Age range. 3 months–13 years Co-educational.
Number of pupils. 284: Prep 153, Pre-Prep 36, Nursery 95.
Fees per term (2024-2025). Tuition: Prep £5,550–£6,790, Pre-Prep £3,835 (Reception, Years 1 & 2). Nursery prices per session.
Bede’s Prep was founded in 1895 with a roll of just four boys. In 1902, it moved to its current grander premises, where it is nestled on a clifftop above Beachy Head, affording stunning views of the sea.
Bede’s Prep is a vibrant, energetic and forward-thinking school, which focuses on promoting learning, personal growth and development. Pupils are valued as individuals and enjoy a broad range of opportunities inside and outside the classroom to suit their interests and passions.
Our core values of compassion, courage, conscientiousness and curiosity shape a pupil’s educational experience. A Bede’s education is based upon academic rigour through excellent teaching, encouraging our pupils to explore, question, take risks, and develop their creativity, communication and teamwork – all central to successful lifelong learning.
Bede’s offers academic, sport, music, dance, art and drama scholarships and bursaries for children from the ages of 7 to 12 years.
Pastoral. Our exceptional pastoral care is evidenced as happy pupils who are engaged in their learning and are actively involved in the wider life of the school, embracing every opportunity provided to them. Pupils who are kind to themselves and each other and are gracious about success and failure.
At the Prep School, in the junior years, most teaching is done by the pupils’ Form Teacher and they therefore develop a rich understanding of each child’s needs and their learning journey. As they progress into the senior years at the Prep School and begin to be taught by specialist teachers, the Form Teacher’s role evolves to be more akin to the Personal Tutor they will have as they move into the Senior School. They see pupils daily and take an overview of their progress, helping them to plan their goals and reflect on the young person that they are becoming.
All of our pupils benefit from small class sizes and belong to one of four Sections. They compete throughout the year for Section points and in competitions such as Section Music.
Academic. The curriculum for each year group at Bede’s Prep School focuses on promoting learning, personal growth and development. We provide pupils with a curriculum that is broad, stimulating and designed to facilitate the highest possible levels of attainment by those who follow it – programmes of study that imbue children with a wealth of skills, a depth of knowledge and an irrepressible curiosity.
By the time the children have reached Year 5, lessons have become more formally structured and delineated by subject, but this does not mean they are less wide-ranging in approach. Rather, the opposite is true, with the children being increasingly capable and hungry for new challenges.
As the children move through the year groups, each curriculum also includes an ever-evolving and increasingly rigorous ‘hidden curriculum’ – a set of skills the children develop from the ways they are treated and the expectations set by their teachers, informed by communication between teachers, tutors and Heads of Year. This hidden curriculum is, like everything else at Bede’s, tweaked and personalised to suit the needs, talents and propensities of each individual. What is right for one child may not be for another and as such, every pupil will finish their time at Bede’s Prep with a uniquely distinguished academic record, a set of high personal ideals and a clear set of aspirations particular to them.
Co-curricular. Bede’s provides an all-round education where academic pursuits are supported by wonderful co-curricular opportunities and where pupils learn lessons that books cannot give; courage and joy, resilience and self-belief, developing into confident, globally minded young people.
The activities programme is varied each term and is carefully crafted to develop pupils’ soft skills such as cooperation, negotiation and empathy – valuable in every aspect of life. Pupils can try anything from debating, to creative writing, to chess.
Performing Arts forms an integral part of the school. There is a thriving orchestra and the majority of pupils learn one or more instruments, with children as young as six playing in recorder groups. Informal concerts take place during the school year and there are several choirs.
There are annual Christmas nativities, the Pre-Prep pupils produce a Christmas play, and there are frequent productions throughout the year.
For Pre-Prep pupils onwards, there are specialist dance classes held during the school day as part of the Dance Programme, or there are dance clubs and activities, whether they want to learn for fun or are looking to train for a career in the performing arts.
Sport. Few Prep Schools can offer the calibre of coaching found at Bede’s Prep and these opportunities deepen year on year, exposing our pupils to an expansive training and fixtures programme.
Bede’s provides the very best coaching for pupils of all abilities to give pupils the chance to grow in confidence, capacity and accomplishment. Pupils have training sessions with the professional coaches at the Senior School in Cricket, Football, Hockey, Tennis and Netball. They also utilise the market-leading facilities offered at the Senior School.
All the pupils use the indoor 20-metre swimming pool. The fixture list is very comprehensive and, while the top teams enjoy a high standard of coaching and performance, special emphasis is placed on ensuring that the other teams also have the opportunity to play matches against other schools. The Sports Hall covers two indoor tennis courts and is used to house a huge variety of sports. There is also an astro court for hockey, cricket and other sports.
Learning Enhancement. There is a Learning Enhancement department staffed by qualified learning support staff which can cater for pupils who require additional or particular support. The school also has an EAL centre which is run by highly trained and experienced staff. Gifted children are placed on a Curriculum Enhancement Programme to maximise their potential.
Nursery and Pre-Prep. Bede’s Nursery offers care from the age of just three months. The nursery is open 51 weeks of the year and offers extended day care for busy families. Bede's provides a home away from home for the children, preparing everything on site, from their home-cooked, locally grown, nutritious meals to a fantastic range of activities and learning resources.
The children move through the Baby and Toddler Unit, to the Starfish Room, to the Rainbow Fish room, until they finally move to the Preschool area where they spend a year before moving to Reception class.
The children enjoy a lot of outdoor activities including beach school and forest school, and they also have weekly swimming and dance lessons.
Entry to Bede’s Prep School is by taster day, assessment and a recent school report.
Charitable status. St Bede’s School Trust Sussex is a Registered Charity, number 278950. It exists to provide education for boys and girls.