Radley Schools Group

Aldro is pursuing a merger with Radley Schools Group from a position of strength and with the strategic aim of building on that position in the future.  Being part of Radley Schools Group provides Aldro with opportunities that would not be available on a standalone basis: greater scale and voice, access to wider expertise, increased capacity for investment, access to new markets and long-term resilience - all whilst preserving its distinctive identity and the impartiality of its senior-school advice. 

Aldro has been fortunate to have had a number of potential options available to it whilst considering its long-term future. Radley Schools Group emerged clearly as the right partner because its model combines the benefits and strength of belonging to a leading educational group with the freedom for Aldro to remain distinctively Aldro. 

Of particular importance is Radley Schools Group’s commitment to investing in Aldro’s future success. As part of the merger, the Group expects to support Aldro’s existing development plans and to invest more in the school than would otherwise be possible. 

Equally important is the fact that Aldro will retain its current freedom to advise families without bias when considering the right choice of senior school for each child. Aldro will continue to maintain strong relationships with, and send children to, a wide range of senior schools, ensuring that its advice to parents remains impartial and centred on the individual child. 

There is also a strong alignment between the two organisations in their ethos, values and educational ambitions, notably through a shared belief in academic excellence, the provision of a wide range of opportunities, and a central focus on the development of character, all underpinned by strong similarities between Aldro’s and Radley’s Christian traditions. We believe this combination of shared values, investment potential and impartiality of future-schools advice makes Radley Schools Group the right long-term home for Aldro. 

Radley Schools Group has much to offer. It has national and international brand recognition with a strong understanding of these markets. It has excellent governance and financial strength. It has a proven track record of effective strategic planning. It has expertise in each of the pastoral, co-curricular and academic spheres. It has energy and ambition. Above all, from its founders through to today, it has an authentic appreciation of the value and joy of education for its own sake and of the importance of positive role models, in a caring community, that cherishes and nurtures each child.  

For Aldro, we expect these strengths to bring significant benefits over time. Strong staff recruitment, the sharing of expertise in pedagogy, pastoral care and character education, and ambitious estates planning will all have a positive impact on the education of Aldro children. Aldro’s staff will also benefit from greater opportunities for collaboration, professional development and the sharing of best practice across the Group. 

The benefits will be mutual. As an established and successful standalone prep school, Aldro has accumulated considerable expertise of its own. Its distinctive approach to education, experience of co-education, breadth of senior-school relationships and track record as a successful independent school will add to the collective expertise of Radley Schools Group. Over time, it is expected that sharing this experience and expertise will benefit each school and every child in the Group. 

No. This merger is not about creating a pipeline of pupils; were that to be the motive, it would not be the right decision for Aldro, as Aldro feeds a very wide range of different schools. That will continue to be the case. While Radley will always welcome applications from boys at Aldro, they will be processed in the same way as those from other schools. Aldro girls and boys will continue to receive the same impartial and expert future-schools advice that is tailored to help parents find the right and best senior school for their child. 

The Group is clearly and emphatically committed to its schools providing the best pathways for each of its children: girls and boys, 11+ and 13+, day and boarding. That will not change. 

Radley Schools Group’s approach, as with Aldro, is to view each child as an individual. Aldro’s existing commitment to co-education will continue and, given Radley College is not managing the Group to develop its own pipeline of pupils, both girls and boys will continue to be guided on their own educational pathway, with links to other senior schools continuing to be just as important as they are today.  
 
Importantly, the benefits of Aldro joining Radley Schools Group will apply equally to girls and boys. All pupils will benefit from increased investment, access to wider educational expertise, greater opportunities for staff development and the sharing of best practice, as well as the long-term strengthening of Aldro’s educational provision.

Just as Radley depends on strong relationships with all its feeder schools, so Aldro has important links with its destination schools. Both remain of vital importance. Aldro’s commitment to maintaining strong links with the wide range of senior schools to which it sends its children will not change as a result of the merger. 

The Council of Radley College has overall governance responsibility for Radley Schools Group. The existing governing body for Aldro will be replaced by an Advisory Board providing local oversight, guidance and support. This will be chaired by James Geffen, current Chair of the Aldro Board, and members will include a number of existing Aldro trustees, ensuring that Aldro’s experience, perspective and distinctive character continue to be safeguarded within the new governance structure.  

James Geffen will also sit on the Prep Schools Committee, a sub-committee of Council charged with providing input on educational, operational, financial and compliance matters for prep schools in the Group. 

Chris Carlier, as Headmaster, will report to Andrew Ashton, the Chief Executive responsible for overall prep school performance and delivery.  

Radley College has its own Christian ethos and is proud that a commitment to this lies at the heart of all that Radley does. Accordingly, Radley welcomes the Christian foundation of Aldro, is fully supportive of it, and will similarly ensure that an Aldro education continues to be delivered in accordance with its historical Christian foundation, teaching and values.

Aldro and Barfield are very different schools, each with its own distinctive offering and each with the potential to thrive within Radley Schools Group. Allowing all schools to retain their identity and character is at the heart of the Radley Schools Group philosophy and there are therefore no plans to merge the two. Both schools see the potential benefits of working more closely together as separate schools but as part of one Group.

As a merger of charities, there is no financial consideration in the merger itself; the assets (and obligations) of one charity (formerly Aldro Educational Trust Ltd.) will simply transfer to the ownership of another (St Peter’s College, Radley – the formal name of Radley College).

