Bedford School

Bedford School is a public school (English private boarding and day school) for boys aged 7–18, in the county town of Bedford in England. Founded in 1552, it is the oldest of four independent schools in Bedford run by the Harpur Trust. Bedford School is one of the oldest boys' schools in the United Kingdom, and was the winner of the Independent Boys School of the Year Award at the Independent Schools of the Year Awards in 2021. Bedford School is composed of the Preparatory School (ages 7 to 13) and the Upper School (ages 13 to 18). There are around 1,100 pupils, of whom approximately one half are boarders. In 2014, James Hodgson succeeded John Moule as headmaster after Moule moved on to Radley College. History Background Although no large scale educational institution had existed in Bedford before the foundation of Bedford School, the collegiate St Paul's Church had run systems to teach Bedford's youth Latin and church history since at least 1086. This was overseen by Bedford's archdeacon, but this ceased when the church's monks became canons regular, moving to Newnham Priory; until the priory's dissolution in 1540, education in Bedford continued elsewhere in the town. This medieval school, located on "Scolestreet", later Mill Lane, had ended by 1447. Establishment and early years On 15 August 1552, Edward VI issued letters patent in Ely allowing the "Mayors, Bailiffs, Burgesses and Commonality of Bedford" to establish a grammar school in the town. The letters instructed boys to be taught by a Master and Usher chosen by the Warden and Fellows of New College, Oxford. Bedford's first headmaster was Edmund Greene, a Fellow of the college who had been teaching in Bedford for four years before the establishment of the school – Greene's relationship to the college was the reason for its appointment to choose the school's leadership. In the same year, William Harpur, likely an alumnus of the early school on Mill Lane, donated a building to the school, and in 1566 deeded several parcels of meadow around Bedford and Holborn to the school to insure it an income. After a decline in school size following widespread misuse of corporal punishment – a student almost died after being attacked by the school's usher – Bedford began boarding in 1656 under the headmastership of George Butler, expanding the school, although boarding ended by 1660. However, the school grew little over the next century and a half due to incompetent headmasters and a lack of funding; it also grew little in social standing as compared to schools such as Winchester, Westminster, or Eton, this may also be partially attributed to its location in Bedford and lack of architecturally attractive estate. In 1764, the Harpur Trust was formally created by an act of Parliament, the Harpur Trust Act 1764 (4 Geo. 3. c. 72), to administer Bedford School's endowment. After the Great Fire of London, much of Harpur's land in London was built on, and so by 1900, the Harpur Trust was receiving payments from these of around £14,000 (equivalent to £1,487,779 in 2025) per year. Following its foundation, Bedford School expanded greatly, increasing its head count and restoring its buildings. The "Writing School", now Bedford Modern School, also split to form a separate grammar school. Late modern period Around 1810, headmaster John Brereton restarted boarding at Bedford, although the school still primarily taught day students. By 1820, Bedford had 84 students, of which half were boarders. During Brereton's tenure, Bedford took on many characteristics of Victorian public schools, including fagging, and compulsory Christianity. The school's curriculum was broadened, and the school was modernised. Buildings and grounds The Main School Building, originally built in 1891, is a Gothic Revival Grade II listed building. On the night of 3–4 March 1979, much of the building was gutted by fire as a result of arson. The internal structure of the building was destroyed and thirty classrooms were lost. Almost all pupil records were saved but books, furniture and the large collection of portraits of former headmasters were lost. However, the school was in full operation on Monday 5 March. Bedford School Chapel was completed in 1908 and is a Grade II* listed building. It is significant as the last architectural accomplishment of George Frederick Bodley, a prominent Victorian architect who worked in the Gothic Revival style. Other notable buildings by Bodley include the chapels of Marlborough College and Queens' College, Cambridge. In 2005, various refurbishment projects took place within the chapel. Most significantly, the ceiling was restored to its former Bodlian watercolour design, the original having been painted over in the 1960s due to deterioration. At the same time, the interior walls were redecorated and the stonework cleaned. The chapel is home to Bedford School's chapel choir and houses a fine two-manual Hill, Norman & Beard organ. The specification of this instrument can be found in the National Pipe Organ Register. The Charles Piazzi Smyth Observatory and the Wolfson Planetarium were opened in May 2002 by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Situated on the Bedford School estate, the facility is operated by the school's astronomer in conjunction with members of the Bedford Astronomical