Bedales School A GSG School

Curricula

Cambridge Pre-U - an alternative to A levels, with all exams at the end of the two-year course.

What The Good Schools Guide says

Headmaster

Since 2022, Will Goldsmith MA, formerly acting head since 2021. Educated at Tonbridge and Edinburgh (English literature). Child of expats, spent his early years between Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe, boarding at Yardley Court in Kent from age 8. Onwards to Tonbridge which gave him ‘great intellectual grounding’ and where he developed his love of singing in the chapel choir and the library – ‘both important parts of my life’. Fortunate to land in ‘a liberal house’ there, came out as gay aged 17 – quite something for a pupil at a boys’ school in the ’90s – ‘The novels of EM Forster got me through,’ he says. Hotfooted to Paris after university ‘on the pretext of an application to the Foreign Office’, where he started out teaching English as a foreign language to adults for a year and ended up staying for a further four as a university administrator, picking up fluent French along the way: ‘My identity is international as well as British.’

Bitten by the education bug, qualified under the Graduate Teacher Programme at Sacred Heart School in Hammersmith, staying in the state sector for stints at Lady Margaret School, London and Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School, Aylesbury where he cut his teeth in leadership as second in English – ‘It taught me how to hold people to account and have difficult conversations.’ Jumped to independent sector, joining Stowe as head of English, later head of faculty, before Latymer Upper, where he became head of teaching and learning, with ‘free rein to question what could be done differently’. Could the universe possibly have presented a more serendipitous pathway to his current post?

Describes first visit to Bedales as ‘love at first sight’, won over by the way his pupil tour guides so readily engaged with him. Promptly parked himself in British Library to research school’s history – ‘The more I read, the more I knew I had to work here.’ It took two years for the stars to align and for him to be offered deputy headship. When it happened, it was less alignment and more meteor shower, with parents describing him as ‘Bedales to the tips of his toes’. His sleeves are firmly rolled up – and not just for sartorial purposes (if we gave an award for nattiest dressed head, he’d be a strong contender): ‘My greatest joy is teaching year 9 English.’ Also tutors the four head students in their final year, supporting with navigating A levels and UCAS applications. Parents say pupils and staff are ‘massively behind’ him and he left us in no doubt whatsoever of the fierce loyalty he gives his community in return. Brings much of his own personal journey to the job – parents predict Bedales will become his ‘life’s work’. The ultimate frontman, he walks a mesmerising line between offering glimpses into his soul and perfect delivery of the marketing message. Lives on site and has a flat in London which he shares with his husband, also an English teacher.

Entrance

From January 2025, pupils will be selected in year 6 (rather than year 7) to join in year 9. All applicants come to the school for two days and a night to show their skills in art, sport, drama and other activities as well as the usual maths and English, enabling school (uniquely, virtually every member of staff is present) to look at the ‘whole person’. School works with preps in years 4 and 5 to look at pupil profiles and advise on suitability; late developers can apply for the few places held over for applicants in years 7 and 8. Top feeders are Highfield Prep, Westbourne House, Newton Prep, Notting Hill Prep, the Thomas’s schools and Ravenscourt Park.

About 30 join at sixth form, with four applicants per place. Applicants need average grade 6 at GCSE, preferably higher in the subjects they want to study at A level. Contribution to the extracurricular life of the school is a major consideration.

Exit

Around 12 per cent leave after GCSEs, usually to study subjects not offered at Bedales at one of the excellent further education colleges in Hampshire. A quarter take a creative pathway (loads to art foundation and degree courses, plus drama, music and dance) with the remainder heading off to an array of Russell Group and other universities. Bristol, Sussex and Edinburgh recently popular. One or two to Oxbridge most years (one in 2023 – more to Oxford than Cambridge). Plenty overseas – recently mainly to Netherlands and USA (University of Amsterdam, Chapman University and Northeastern University). Impressive depth and breadth in subjects chosen, ranging from trad academics, including plenty of sciences, to vocational (often music industry).

