In a remarkable twelve months, boys at Bedford School celebrated myriad successes across the board; from academic results to award-winning creative arts to sports achievements at the highest level to fundraising endeavours.
Our Fifth Form celebrated their best GCSE results since 2010 over the summer, with over 68% of exams graded at A*-A (or the number grade equivalent). Our leavers' results were also strong with over two-thirds of boys going on to a Russell Group University and three-quarters to a Times Top Thirty University. Of the others, destinations included overseas universities such as the Berklee School of Music in Boston, professional sports, degree apprenticeships and direct recruitment.
Extending learning beyond the classroom, boys from Year 3 right up to the Upper Sixth were inspired by the launch of the school's very first space mission: a high altitude balloon that reached the edge of space; Lower Sixth Former Laurence Pleuger played a key role in an exciting and ground-breaking project led by the Institute for Research in Schools and the Wellcome Sanger Institute; 17-year-old Felix Mallalieu became the fourth pupil in as many years to be awarded an Arkwright Scholarship for engineering.
Outside the classroom, Bedford School's cricketers achieved the unprecedented feat of reaching the finals of all three leading schoolboy competitions in the same season; boys went the extra mile for charity, taking part in numerous local and national initiatives including Soupfest, The Mind Map's 'Shadow on my Back' and Movember to take the school’s fundraising total to over half a million pounds; 16-year-old Jonathan Blake was named as one of ten winners in The Royal Opera House's Fanfare Competition; Upper Sixth Former and cyclist Ethan Vernon competed at the Commonwealth Games in Australia, decimating the Junior World Record in a time that was fifteen seconds faster than Sir Bradley Wiggins’ record at the same age; 16-year-old Jonathan Hosking was invited to join the National Youth Music Theatre in addition to the National Youth Theatre; Fifth Former Flik Feng was one of just ten composers worldwide to win a place on the prestigious 'Very Young Composers Workshop’ in Shanghai; Upper Sixth Former and oarsman Connor Sheridan won a third gold medal for England at the 2018 World Rowing Junior Championships; boys brought home an unprecedented 75 top three places at the Bedfordshire Festival of Music, Speech and Drama.
As ever, the last twelve months are testament to the extraordinary array of activity at Bedford School and the tremendous dedication of the boys and their teachers. The boys continually delight us with their curiosity at the world around them, their unrelenting endeavour, their responsibility to both the school and the wider community, and their integrity. We now look forward with due excitement and anticipation at what the next school year will bring.