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Bedford School, Bedford

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Bedford School details

Address:

Bedford School
De Parys Avenue, Bedford, Bedfordshire MK40 2TU

Telephone:

01234 362200

Fax:

01234 362 283

Email:

registrar@ bedfordschool.org.uk

Website:

www.bedfordschool.org.uk

Authority:

Bedfordshire

Gender of entry:

Boys

Age range:

7-18

Number of students:

1,102

Affiliation:

IAPS, ISA, HMC

Gender of sixth form:

Boys

Last inspection:

November 2000. Read the full inspection report.

General information

Headteacher: Philip Evans, appointed in 1990.

Staff: 83 (men 92, women 54).

Motto: "Floreat Schola Bedfordiensis".

Background: Officially founded in 1552 but thought to date back to the 12th century, Bedford School has a reputation for academic excellence with particular strengths in music, drama, art and sport. Unlike most schools, boys are setted in almost every subject from their arrival in the upper school. Pupils usually take 10 GCSEs and three A-levels. In keeping with the school's outward-looking philosophy Bedford has introduced the International Baccalaureate diploma alongside A-levels. The performing arts are an integral part of school life. The new £3m music school houses one of the largest music departments in the country and the school has provided many players for the National Youth Orchestra. An increasing number of boys study drama and theatre studies to exam level and budding playwrights have had their original work performed at the Edinburgh Festival. Bedford School has a long-standing reputation in cricket, hockey, rowing and rugby and has established links with a number of local and national sporting bodies, including Northampton Saints rugby club and Rushden and Diamonds football club. The school's cricket professional is Derek Randall, the former England cricketer. Other sports on offer include fives, range shooting, water polo and weight training. The school, which boasts an observatory and planetarium, offers a diverse programme of extracurricular activities, which includes the Combined Cadet Force, debating competitions and drama and music productions.

Alumni: Paddy Ashdown, politician; Martin Bayfield, England rugby player; Sir Thomas Erskine May, former clerk of Commons; Alastair Cook, England cricketer.

Streaming/setting: Setting in almost every subject.

Approach to discipline: Each boy has a copy of the school rules.

Uniform: Navy jacket (single breasted), grey trousers, grey socks, house tie, navy v-neck pullover, blue shirt.

Higher education: 98% (7 Oxford 4 Cambridge).

Special needs: The school has a separate academic support department and can cater for children with mild forms of autism and a range of other conditions. There is a school counsellor and a medical centre on site.

Inspection: November 2000: The education and care provided by Bedford School is of high quality. Its boys achieve high standards in relation to their ability in an atmosphere in which staff take great trouble over the individual needs of each pupil. The school demands much of its pupils and indeed of its staff, and has at the same time retained a caring ethos in which boys are valued individually and learn to take responsibility for themselves and each other. The many strengths of the school are due in no small measure to the strength of leadership, the efficiency of administration and the quality of its teachers.

Feeder schools: Kingshott; Heath Mount; Aldwickbury; Beechwood Park; Lockers Park.

Boys' age range: 7 to 18.

Percentage admitted according to academic ability: 100.

Senior boys: 633.

Senior boys 13-18: Y.

Average class size (seniors; 11-16): 20.

Average class size (sixth form): 10.

Principle admission ages: 13yrs; 16yrs.

Gifted pupils: 12.

Bursary pupils: 56.

Bursaries: Art, Music, Hm Forces, Sport, Drama, Science Or Technology, Design.

Bedford School Statistics

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