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Life at Bedford
BEDFORD SCHOOL
Financial Matters
Deposits Acceptance Deposit Payable by the parents of each pupil on acceptance of a place Day Boy deposit Boarding deposit
£500 £1,000
Additional Deposit Payable in addition to the Acceptance Deposit by parents of pupils whose normal residence is outside the United Kingdom £8,500
Fees (per term) - Academic Year 2021/2022 Day Weekly Boarding Full Boarding £6,983 £11,419 £11,810
Please refer to the school website for the full fees sheet, which includes details of costs for music tuition, English as an Additional Language (EAL), speech and drama lessons, Chinese lessons, private sports tuition, occasional boarding and wraparound care. Scholarships
Generous scholarships are available to current boys and external candidates as they enter Year 9 (13+), and to external candidates only at Year 12 (16+). In exceptional circumstances, boys may be considered for a scholarship on entry to the school in Years 10 and 11 (Pre-Sixth Form course), subject to the availability of funding. The scholarships are awarded to boys who excel academically or show outstanding talent in art, drama, music or sport (including golf).
Detailed information about scholarships available at 13+ and 16+ can be found on our website as well as within our scholarship booklet, which can be requested from our Admissions Team.
The deadline for scholarship applications is 1 December in the year prior to intended entry.
Bursaries (Fee Assistance)
Each year we offer some financial support through bursaries to parents of boys with significant potential in any of our scholarship fields, who would otherwise be unable to afford the fees. We welcome bursary applications from parents who require financial assistance for their son to join us at our key entry points in Year 7 (11+), Year 9 (13+) and Year 12 (16+). All our academically competitive bursary awards are subject to means-testing of family income and capital. Bursaries of up to 100% of school fees are possible.
The deadline for bursary applications is 5pm on 1 December in the year prior to intended entry. The online bursary application along with school registration must be completed by this date, if you wish to be considered for a bursary. Please note, fee assistance cannot be offered to applicants at any other time.
Detailed information about our bursaries can be found on the website. Bedford School operates a six-day timetable, with lessons for all boys on Saturday mornings. This longer working week allows for three whole afternoons of sport and helps to ensure that boys enjoy an evenly paced and productive schedule.
Monday to Friday, the day starts with a tutor group period, where boys catch up on all of the latest notices and key information that they will need for the day ahead and beyond. Lessons then begin at 8.55am (8.40am on Saturdays).
On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, boys have eight lesson periods. On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, lessons finish after period 5 (lunchtime) to enable the boys to enjoy a wide range of sports and activities during the afternoon. Twice per week, all boys in the Upper School come together for a whole school assembly in the Great Hall. There is also one Chapel assembly each week.
Beyond the timetabled school day, there is a wide range of extracurricular activities on offer for boys, as well as academic clinics for additional support and guidance. Boys who need to stay later, or who wish to study or complete their prep (homework), can join boarders for dinner (for a small charge) and stay for supervised prep in the library until 7.00pm.
BEDFORD SCHOOL
The Bedford Week
Tutor Period 08:35 - 08:55
Period 1 08:55 - 09:35
Period 2 09:35 -10:15
Period 3 10:15 - 10:55
BREAK 10:55 - 11:15
Period 4 11:15 - 11:55
Period 5 11:55 - 12:40
LUNCH
Period 6 14:15 - 14:55
Period 7 14:55 - 15:35
Period 8 15:35 - 16:15 Monday
School Assembly 13:55 - 14:10 Tuesday Wednesday Thursday
Chapel Assembly 13:55 - 14:10
Games and Activities
Games and Activities
Extracurricular Programme to 18:00 Friday
School Assembly 13:55 - 14:10
BEDFORD SCHOOL
Life at Bedford
The Bedford Curriculum, extending well beyond the requirements of the National Curriculum, is structured to provide a balanced and varied choice of subjects, which will cater towards each individual boy’s strengths.
Our broad and traditional curriculum prepares boys for GCSE and IGCSE exams, and for either A-Level or International Baccalaureate (IB) exams in the Sixth Form. Boys typically take ten GCSE/IGCSEs and three A-Levels. A number of boys choose to study four A-Levels with the option to drop to three, which brings with it an increased commitment to the school's Community Partnerships Programme. At A-Level, all boys undertake the Bedford School Independent Project (BSIP) in the Lower Sixth; this is a piece of independent research on a topic of their own choosing. Some boys then opt to convert this work into an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ). All IB boys undertake an Extended Essay.
