Beechen Cliff School A GSG School Review
What is included in the Beechen Cliff School review?
Academic results & facilities
Up to date results for GCSEs, A levels, BTECs and IB; we go to places league tables can’t reach.
Pastoral care, inclusivity and discipline
From how the school reacts when something goes wrong to how they tackle thorny issues like substance abuse, consent and mental health. We check they’ve got it all covered.
Information about the head
Our unparalleled access to the head teacher means we can tell you exactly what to expect when you meet them – from leadership style right down to the décor of their study and what they’re currently reading.
Teaching and learning approaches
Detailed info on teaching styles and stand-out subjects. We observe the lessons you’ll never see on an open day.
Entrance & admissions information
Exit information - where do the children go next?
Learning support & SEN information
Arts, sports and extracurricular
Pupils & parents (what are they really like?)
What The Good Schools Guide says..
- Beechen Cliff School
Alexandra Park
Kipling Avenue
Bath
Somerset
BA2 4RE - Head: Mr T D Markall
- T 01225 480466
- F 01225 314025
- E [email protected]
- W www.beechencliff.org.uk
- Beechen Cliff School is a state school for boys aged from 11 to 18 in Bath. Interested in an honest insight? Read the Beechen Cliff School review and find out more.
- Boarding: Yes
- Local authority: Bath and North East Somerset
- Pupils: 1,240; sixth formers: 395
- Religion: None
- Fees: Day free; Boarding: £12,300 pa.
- Open days: October
- Review: View The Good Schools Guide Review
-
Ofsted:
- Latest Overall effectiveness Good 1
- 16-19 study programmes Good 1
- Outcomes for children and learners Good 1
- Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good 1
- Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good 1
- Effectiveness of leadership and management Good 1
- 1 Full inspection 21st September 2023
- Ofsted report: View the Ofsted report
What the school says...
Beechen Cliff is a high achieving day and boarding school for boys in years 7-11 with a large, academic mixed sixth form. Our vision is to enable our pupils and students to achieve their aspirations and become well-rounded, confident and compassionate individuals who go on to live fulfilled lives and make a positive contribution to society. We have high expectations of our pupils in terms of their learning, conduct, appearance and character development. We are committed to providing an exceptional, all-round education both in terms of high academic standards and an incredible range of extracurricular opportunities. ...Read more
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School associations
State boarding school
Sports
Rowing
Fencing
Shooting
Since 2021, Tim Markall. His roots are firmly in this part of the west country: he grew up in Nailsea (near Bristol); went to university in Bath (BSc in mathematics and statistics) and trained for his PGCE there too. Briefly left the city to complete training at nearby Corsham and George Ward Schools before returning to join Beechen Cliff in 2005, where he has risen through the ranks. First as a maths teacher, before running the department, and then onto leadership roles (assistant head and subsequently deputy head). Still manages to do some maths teaching – at the end of our meeting he was hastily finding a calculator to do extra trigonometry with one student.
Leads with an unobtrusive sense of authority exemplified by his approach to getting the boys to tuck in their shirts. As we...
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Results by exam and subject
Subject results
Entry/Exit
Special Education Needs
| Condition | Provision for in school |
|---|---|
| ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
Might cover/be referred to as;
ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Aspergers, Autism, High functioning autism, Neurodivergent, Neurodiversity, Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), PDA , Social skills, Sensory processing disorder |
Y |
| HI - Hearing Impairment
Might cover/be referred to as;
Hearing Impairment, HI - Hearing Impairment |
|
| MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
Might cover/be referred to as;
Learning needs, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty |
|
| MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment
Might cover/be referred to as;
MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, Sensory processing |
|
| Not Applicable | |
| OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability
Might cover/be referred to as;
Downs Syndrome, Epilepsy, Genetic , OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, Tics, Tourettes |
|
| PD - Physical Disability
Might cover/be referred to as;
PD - Physical Disability |
|
| PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
Might cover/be referred to as;
Complex needs, Global delay, Global developmental delay, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty |
|
| SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
Might cover/be referred to as;
Anxiety , Complex needs, Emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA), Mental Health, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, Trauma |
|
| SLCN - Speech, Language and Communication
Might cover/be referred to as;
DLD - Developmental Language Disorder, Selective mutism, SLCN - Speech, Language and Communication |
|
| SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty
Might cover/be referred to as;
Complex needs, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, Cerebral Palsy (CP) |
|
| SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty
Might cover/be referred to as;
ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Auditory Processing, DCD, Developmental Co-ordination Difficulties (DCD), Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Handwriting, Other specific learning difficulty, SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) |
|
| VI - Visual Impairment
Might cover/be referred to as;
Special facilities for Visually Impaired, VI - Visual Impairment |
Interpreting catchment maps
The maps show in colour where the pupils at a school came from*. Red = most pupils to Blue = fewest.
Where the map is not coloured we have no record in the previous three years of any pupils being admitted from that location based on the options chosen.
For help and explanation of our catchment maps see: Catchment maps explained
Further reading
If there are more applicants to a school than it has places for, who gets in is determined by which applicants best fulfil the admissions criteria.
Admissions criteria are often complicated, and may change from year to year. The best source of information is usually the relevant local authority website, but once you have set your sights on a school it is a good idea to ask them how they see things panning out for the year that you are interested in.
Many schools admit children based on distance from the school or a fixed catchment area. For such schools, the cut-off distance will vary from year to year, especially if the school give priority to siblings, and the pattern will be of a central core with outliers (who will mostly be siblings). Schools that admit on the basis of academic or religious selection will have a much more scattered pattern.
*The coloured areas outlined in black are Census Output Areas. These are made up of a group of neighbouring postcodes, which accounts for their odd shapes. These provide an indication, but not a precise map, of the school’s catchment: always refer to local authority and school websites for precise information.
The 'hotter' the colour the more children have been admitted.
Children get into the school from here:
regularly
most years
quite often
infrequently
sometimes, but not in this year
Who came from where
| School | Year | Places |
|---|---|---|
| Kingswood Preparatory School | 2024 | 2 |
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