Boarding through a Bursar’s lens

Posted: 30th May 2022

As a Bursar I see boarding through a different lens. I see what goes into running a school as a 24/7 operation. I see how much time there is outside the classroom, the emphasis on the co-curricular and character education, and the real sense of community and purpose of the boarding and pastoral teams that help make it all happen. I get to enjoy the output of our students, whether in sport, art, music or on the stage, and in their preparation for the outside world. Sometimes I even get to see their entrepreneurial ideas put into action or respond to their feedback on how we can do things better for them.

One of my most humbling experiences this year was when a parent told me that our meeting to discuss finances for their child was one of the most important meetings of their life. Such was the importance they put on a boarding education and the trust they put in us as a school to allow their child to thrive. That we may be able to offer an affordable place to allow this to happen meant so much.

Parents trust us to get it right for many years, and our students learn, grow and develop over this time. What do we get in return? Well, whatever our role in the boarding schools we work in, we all play a part in helping children, through thick and thin, to gain knowledge and skills, grow in confidence and become fine young citizens so that they can offer the best they can to all around them. Priceless!

Categories: Blog

Chair, Andrew Ashton (MTIOB)

Position:
Bursar at Radley College, Oxford

Andrew is Bursar at Radley College, Oxford. Educated at Newcastle Royal Grammar School, Andrew then studied chemistry at University College Oxford. He went on to join Barclays Bank, where he qualified as an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers,...

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