Yes. One of the great strengths of the Group is that each school has maintained its identity within its own historic, cultural, and geographical context and market. Radley is committed to ensuring that remains the case for Aldro as a member of Radley Schools Group and wants Aldro to continue to be recognised locally as a centre of excellence. Guided by Olly Langton, the Group’s Director of Education, a distinctive and shared educational philosophy will certainly emerge, but this will only be applied in order that each school in the Group can continue to develop its own identity, strength and success.  

The addition of Aldro will not change the individual identity, leadership or educational approach of the other prep schools within Radley Schools Group. Each school will continue to operate with the autonomy that enables it to serve its own pupils and community effectively. 

At the same time, a larger and more diverse Group creates greater opportunities for all its schools. Aldro will bring additional experience, expertise and perspectives to the Group, while benefiting from those already within it. This will strengthen opportunities for collaboration, the sharing of best practice and professional development across the schools, while increasing the Group’s collective scale, resilience and ability to invest for the long term. 
 
Radley Schools Group is committed to investing in all of its Group schools, and, as with all Group schools, investment in Aldro will be considered in the context of the needs and aspirations of the Group as a whole. 

Aldro will continue to operate its own current model.  There is no expectation of a change in structure or approach as a result of the merger, and parents should expect continuity in the excellent education their children receive. Over time, we believe they will notice positive additions and developments, including as a result of anticipated investment in the site and an evolving educational offering. 

Chris Carlier, in discussion and collaboration with the Group Office team, will present a clear strategic plan for Aldro, to be ratified and agreed by Council. Structurally, at both executive and governance levels, there will be an emphasis on continuity of approach, with additional support and expertise being offered as part of a wider Group.

The Group has one set of accounts for the charity (St Peter’s College, Radley). Within that there is a clear separation of the financial operation for the College on the one hand and the Group’s prep schools on the other. Budgeting, forecasting, and long-term financial planning will all be scrutinised separately as will all core financial decisions (fees, salaries, estates planning etc.).

Yes. Each school in the Group, supported by the Chief Executive and the wider team, will plan their own budgets and forecasts, ensuring that the process is designed to achieve appropriate surplus to support their ambitions. In the current environment, this will not always be easy and will, of course, depend primarily on healthy numbers at each school. Radley Schools Group is committed to supporting that process and to making appropriate investment in Aldro in support of Aldro’s short- and medium-term goals, specifically where the business case demonstrates appropriate educational, strategic and financial return on that investment. 

The significant financial strength of Radley’s balance sheet will certainly help. A combination of effective planning, careful borrowing, focused fund-raising and judicious use of greater-than-expected proceeds from land sales has served the College extremely well in recent years and we are confident that it will provide a model for effective investment in Aldro, just as in the wider Group.  

We are acutely aware of the impact that fee rises have had on parents. Driven by the decisions of the current Government to impose VAT, remove business rate relief and raise the rate of Employer’s National Insurance, as well as being affected by wider economic and cost of living challenges, the burden is significant. Both Radley and Aldro are proud of having mitigated some of the effects of VAT and will continue to balance three principles in each year’s fee decision: the desire to offer the very best education to our children (including the fair remuneration of staff), effective management of costs and the recognition of the sacrifices parents make to send their children to our schools.  

We also recognise the different price points, geography and wider market contexts of our schools. The fees for each school in the Group are set individually, while retaining an overall sense of philosophy and group identity in the process.

The merger is scheduled to complete in early February 2027, with all staff transferred on completion to the employment of St Peter’s College, Radley.

No. Aldro has a strong balance sheet and is not in any financial trouble. However, as a small school, it has not always had the ability to invest as much as it would have wished in the development of its offering. The increased ability to do so is one of the many attractions of joining Radley Schools Group.

The nature of transactions like this means that great care needs to be taken to manage issues of confidentiality, especially considering the inevitable uncertainty that is created when such a move is first contemplated. The governors of Aldro have at all times sought to reassure parents of their confidence in the long-term security of a distinctively Aldro education. Whilst unable to provide a running commentary on the possibility of a merger, the governors have taken the decision to proceed with the merger with Radley Schools Group in their firm belief that to do so is in the best interests of all stakeholders at Aldro, and specifically parents, pupils and staff. Aldro and Radley Schools Group are committed to keeping parents informed as plans progress and to answering questions as they arise. 

The merger is structured on the basis of Aldro transferring its assets and obligations from the charity that is Aldro Educational Trust Limited to the charity that is St Peter’s College, Radley. As such, Aldro will continue to operate as part of a larger charity. The application of any existing funds earmarked and restricted solely for the benefit of Aldro will continue to be restricted in this way.  

Radley College is a full-boarding boys only 13-18 school and has no plans to change that model.  Unlike other senior schools that might look to merge with prep schools simply to shore up their numbers, the primary purpose of this merger is not to ensure a pipeline of pupils for Radley but rather for the College to work with its prep schools to build something new and exciting as a Group.

Radley College has always been a supporter of independent charitable education and has had close relationships with prep schools across the country throughout its history. The formation of Radley Schools Group has allowed Radley to be more directly involved in the sector, supporting it at a time of challenge and protecting the values that underpin what both the prep schools and Radley College do. Radley believes that prep schools need to be strong and to have a louder voice and a wider reach in the development of best educational practice for all our children. The merger brings another excellent school into the Group, expanding and enhancing the Group’s brand and reach, as Radley seeks to build something distinctive and powerful in the world of independent education.