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Beechen Cliff School

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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?)

Read the review »

What says..

With its sweeping sports field, boys dressed in smart blazers and gilt honours’ boards adorning the hallways, visitors might (incorrectly) take Beechen Cliff for an independent school. This is a state school that offers a great deal: a solid academic education enhanced by impressive extracurricular activities and a celebrated sports department. It’s no wonder that parents feel smug at having this school on their doorstep… Read more
  • 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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Please note: Independent schools frequently offer IGCSEs or other qualifications alongside or as an alternative to GCSE. The DfE does not record performance data for these exams so independent school GCSE data is frequently misleading; parents should check the results with the schools.

Who came from where

Who goes where

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

Please note: this may not provide a complete picture of all student movements, as not all schools contribute this information.

Who came from where


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