Boys’ independent boarding school Radley College, near Oxford, has invested in Toro yet again as a recently signed lease agreement sees the arrival of five new mowers. 

Jeff Anguige and Robert Leeds of Lely UK with Adam King (centre) and the new machines. 

With a wide range of turf-based sports on offer – including rugby, field hockey, cricket and even golf, with a beautifully manicured nine-hole course – it’s the job of Adam King, grounds manager, to maintain the school’s reputation for its great sports facilities.

Adam explains why he decided to opt for a five-year lease agreement as opposed to purchasing the machines. “Financially, it was a better deal for us,” he says. “Our existing Toro machines were in need of an upgrade and the lease agreement allowed us to have new machines straight away, while also covering winter service, and all at a fixed cost.

“This lets us manage our budget and, as well as replace some models like for like, we’ve been able to upgrade to better models on others,” he adds. 

In the substantial £170,000 deal, the prestigious private school has taken delivery of a Groundsmaster 3400-D, a high performance 4WD out-front rotary mower; two Reelmaster 3100-Ds, providing a precision cut for a wide range of applications; a Reelmaster 6700-D, with mowing flexibility and a durable drive system; and a Groundsmaster 4300-D, which boasts an average 5.4 acres an hour of mowing capacity.

Founded in 1847 by the Reverend William Sewell, fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, Radley aims for excellence both in and outside of the classroom – outside of which covers 800 acres of playing fields, lake and farmland.

With an 18-strong team in the estates department, including groundsmen, greenkeepers and gardeners, Adam notes what he and the rest of the grounds staff find most appealing about Toro. 

 “We stayed with Toro as our guys are used to using the machines – they’re reliable. “Toro also offers a great quality of cut; we find the way you can alter the angle of the cut really great,” he explains.

Adaptability and mowing flexibility also mark highly, says Adam.  “We can use them to maintain the sports fields, whether that be polo, rugby football or hockey, and the machines then also double up on our golf course. They’re great at handling all manner of turf surfaces.” 

www.lely.com