Girls are lovely! The school seems a bit more academic than the boys school atm?

Whether Radley is harder to get in to is hardly what's going to help @OP's decision at this point. Entry requirements are: either register from birth (not hard! if you're in the know) or you go on warden's list if very bright (we don't know which one OP's ds is) plus interview. Either way, they've already got an offer and CE used to be 55% (may have changed), it's hardly QE boys or Eton at 70% CE.
Sherborne I believe, has fewer airs and graces, does not mandate registering from birth yadda yadda and not full of farmers' sons so this changes the mix of students a bit, more diverse.
Radley seems more stuffling. You need to very very sporty roughty toughty kind of boy. Sherborne is for a much gentler lad. That's my two pence worth.

You have incorrectly described the Radley entrance process of a bygone era, not the current position. The two application processes are 1. Radley List, which is not register at birth only, its register up to 4 years old. 2. Open Entry (The old Warden's List) - in essence, every other applicant who has not been registered by 4th birthday. Like most competitive public schools, Radley now uses the ISEB pre test, candidates are then shortlisted from these results to then attend an assessment day/interview for all (all this is done in yr 6). Offers are then unconditional, wait list or no offer. Radley List boys follow exactly the same entrance process as the Open Entry boys. However, Radley List boys are guaranteed an interview in Michaelmas term yr 6. They are still assessed in exactly the same way, needing to meet the same standards. Open Entry boys are competing for less places so it is a more difficult route but the assessment process is the same. Radley is a level above Sherborne academically, and likley across the board in sport. Pastorally it is unrivalled for a full boys boarding environment.

@Runningupthathill1980 Thanks for the update! its nice to know they are modernising their entry process to align with other schools. Though most of it is simply a change of names i.e Open list/Warden's list plus ISEB and that shift from birth only to age 4yrs!!! That must've been tough for them .

Radley is more academic but how @OP's ds performs will depend on his own ability rather than the academic results of the overall school. We are talking about 2 excellent schools here with every resource you can think of. I didn't get the feeling Radley's pastoral care was anything to write home about but it sounds like it may have all changed. @Op's I'm sure you've already visited. Visit again and speak to the housemasters and boys and I'm sure your ds will find the winner for him.

@Illegalbeagle it’s so hard isn’t it! We’ve gone for Radley as DS and we really, really just like it and feel excited about the prospect. Very tough though as we are in a very similar position to you but have a younger DD. In your shoes I’d just go for Radley as you don’t have to even think about another school for your younger DS. I think there’s so much you can’t control which makes for a happy setting, like the rest of the year group. Really hoping he will be happy there!

I think you missed the point, which is not about a name change but about the levelling up of Radley List and Open Entry admissions. Open entry is still marginally tougher but the Radley List is not at all guaranteed entry these days. They all go through the same entry criteria and process, albeit an early interview for Radley List boys. In addition, Social choices are all on an equal footing in both entry routes.

Thank you!! It is like being invited to two awesome parties… want to go to both!

OP - DS was at Radley (he's just about to finish Uni this year) and they had loads of academic sets. DS thought the teaching in his sets was excellent. What I liked about Radley is that as all the teachers lived on site, (or in the village) they would invite a group of boys round to watch the football on tv, cook a meal together and discuss their subject. Maybe all boarding schools do this, I don't know. We were very happy with Radley. I hope your DS's are too.

Any thoughts on Sherborne’s teaching? And boys enthusiasm for general school life there? I got the impression it wasn’t that cool to be in choir, academic, etc, whereas boys at Radley were keener to do well in everything. And that the teaching/academic organisation might be better at Radley - any Sherborne parents have thoughts on this? I think we are sending our son to Sherborne but these are our fears.

What I've observed is that as the boys progress through the school they increasingly become their 'own man' rather than caring about their image- it becomes cool to be their authentic self. Amongst 13 and 14 year olds those who started out at the top of the pile (the A team players and the more mature) often don't stay there as boys level up and people begin to earn respect for their capabilities and character. Musicians are high status from the outset also. I asked DS2 about the quality of teaching. His take is that not every boy is academically-driven but the quality of teaching is excellent. It's a school with high levels of generational wealth and combined with broad entry I guess this means not every boy is hungry and not every parent is pushing. But any of these schools is better than it needs to be to offer amazing opportunities and great teaching- and able, motivated pupils will do well in any of them. So long as the pastoral care is good it's then really a question of fit and feel.