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Bedales was founded in 1893 as a reaction to the more regimented boarding schools of the day. The founder, John Badley, established Bedales as one of the first coeducational boarding schools with the introduction of girls in 1898. Nowadays Bedales is a boarding school of 464 students aged 13 – 18, fully co-educational, and with 30% day students. It is situated in a beautiful rural estate of 120 acres which it shares with its Junior School (Dunhurst) and Dunannie, the pre-prep day school. Petersfield, about 2 miles from the school, is an attractive market town, with easy rail and road links to London (55 miles, 1 hour by train), Portsmouth (18 miles), Chichester, Winchester and the south coast. There are about 50 full-time and 10 part-time Bedales teachers with a good student/staff ratio (just over 7:1); a well formulated appraisal programme; a collegiate and open structure of management. ICT facilities, including laptop computers for teachers, reflect the importance the school places on best practice in the classroom and in management. A £7.4 million classroom and administration building was opened in autumn 2005 (the Orchard Building). New science laboratories and sports facilities are already in place; the school also enjoys excellent library, theatre, recreational and concert facilities. Boarding accommodation is characteristically different from many schools, eschewing inter house rivalry and forming, instead, strong social links across the year-groups. The ISI Inspection in April 2008 and the Ofsted Boarding Inspection in October 2007 were most favourable, stressing the school’s high academic achievements, its strong relationships amongst the student body and between students and staff, its willingness to value the unconventional, and recognise individualism, its range of activities and its fine boarding provision. What Makes Bedales Distinctive? In 2003, the whole staff has recently redefined, for the new century, the founder’s original, radical aims (please see the ‘Development Plan’ document on our website www.bedales.org.uk for further information). • There is a school rule book, but it is applied with a light touch; self-discipline, achieved through discussion and persuasion, is preferred to the imposition of arbitrary conformity. • There is a timetable, but students are given a high degree of responsibility from an early age for organising their private study. • Students take IGCSEs, GCSEs and A-levels, but we want students to develop an enquiring mind, not just the ability to pass tests. Bedales has replaced several GCSEs with Bedales Assessed Courses (BACs) (such as Art, Dance, Design, Theatre Arts, English Literature, History, Classical Music, Outdoor Work, Philosophy, Religion and Ethics) of its own making, that encourage independent thinking and enquiry, and that allow students to develop and pursue their own intellectual interests. • There is competitive sport, but competitiveness is not prized for its own sake: rather, competition is the opportunity for individuals to test and stretch themselves. Non-sporting students do not lose status; they may, for instance, be equally enthusiastic or adept at Outdoor Work. • We are perceived to be strong in the creative and performing arts, and we have many families from those professions; but we also continue to gain good results in the sciences. • Bedales is not explicitly religious, let alone denominational (the library is our closest equivalent to a chapel), but we devote a thoughtful programme of activity to spiritual, moral and ethical development. • Hierarchy is necessary but minimal. We work on the basis of mutual respect, symbolised by using first-name terms for everyone, and by the shaking of hands after every assembly. • The quality of relationships – between staff and students, and among students – is a hallmark of Bedales. Students are encouraged to enquire, and to state an opinion, about anything and everything. This leads to an open, lively and sometimes challenging discourse. One outcome is that our students do not suffer culture shock when they go on to university (from Oxbridge to art school). Bedales has prepared them for the outside world academically, socially and personally. The Students Bedalians are an idiosyncratic bunch. By the time they leave, they are typically extremely warm, personable, cosmopolitan and highly self-confident. Some start like that; others of course need to be drawn out somewhat. Students are fully supportive of what is done for them: they are proud of their school and are excellent ambassadors for it. Day students integrate well with the boarders. The Parents The parents, who pay high fees for places for their son or daughter, are very supportive of the staff but expect to be kept well informed. Full subject reports are written termly and all tutors keep in touch with the parents of their tutees by telephone or e-mail. Each year group has a parents’ meeting on a Friday or Saturday afternoon for subject staff – there are five of these per year. Keith Budge Headmaster January 2011

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