Number in school. 472 pupils: 231 boys, 241 girls; 317 boarders.
Fees per term (2023-2024). Bedales Senior: Boarders £14,185, Day £11,145. Bedales Prep: Boarders £9,750, Half-boarding (3 nights) £8,680, Day £6,745–£7,335. Bedales Pre-prep: £3,945–£5,150.
Established in 1893 as a humane alternative to the authoritarian regimes of late-Victorian public schools, Bedales maintains its founding values of innovation and liberalism in its approach to education. Students thrive in an environment that fosters individual expression and critical thinking and develops a lifelong love of learning.
The Bedales estate is situated in 120 acres of farmland, orchards, woodland and playing fields in the South Downs National Park. The school is only an hour’s train journey from London, yet charmingly captures rural living in the British countryside. Students take pride in their contributions to Outdoor Work at Bedales, from tending to the variety of livestock on the estate and beekeeping, to demonstrating practical skills in blacksmithing and using homegrown produce in the Bakehouse.
The school is continuously shaped by what is considered best for the educational welfare and happiness of the students as individuals. Listening to the views of pupils is a fundamental aspect of the school’s progressive ethos and led to Bedales’ creation of one of the first school councils in 1916. The students’ voices are valued and assist in forging the framework in which the school community lives, learns and grows.
Senior School (13–18).
Curriculum. Bedales is committed to offering students a balanced and stimulating curriculum that broadens their learning beyond the classroom and prepares them for their individual journeys in the world.
The Block 3 (Year 9) curriculum is a rich, experiential project-based year. At the beginning of the academic year, there is a challenging week of outdoor pursuits and team-building in the Lake District. Here, students work with tutors alongside the dedicated and professional staff at the centre. On their return, they are introduced to the curriculum so they can make informed subject choices and have greater autonomy over what they would like to learn. During this first year at Bedales, students study the Humanities through an interdisciplinary ‘real-world’ approach, which culminates in the Bedales Humanities Research Project and combines History, Geography, Global Perspectives and Philosophy, Religion and Ethics (PRE).
The school has created a unique selection of its own courses to complement a core of five i/GCSEs: Bedales Assessed Courses (BACs). Students pursue their educational interests with a choice of five of the 14 BACs which include English Literature, Sports Science and Digital Game Design. Well regarded by Universities, BACs comprise continuous assessment and provide meaningful and detailed content to promote collaboration, intellectual ambition and creative thinking. The provision of a more rigorous and project-based alternative to exam-only assessments seeks to educate the whole individual and broaden their educational horizons. The school will be expanding the number of BACs that it already offers to include the Sciences and Languages in a move toward a two-GCSE model from 2026.
Bedales also supports students through its wellbeing programme, in which individuals in Blocks 3–5 (Years 9–11) have weekly wellbeing lessons, to increase awareness of emotional health and to build resilience and self-esteem.
The subjects offered at Bedales Sixth Form allow a high degree of flexibility to provide for individual students’ needs and consider the requirements of universities and colleges in the UK and overseas. Inspired by the success of BACs, Bedales has developed an additional strand of the Sixth Form curriculum to replace a fourth A Level. The Bedales Enrichment Programme is Bedalian in its idealism, breadth and content, and each student’s programme combines academic study, sport and global awareness among others. Structured around the conviction that education should be about ‘head, hand and heart’, it prepares students for life after Bedales, by developing the skills of independent learning that are vital in higher education and beyond.
Facilities. Within the school’s 120-acre setting is a broad range of facilities to support the co-curricular activities that take place at Bedales. The school has a wide selection of sporting facilities that are used to host fixtures and lessons throughout the year, with multiple football pitches and tennis courts, a cricket pitch and pavilion and 25 m swimming pool. The school is also home to a modern Art & Design Building and the Memorial Library, a Grade I listed Arts & Crafts building, constructed using traditional materials and methods. The series of bays, large windows and beautiful wooden interior create a quiet haven for studying or reading. Bedales takes pride in its award-winning theatre that offers an atmospheric venue for school performances and conferences. The Olivier Theatre seats 300 and boasts a professional-standard lighting rig and sound system.
Community. Pertaining to the school’s motto ‘Work of Each for Weal of All’, students at Bedales are encouraged to explore their individuality, while also valuing their involvement within the community. Notably, the school holds an annual community day where students and staff work in collective endeavour to celebrate key founding figures and the current community by contributing to a ‘whole-school effort’. These may entail a united effort to fundraise for a chosen charity or working on a communal project on the school’s estate. With mutual respect being a cornerstone of the school’s culture, students and staff are addressed using first-name terms and students choose what to wear to school. This enriches Bedales’ inclusive and welcoming atmosphere that is underpinned by a clear structure of values, rules, guidance and support. Sixth Form students are also expected to take on positions of responsibility in the school, such as contributing to one of the many student committees, and acting as role model and mentor to younger students.
Environment. Bedales is dedicated to protecting the environment and continuously reviews and adapts sustainability initiatives implemented. Members of the school value the environment in which they live, learn and grow and take active responsibility to protect it. The school is developing a sustainability co-curriculum, focused on growing more of its own food and involving students in the reduction of food waste and composting. This will complement the planned expansion of the school’s solar power programme and the move to an electric fleet of school vehicles.