Regular lectures and talks from both staff and visiting speakers, as well as workshops, take place alongside lunchtime and after school academic clinics.
Pastoral care lies at the heart of everything that we do as a school. We believe that every boy needs to be happy in order to succeed, and that selfesteem is key for boys as they move through the school and beyond.
Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) Report
Bedford School is alive and active seven days per week, ensuring that not only the boarders but also day boys benefit from our strong boarding ethos. There are very few schools that a boy can attend as a day boy, still be in the majority, and yet share classes, teams and friendships with others from around the world.
On the playing field, sport is greatly enhanced by classroom teachers who work alongside the school's professional sports staff to deliver outstanding sport for all. Through shared experiences and common goals, staff and boys develop a great camaraderie, a deep understanding of each other as individuals and a mutual respect. Houses Boys are organised into houses, with each boarding house twinned with a day house. These houses form the heart of our pastoral care system, providing a sense of belonging to every boy, whether a day boy or a boarder.
• Pemberley twinned with Crescent • Burnaby twinned with Bromham • Sanderson’s twinned with Ashburnham • Redburn twinned with Paulo Pontine • Phillpotts twinned with St Cuthbert's • Talbot's twinned with St Peter's
Boys may board on a termly or weekly basis. Those who choose the latter go home after lessons on Saturdays, subject to school commitments, and return either on Sunday evening or early on Monday morning.
Our boarding houses are small in size and run as an extended family by each Housemaster and his or her spouse, supported by an Assistant Housemaster and a team of Tutors, matrons and domestic staff.
Vertical Tutor Groups We operate a vertical tutor group system, which allows new and younger boys to grow and develop alongside older boys; this encourages both learning and responsibility, removes peer group pressure and helps to guide and inspire our younger boys, while developing leadership skills in the older ones.
For continuity, throughout his time at the school, each boy’s Tutor remains the same. Each Tutor follows his or her tutees' academic progress closely and, in partnership with parents, provides direct and individual support and guidance. Together with Housemasters, Tutors work to ensure that boys settle in quickly and successfully.
BEDFORD SCHOOL
Activities
An extensive and diverse range of activities, clubs and societies are available to boys.
The clubs and societies, which range from general interest to academic, from the arts to sport, typically run at lunchtimes and between 4.30pm and 6.00pm during the week. From Astronomy to Duke of Edinburgh Awards to the Combined Cadet Force, there is something for every boy.
A wealth of academic extension opportunities are available to all year groups each week in the form of academic societies, as well as academic clinics that provide additional support and guidance. The majority of clubs are open to all boys and are free of charge. Please refer to the website for the full list of clubs and societies this year.
Community Partnership Programme
Now in its third year, our Community Partnership Programme for the Lower Sixth (Year 12) ensures that all of our boys, wherever in the world they are from, play a meaningful part in our local community while they are at the school. Our programme has been developed to ensure that it creates true partnerships that are equally valued and respected by the boys, the school and those that we support.
Boys have worked in partnership with local state primary schools giving language lessons, playing the piano for choir groups, leading extra sport practices, giving guitar recitals and tuition, and supporting individual reading programmes, as well as regularly visiting and entertaining residents in a number of local care homes.
By the time they leave the Upper Sixth (Year 13), each boy will have contributed to our local community through a long term (minimum of one term) and meaningful partnership. We see this sort of engagement as hugely beneficial to the boys in ensuring that they grow into responsible citizens and, hopefully, helpful to the community in which they live. The Bedford School Association
The Bedford School Association (BSA) represents the Bedford Prep Parents' Guild, Parents' Guild (Upper School), Past Parents Association, Old Bedfordians Club (alumni) and Bedford School Foundation (development).
The BSA works with all these groups to create a sense of attachment and an active network which positively supports the school. Through numerous events, reunions, sports fixtures and Eagle Connect (our new online networking platform) they work to bring the school community closer together.
The Parents’ Guild The Parents’ Guild is a group of parents and guardians of boys at the school who organise social events and are also responsible for the running of the nearly new shop, where pre-loved uniform is available for purchase. The Parents’ Guild also raises funds to be used for projects that benefit the boys, as well as support the school’s chosen charities. The Parents’ Guild is always keen to receive new ideas and welcomes anyone interested in getting involved.