Latest results

In 2023, 58 per cent 9-7 at GCSE; 21 per cent A*/A at A level (54 per cent A*-B). In 2019 (the last pre-pandemic results), 60 per cent 9-7 at GCSE; 21 per cent A*/A at A level (61 per cent A*-B).

Teaching and learning

Buckle up – this is where it gets really interesting. True to its heritage of offering a progressive education (head points out this should not be mistaken for ‘permissive’), pupils currently work towards five GCSEs in core subjects, plus up to five Bedales Assessed Courses (BACs). These are modelled on global education research and evidence, allowing school to ‘take back control of pedagogy’, and for students to explore a broad range of subjects in depth and to be continually assessed across two years. BACs include some trad subjects (geography, history, English lit etc) and some less so (ancient civilisations, global awareness, digital game design). Languages (French and Spanish) are currently taken as GCSEs but Japanese will join the list of BACs for 2025. Unrestricted by GCSE syllabi, BACs give staff the freedom to teach their own passions and interests rather than topics dictated by the exam board, and are ‘heavily predicated on skills, the antithesis of the archaic GCSE’, says head. We spoke to pupils working towards their philosophy, religion and ethics BAC – they explained their individual projects which deconstructed and reconstructed society, using texts, podcasts and film as reference points, to create their own idea of utopia. The course also examined the ethics of AI, Jesus in art (in collaboration with the art department) and peace and conflict within Abrahamic faiths. Sixth formers we spoke to were unanimous that the BACs – with their interrogative, research-led approach – had prepared them better for A levels than their GCSE-following counterparts. Pupils joining from 2025 onwards will take fewer than five GCSEs and by 2029 the aim is for GCSEs to be taken only in English language and maths. Doubters with their eye on higher education can rest assured that BACs are recognised and respected by universities and appear in the drop-down menu alongside GCSEs on the UCAS form.

Pupils will commence their A level courses as soon as their GCSEs/BACs are completed, eliminating dead time in the summer term. Maths most popular, followed by English, art and history (‘These remain popular precisely because we don’t follow the GCSE,’ says head). EPQ present and correct, and computer science A level recently introduced. Pupils encouraged to keep sleeping and working areas separate. Charming, wood-clad study cabins for younger pupils, and sixth formers gen up in either the sixth form centre or the spectacular arts and crafts library, designed by Ernest Gimson to commemorate OBs who died in WWI. In addition to their formal studies, lower sixth pupils do timetabled enrichment, leading to the Bedales Diploma or Certificate – subjects range from medical ethics and Mandarin to clay head making or art history.

Learning support and SEN

About 30 per cent of pupils on register, mainly with dyslexia (or dyslexic traits), ADHD or mild autism. Department is small but includes two maths learning support experts plus those covering literacy skills. Parents said all teaching staff are ‘super aware’ of SEN and pupils’ individual needs, incorporating that into the picture across their lessons. Most support takes place in class, with one-to-ones charged as extra. Multiple parents told us how their child had ‘flourished’, having struggled elsewhere. The ‘magic formula’ of structure and boundaries they describe, without unnecessary hierarchies or ‘finger-wagging’, clearly fits the bill although some commented that it can take some children ‘a while to get there’. Head agrees: ‘It’s a five-year journey, with trial and error along the way – we allow them to fail as well as succeed.’

The arts and extracurricular

Bedales’ raison d’etre. ‘Creativity permeates everything,’ parents told us, with pupils adding that ‘the creative vibe is the main draw’. And therein lies the perfect virtuous circle: teachers are positively challenged by the creative young minds in their care ‘not to dish out the same old stuff as every other school’. And so the magic happens – the arts here bear no resemblance to the ‘add-ons’ to round out pupils evident in some other schools. Head of music told us the strength of the cohort ‘encourages you to think harder, to be inventive all the time – the pupils here can smell it when you take them seriously’. Cue evening event watching Verdi’s Rigoletto whilst eating pizza. Co-curricular music spans the genres from a thriving classical component – many pupils attending specialist London colleges for Saturday lessons or winning places in the National Youth Orchestra – to the much-anticipated annual rock show which gives pupils ‘total freedom to perform’, say parents. New assembly hall, under construction, will incorporate a full music recording studio. Singers frequently perform in high profile venues, recently Royal Holloway and Somerville College, Oxford. There are 300 peripatetic lessons a week taken by some 400 pupils (‘students arrive with one instrument and leave with four,’ said department head) and academic music is a popular choice. The BAC celebrates pop and jazz as well as classical, one module focusing on the post 1945 album, with pupils exploring everything from Pink Floyd to Eminem. A level is taken by around 12 pupils most years and music tech is available as an academic option throughout school.