Admission. Entry to the school is from 3+, 7+ (Bedales Pre-prep), 8+, 11+ (Bedales Prep), 13+ and 16+ (Bedales Senior). Once in the school, students are assessed before proceeding to the next stage.
Entry Tests. Entry for newcomers at 10+ and 11+ takes the form of residential tests in the January before entry; 13+ assessments take place approximately 20 months before entry. Entry at 16+ is by a series of interviews on a single day. Ad hoc testing is also offered if places are available. Contact the Admissions team in the first instance.
Bedales Pre-prep School (3-8).
Number in school. 91: 45 girls; 46 boys.
Entrance at 3+ is by date of registration; after this, acceptances are made following informal assessments, should vacancies arise.
Bedales Pre-prep is the foundation of the children’s education, and the beginning of their journey through Bedales. It forms an introduction to the underpinning principle rooted in the school: learning as part of a wider community characterised by trust, mutual respect and shared creative endeavour.
The school aims to nurture children to be rounded, confident, inquisitive and kind to others, and to challenge themselves in a safe environment without a fear of failure.
Bedales Pre-prep places an emphasis on outdoor learning, utilising the open orchard and wooden playground within the estate for learning, playing and growing, across all four seasons. The children engage in Outdoor Work and are enthusiastic about planting, growing and eating fruits and vegetables from the nursery garden, greenhouse and vegetable plots.
The curriculum at the Pre-prep is wide and encourages the development of lifelong skills to cultivate a lasting love of learning. Children are supported in an explorative approach to their early education, with the aim for pupils to be fluent readers, spontaneous and literate writers and sound mathematicians as they progress to Bedales Prep. Equal value is placed on intellectual, creative, emotional, social and physical development, promoting the application of rigorous imagination to practical and theoretical challenges. The children benefit from the vast curriculum that introduces them to the Humanities, Arts, Sciences and Languages. Integration is a strength at Bedales, allowing all pupils to benefit from the range of resources and facilities on the estate. Pre-prep children have regular visits across the school, investigating in the Prep school’s science labs and using the shared sports facilities, as well as exploring the world beyond Bedales on residential and day trips. These close links between the Pre-prep, Prep and Senior school allow children in Year 3 to automatically transfer from the Pre-prep to the Prep unless there are exceptional circumstances. Year 3 children have opportunities for more challenges and often join together with Prep pupils in lessons, matches and games. A comprehensive sports programme including swimming, tennis, gymnastics, netball and football promotes the enjoyment of movement from an early age.
Scholarships. Personal development is central to the Bedales concept of scholarship, with the objective of aligning scholarship beneficiaries with the school’s desire to develop inquisitive thinkers with a love of learning.
The school has introduced a scheme for students with particular talents in Art, Design, Music, Dance, Drama, Sport and other academic subjects to foster their appetite for research, enquiry and development. Depending on their specialist subject, most scholarship holders have access to a research fund to support their individual scholarly projects. There is no reduction in school fees; research grants are non-means-tested and hence have a relatively small financial value (up to £500 per year for 2023/24). The award of a scholarship is reviewed annually based on student performance.
Bursaries. Ranging from part-fee contributions up to full 100% bursaries (with further support for additional costs), these awards enable pupils (generally from 11+ upwards) with an appetite for learning to attend Bedales Prep and Bedales Senior, who otherwise would have been unable to pay the fees. Awards are based on an assessment of the family’s financial means. The school’s John Badley Foundation charity supports 100% bursaries.
Pupils can benefit from the award of either a scholarship or a bursary, or both. Although bursary financial assistance is not dependent on a scholarship award, the school aims to enable pupils with particularly strong talents to attend the school, therefore a number of bursary beneficiaries also benefit from scholarship awards. Please contact the Head of Admissions (email: admissions@bedales.org.uk; tel: 01730 711733) if you would like to discuss suitability for a scholarship or bursary to Bedales Prep or Bedales Senior.
Charitable status. Bedales School is a Registered Charity, number 307332. Its aims and objectives are to educate children as broadly as possible in a creative and caring environment.
Governors & Staff:
Governors:
Claudia Arney, MBA
Clare Bradbury, BSc, PGCE
Edward Impey, DPhil
Edward Rees, BA Ed Hons
Felix Grey, MChem, MPhil
Isabella [Issie] Myers, MsC, MRSB
Jessica Boyd, PhD
Mark Hanson
Owen Jonathan, LLB Hons
Stephen Lehec, BA, PGCE
Stephen Nokes (Chairman)
Head: Will Goldsmith, MA Edinburgh, Graduate Teacher Programme with QTS Brunel, PGCAEP Oxford Brookes
Head, Bedales Prep, Dunhurst: Colin Baty, NPQH, BEd, Dip Teach Waikato University NZ, BPP Roehampton
Head, Bedales Pre-prep: Fiona Read, BEd Hons Kingston, PGDip Open University
Bursar and Clerk to the Governors: Richard Lushington, BA, MCIPD Thames Polytechnic London
Director of External Relations: Rob Reynolds, BSc Royal Holloway London, MBA Strathclyde, MCIM