Society. The observatory was named after an Old Bedfordian who went on to become the Astronomer Royal for Scotland. It has a custom-designed GRP dome and a computer-controlled twelve-inch (305mm) telescope. The telescope has a hydrogen alpha filter, which enables the observer to view the magnetic plasma flow around the sun. The adjacent Planetarium was named after the Wolfson Foundation. School structure Admissions Bedford School aims to maintain the Christian ethos which was embedded into its foundation principles when established, but commits to admitting boys of all faiths, or boys with no faith. The first year at Bedford School (for 13- to 14-year-olds) is called the Fourth Form and is equivalent to Year 9 in the state system. After that come the Remove and the Fifth Form. The next two years are the Lower Sixth and the Upper Sixth. Bedford School also caters for the lower years (from Year 3 to Year 8) in Bedford Preparatory School. This is located on the Bedford School estate and many facilities are shared. Boys attending Bedford School typically come from a variety of various professional families in Bedford, elsewhere in the United Kingdom, as well as overseas. In 2016, the school had 139 boys as English as an Additional Language (EAL), and 57 boys who received additional support in learning for special educational needs, such as dyslexia, and physical disabilities. Academic attainment Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) inspected Bedford School in November 2016, and found quality of personal development provided for boys attending the school to be "excellent". Boys attending Bedford School during the inspection were praised for having "respect for others", having a good "understanding of right and wrong", showing "kindness and sensitivity" and demonstrating "responsibility for others". Academic attainment across the school was strong, with boys making "rapid" progress in all curriculum areas whilst developing a wide range of learning skills, including independence of thought and the ability to clearly communicate. Boys attending the Preparatory School at Bedford School achieve high standards, and in the Senior School, boys academic performance at GCSE level is above the national average. Results in GCSE examinations in the Sixth Form were also strong and found to be above the national average. Boys of all ages across the school, from Preparatory to Sixth Form, were found to be achieving strongly in key areas such as Language and Communication, as well as Numeracy and Mathematics. Following the inspection in November 2016, it was concluded that boys attending Bedford School had well–developed mathematical skills. House system Bedford School has six houses. Each house is composed of a day house and an associated boarding house. The day houses are areas for students to relax during breaks from teaching whilst the boarding houses are for students to reside in. The house names, dating from the mid-nineteenth century, refer to areas of Bedford; boys were originally allocated a house based on the area of town in which they lived. Whilst these are the official house names, it is common for boarders to refer to their house by the name of their boarding house. The houses are: Ashburnham – The day house is next to the Design and Technology Building. The boarding house, Sandersons, is within a ten-minute walk of the school in Rothsay Gardens, next to Redburn. Bromham – The day house is on Burnaby Road at the main entrance to the school, next to the Rice Building. The school's sixth form boarding house, Burnaby, is on Burnaby Road. Crescent – The day house is in a two-storey building towards the south of the school estate. The boarding house, Pemberley, is on Pemberley Avenue. The name Crescent derives from The Crescent, a road to the north-east of Bedford town centre running between Bromham Road and Tavistock Street. Paulo Pontine – The day house occupies a single storey ground floor area beneath the Art Department towards the south of the school estate. The boarding house, Redburn, is within a ten-minute walk of the school. The house takes its name from the area around St Paul's Church ('Paulo') and the area south of the river, over the Town Bridge ('Pontine'). St Cuthbert's – The day house is located next door to the Medical Centre on Burnaby Road. The boarding house, Phillpotts, is in the north-east corner of the school estate. St Peter's – The day house occupies a purpose-built building next to its boarding house, Talbots, on Burnaby Road. Prep school houses The prep school operates with a different house system to the upper school, with there being 4 houses, each linked to a famous person from Bedford. The houses are as follows: Bunyan This house has yellow ties. It is named after John Bunyan. Harpur This house has red ties. It is named after Sir William Harpur, the school's founder. Howard This house has blue ties. It is named after John Howard. Whitbread This house has green ties. It is named after Samuel Whitbread. Their mascot is Baby Yoda. School officials Bedford School monitors are selected from amongst the boys of the Upper Sixth. They are entitled to wear coloured waistcoats and brown shoes as well as brass buttons on their blazers. The head of school and the deputy head are selected from amongst the monitors. Colour system Bedford