Drama exciting on and off curriculum. Rehearsals take place in a studio space – we were lucky enough to watch sixth formers rehearsing their imminent A level pieces (it looked like A* all round to us) which varied from dance-led numbers to more reflective pieces. Major performances are ‘to professional standard’ in the 320-seater Olivier Theatre, complete with professional style lobby area, movable stage (to allow actors to perform pieces as immersive, traverse, thrust or in the round) and its own wardrobe department. Dance department also benefits from these standout facilities, with the annual show incorporating tap, ballet, modern, street and contemporary. Visiting workshops add colour to the programme and two-thirds of those taking dance A level move on to conservatoires after Bedales. Tech, costumes and lighting all managed by pupils as part of enrichment, and those keen to spectate can do so free by volunteering as ushers on show nights, recently Chicago and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

We love an art department, and this one didn’t disappoint. In true BAC style, the emphasis is on skills and freedom to explore. With clay, multi-media, photography (digital and ‘tactile’ analogue developed in the new dark room), printing with an Albion press and life drawing all on the menu, it would be faster to write what pupils can’t do. Fashion has its own department with design and textiles projects – including traditional pattern cutting – mirroring what students would experience in a higher education setting. Sixth form artists have their own work cubicles in a serene and floodlit space; wandering through it felt like a trip to an avant garde gallery with bodies of work showing creative maturity way beyond the years of the pupils. About a quarter of pupils take art A level, with more than half of those heading to art school after Bedales.

If there’s time for anything else after all that there is, of course, a full range of extracurricular activities which, in true Bedalian style, is anything but boring. Scratching the surface, there’s goat walking, roller skating, baking, astronomy (in school’s own observatory), ju jitsu, comedy lab, chess, coding, eco club and Dungeons and Dragons. Many clubs and societies run by senior pupils. The menu changes every term and is mostly included in fees, although fencing and karate are charged – ‘We try to put as few extras on the bill as possible.’

Sport

School works hard to overcome the perception that Bedales pupils aren’t a sporty bunch, but at the same time acknowledges that ‘we’re not trying to be something we’re not’. There are three double periods of games per week – all taught by specialists – with main options for boys being football, hockey and cricket and for girls, hockey, netball and cricket, and good levels of participation for all. Pupils can work towards their Sports Leadership Award. The only rugby played in sevens ‘when there’s an appetite for it’. Fixtures may be fewer and further between than other schools, but they do happen and, refreshingly, players are often chosen based on commitment. Tennis programme is ‘tremendous’, thanks to ‘fantastic’ coaches, with some pupils playing at county level and others just mastering their skills. The teaching and coaching philosophy is ‘tailored towards students’ and those less interested in sweaty team sports can enjoy yoga, Pilates and fitness in the gym (the latter ‘in need of a facelift’, according to pupils). ‘We want pupils to leave Bedales and seek out a sport they love,’ said head of department.

Boarders

Fewer boarders than yesteryear – year 9 in 2024 will have approximately 50/50 day/boarding split although many of these are likely to migrate to boarding later; currently around 75 per cent board in lower sixth and 90 per cent in upper sixth. Majority of boarders from London or within an hour's drive. De facto weekly boarding, with pupils finishing at lunchtime on Saturday and expected back in school by Sunday night – so , as one parent put it, ‘it’s a total pain if you live further afield’. Around 10 per cent of pupils are from overseas and they, of course, remain in school and benefit from a range of activities. A sixth form full boarder said she enjoyed close relationships with pupils from other year groups, forged over weekends in school, that she might otherwise not have had. It was reported in January 2024 by the Telegraph and Mail that ‘transgender pupils [at Bedales] could be allowed to stay in accommodation according to their chosen gender’. However, Bedales has since clarified its policy, stating that ‘boarders are accommodated in houses according to their biological sex at birth’ and that in 6.2 (upper sixth) the boarding house is ‘co-educational with separate sleeping areas for both sexes’. Head ‘encourages searching questions from all members of the school community’, and we would expect this to extend to prospective parents.

