Radley College Registration: Key Dates and Deadlines

Radley College is one of the few remaining full-boarding boys' schools, and its admissions timeline begins early, with families encouraged to register well before the assessment year. Leave it too late and the standard route can close before your son has had the chance to be assessed. This guide sets out when to register, how the process works, and where registration sits in Radley's wider admissions timeline.

When to register for Radley College

For 13+ entry, Radley encourages families to register by the start of the Summer Term of Year 5, with a formal deadline of 31 October on the main route. In practice this means registering while your son is in Year 5, so that everything is in place before the ISEB Common Pre-Test in Year 6. The lead time catches some families out, particularly those new to the boarding world or relocating to the area, who often start looking at senior schools later than this.

Registration puts your son into Radley's process. It commits you to nothing and guarantees nothing, but without it he cannot be assessed. Given that Radley is a single-sex, full-boarding school with a strong following, registering in good time genuinely matters.

Early registration and the Radley List

Radley is one of the schools that still maintains a very early registration tradition. It welcomes registration from birth, and boys can be placed on the Radley List before their fourth birthday. This reflects the school's history and the loyalty of its community, where places have long been planned years ahead.

For most families, this early route is not essential, and registering by the start of the Summer Term of Year 5 is the practical milestone to aim for. But if Radley is a long-held ambition, or you have family ties to the school, it is worth knowing that the door opens far earlier than 13+ and that early registration is part of how Radley operates. If in doubt, contact the admissions office to understand where you stand for your son's year group.

Visit before you register

Because Radley is full boarding, a visit matters more here than at a day school, and it is worth doing before you commit to the process. A boy who has walked round the 800-acre estate, seen a boarding house, and pictured himself living there comes to the eventual interview with genuine enthusiasm rather than a borrowed ambition. The school runs open days and individual visits, and seeing it in person also helps you as a family decide whether full boarding, with everyone living on site, is right for your son. Many families find that a visit either confirms Radley as the clear choice or, just as usefully, tells them early that a different setting would suit their son better. Either way, it is time well spent before registration.

How to register

Registration is completed through Radley's admissions process, after which your son is formally added to the school's list for his year of entry. Radley asks for a reference from your son's current school as part of its assessment, so it helps to let the current head teacher know early that he is a Radley candidate. A reference written with notice tends to do more for a boy than one produced at short notice.

The full fee position, including what falls due on accepting a place, is set out in our Radley College fees guide.

The full Radley admissions timeline

The pattern is the familiar one for boys' boarding: register in Year 5, screen in Year 6, and enter in Year 9. Our full guide to getting into Radley College walks through what each stage involves, and our guide to the Radley entrance exam covers the assessment in detail.

Common registration mistakes

The most common mistake is leaving registration until Year 6, by which point the standard window has closed. If Radley is on your list at all, register in Year 5 and decide later, rather than the other way round.

A second mistake is treating the ISEB Pre-Test as the whole process. It is the first stage, and Radley makes its decision after the Assessment Day, which adds an interview and a short written exercise. Preparing only for the test leaves a boy underprepared for the part where character and fit are judged. Our guide to the ISEB Common Pre-Test explains the first stage.

The third is not briefing the current school. Radley relies on a reference, and a head teacher caught unawares cannot give the considered account that helps a strong candidate stand out.