School recognises individual achievement in various fields by the awarding of 'colours', at the discretion of the appropriate master, to boys in the Fifth Form and above. The various colours entitle the bearer to wear a particular variant of his uniform, appropriate to that award, on given days. There are five types of colours: Academic, Arts, Headmaster's, House, and Sports (Major and Minor). Extracurricular activities Chapel Choir The Chapel Choir sings the weekly and special services in Bedford School Chapel. The choir consists of eighteen choristers from the Preparatory School and twenty-four choral scholars from the Upper School, many of whom are former cathedral choristers. The Chapel Choir regularly sings services and performs concerts in English cathedrals, including St Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. The choir also tours abroad in alternate years. Previous destinations have included: Prague(1998); Oslo (2000); Paris(2002), where the choir sang mass in Notre Dame Cathedral; Rome (2004), where the choir sang mass in St. Peter's Basilica; Ireland (2006); Madrid (2008), and Belgium (2019) . The choir has made several recordings in recent years. In 2007, the BBC recorded the school's Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols for transmission on Christmas Day of that year on BBC Radio under the direction of Andrew Morris, Director of Music at Bedford School between 1979 and 2011.They also recorded a CD entitled "A Bedford Christmas" in 2018. School magazines Bedford School produces several magazines, of which the most prominent is The Ousel, published regularly since 1876. It is largely written by boys and managed directly by the school. It is published at the end of each Summer term and contains pupil and staff reviews of the school year. The school's Mosaic Society runs the Mosaic magazine which contains a range of essays and articles written by boys on subjects ranging from current affairs and politics to sport and science. In 2011, the Classical Society started a publication, VIM Magazine. Sport Bedford School has a different major sport for each term. The Christmas term is rugby union orientated, the Easter term is devoted to hockey, and Summer is the cricket season. Rowing with the Bedford School Boat Club takes place on the River Ouse throughout the year. Other popular Bedford School sports include athletics, badminton, basketball, canoeing, cross country running, fencing, fives, football, golf, rifle shooting, sailing, squash, swimming, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, water polo and weight training. The school has produced cricketer Alastair Cook, who went on to captain the England cricket team, and whose coach at Bedford School was sports master and former England batsman Derek Randall. Other Bedford School sportsmen include England rugby internationals Martin Bayfield and Andy Gomarsall; the rower Jack Beresford, winner of five Olympic medals; and 1924 Olympic 100-metre sprint gold medallist Harold Abrahams. Headmasters Edmund Greene was appointed as headmaster of Bedford School prior to Bedford School's foundation in 1552. From then on the Wardens and Fellows of New College, Oxford were given the right to appoint the master (headmaster) and usher (deputy headmaster). This came to an end in 1903, with the appointment of John Edward King to headship. The schools headmasters have been: Notable staff Charles Abbot (1761–1817), Fellow of New College, Oxford, botanist and entomologist, Usher at Bedford School, 1787–1817 Robert Steele (1860–1944), Medievalist W. H. D. Rouse (1863–1950), Fellow in Classics at Christ's College, Cambridge Stanley Toyne (1881–1962), Historian, Hampshire and MCC cricketer Jack Hobbs (1882–1963), Surrey and England cricketer Rex Alston (1901–1994), a master at Bedford School, 1924–1941, before becoming a BBC sports commentator Evelyn King (1907–1994), Labour MP, 1945–1950, Conservative MP, 1964–1979 John Durnford-Slater (1909–1972), raised the first Commando unit in 1940, Estate Bursar and Commanding Officer of the CCF at Bedford School William Ronald Dalzell (1910–2004), book illustrator, author, and lecturer on the arts; art master, 1947-70 Godfrey Brown (1915–1995), History master, Olympic gold medal winner, 1936 Mary Midgley (1919–2018), moral philosopher Jack Bailey (1930–2018), Essex and MCC cricketer, Secretary of the MCC, 1974–1987 Bernie Cotton (born 1948), Olympic hockey player, 1972, manager of the Great Britain Olympic hockey team, 1992 Andrew Morris (born 1948), conductor and organist, Director of Music at Bedford School, 1979–2011 Derek Randall (born 1951), Nottinghamshire and England cricketer Gary Steer (born 1970) Derbyshire County Cricket Club Alumni See also List of English and Welsh endowed schools (19th century) List of high schools producing multiple Olympic gold medalists List of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom Notes References Barlen, M. E.; Stambach, M.P.; Stileman, D.P.C. (1984). Bedford School and the Great Fire. Quiller Press. ISBN 0-907621-37-6. De-la-Noy, Michael (1999). Bedford School: A History. Bedford School. ISBN 0-9536685-0-9. Godber, Joyce (1973). The Harpur Trust 1552–1973. White Crescent Press Ltd. ISBN 0-9502917-0-6. Sargeaunt, John & Hockliffe, Ernest (1925). A History of Bedford School. T. Fisher Unwin.