Three comfy, cosy boarding houses have reassuringly untidy dorms and house parents who are much lauded by parents as people pupils can have a ‘really authentic, close relationship with – they’re amazing, sensible’, and by pupils as ‘someone we can talk to about anything’. Currently, two are single sex for boys and girls respectively in years 9 to lower sixth, with the upper sixth house co-ed with mixed social areas, girls’ and boys’ kitchens and sleeping accommodation separated by alarmed doors. Shared dorms throughout school, with mixed ages (three ‘shells’ (year 9) share with two lower sixth formers) to ‘integrate and create community’, says head. Single-sex rooms are available for use under special circumstances by pupils either temporarily or permanently. Head’s 10-year plan includes the introduction between 2029 and 2031 of fully co-ed boarding for all age groups. Some parents we talked to had mixed views on this and we understand that some pupils are reticent too. Head says it will be introduced ‘gradually and carefully, especially for girls – we want to get it right’.

Ethos and heritage

Founded in 1893 in Sussex by John Badley as a humane alternative to the authoritarian regimes typical of late Victorian public schools and, ironically, still performing the same function today. ‘What really defines Bedales is that the rest of the education system is stuck in the past and not fit for purpose,’ quipped one parent. Its vision is to educate ‘head, hand and heart’, to provide a liberal education and focus on developing personal qualities as well as intellect. Parents say there are ‘aspects of brilliance’ in the school and praise its ‘courage’. The school has been co-ed since 1898 and moved to its current 120-acre site near Petersfield, Hampshire in 1900. Famous for its lack of uniform and, indeed, of uniformity. ‘The moment you take them out of uniform they start to inspire each other,’ said one parent. ‘There are no designer clothes – they all buy in charity shops.’ Pupils can, however, choose to wear a jacket and tie if they so wish – and a few do. Teachers are called by their first name – ‘Sir or miss actually feels quite rude,’ says head. ‘While other schools are built on systems, we are relationship driven.’ It’s no holiday camp, though – ‘There are still boundaries, we make sure pupils understand the difference between liberal and libertarianism.’ Pupils agree that the lack of formality means ‘you don’t want to let people down and we all bounce of each other’. Parents observe that leavers are ‘much more ready for university – they realise their duty to live up to high expectations’. Our standout observation was that pupils are not only allowed, but actively encouraged, to be their authentic selves and pupils told us that they felt ‘nourished’ by the culture, one saying, ‘You can be whoever you want at Bedales and will definitely be accepted.’

Undoubtedly a place of enormous privilege, but the trappings of excess are stripped away. The site is low level, low key (‘The science labs are the same as when my dad went here,’ said one pupil) and sympathetic to its country setting; no grand buildings, quads or turrets, rather architecturally pleasing wood-clad constructions that melt into their grassy surrounds. There are no fewer than four species of bat and 72 of moth on site, according to research carried out by pupils. ‘Outdoor work’ is an integral part of a Bedales education which often takes place on the school’s own farm and can include anything from lambing or rearing piglets to hedge-laying, pond-cleaning, blacksmithing or building cabins using traditional methods.

A few parents we talked to admitted that the culture can be somewhat ‘smug’ – Old Bedalian parents, of which there are many, never question school’s ethos, they say, and there’s an element of ‘we get it, nobody else does’. School inspires huge loyalty and the OB network is deep and broad. Former pupils include a galaxy of well-known names including David Linley (Earl of Snowdon), Kirstie Allsopp, Daniel Day-Lewis, Gyles Brandreth, Lily Allen, Sophie Dahl, Arabella Weir, Cara and Poppy Delevingne, Minnie Driver and John Wyndham.

Pastoral care, inclusivity and discipline

Pastoral care was arguably invented here. John Badley’s vision was to shape the school around what was best for the individual’s educational welfare and happiness, and this holds true today. On an admissions level, school looks for pupils who will thrive. Parents of pupils who haven’t flourished elsewhere say they ‘blossomed overnight’ and that the school is great for self-esteem, ‘especially for those who struggle with tradition’. Staff have a fortnightly meeting to discuss every child’s progress, identifying those that need ‘a boost’ and duly delivering it. Pupils say they can ‘talk to any teacher’ – tutors, boarding staff, nurses in the ‘great’ health centre are all on hand as and when needed. ‘Everyone is so inclusive,’ one pupil told us. ‘Other schools seem so stressful and competitive.’ Parents report their child’s ‘shoulders relaxing’ almost immediately they join. Dedicated wellbeing teacher takes all pupils for 30 to 60 minutes per week, discussing serious topics such as sex, consent and mental health ‘even in block 3’ (year 9). School counsellor available by appointment and Whisper app enables pupils to message anonymously if there is anything they would prefer not to discuss face to face.

Tasty and healthy menu at mealtimes – the salad bar occupies a whole serving area and goes way beyond the usual limp greenery. Although diversity is present and correct in many forms, and individuality visibly celebrated, the vast majority are Caucasian: ‘The whitest school I’ve ever been to,’ commented one parent, although this isn’t surprising considering school’s location. Head maintains an open-door policy for parents – ‘He listens to everybody.’ Governors are contacted via the bursar who also acts as their clerk via a new email address created for the purpose to make the pathway more straightforward. Approach to discipline is characteristically humane. ‘We take time to find out what’s going on. There’s a restorative element and emphasis on the impact of actions on the whole community.’

Pupils and parents

Mainly populated by local families, many having relocated from London within 40 minutes of school. Not flash. Lots in the arts and creative industries, many of them OBs although all walks of life – even the relatively mundane – represented. Parents describe their peers as ‘all lovely people’. Two-thirds of year 9s come from Bedales’ own prep, with deep ready-made friendships for both parents and children. Parents describe pupils as ‘good people’ and those we met certainly fitted that mould – articulate, confident and comfortable chatting on equal terms with adults. Many said that the culture suits a certain type of young person, and we’d agree it’s not for everyone. Pupils who are mature and self-disciplined will find the culture easier to navigate. Those who need firmer boundaries and structure may struggle initially, but we hear that because they’re allowed to ‘fail’ in a safe environment, they tend to ultimately thrive too. The benefits at the end of the journey are palpable: young people who are open minded, socially advanced and comfortable around adults and the opposite sex. ‘We hold space for people to be genuinely themselves,’ says head. Good social life for parents and pupils. The former are regularly in school to attend courses and talks, as well as London for the annual Christmas dinner hosted by the head. The latter enjoy frequent socials, fireside nights, dances and the popular annual V-Ball held on Valentine’s Day when upper sixth formers invite their lower sixth friends. OB events take place worldwide.

Money matters

School committed to broadening access, with over five per cent of fee income allocated to this. Means tested bursaries of up to 50 per cent. John Badley Foundation bursaries of up to 100 per cent for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds (school took 10 refugees from Ukraine). Scholarships in art, music, drama, sport and academia don’t come with fee remission but do offer an annual research grant of £500 to support the recipient’s development in their discipline. Applicants should be ‘team players, excited about learning who give as well as take’.

The last word

Ladies and gentlemen, we bring you the one and only Bedales. A unique place where interesting people do interesting things and creativity and academia exist in perfect harmony. In the words of one pupil, ‘At Bedales, you can do it all.’

Special Education Needs

At Bedales, students with specific learning difficulties receive one-to-one support on a weekly basis with an SEN teacher. Typically, these students will receive one learning support lesson per week, and most of them will go on to achieve high grades at GCSE and A level. All but a few enter higher education where they read a wide range of subjects, notably maths and sciences but also history and English.

Who came from where