In an action packed twelve months at Bedford School, boys celebrated a myriad of successes; both in the classroom and beyond. Our Fifth Form surpassed last year’s excellent results to record yet another record-breaking set of GCSE results, with a remarkable 47% of grades at 8-9 grade (the old A* grade). Our leavers' results were also strong with 83% of boys going on to Russell Group and/or Times Top 30 universities. However, as important as exam results are, we believe that it is far more important that our boys discover a love of learning for its own sake, develop curiosity and foster deep interest to take them through life.
We work hard to prepare boys for a fast-moving future world where technological skills sit alongside the critical skills of empathy, creativity and imagination, so we were delighted when a team of our boys scooped third place in the Barclays’ Blockchain Hackathon: a national competition for technical teams from banks and high-profile tech companies. Despite being the only school to enter, their innovative solution not only also caught the eye of the judges but also UCAS who invited them to their Headquarters later in the year to share their ideas.
Creativity also soared as Lower Sixth Former Tom Arnold was awarded ‘Music Director of the Year’ by the National Operatic and Drama Association; Upper Sixth Former Silas Sanders not only secured his place in the National Youth Chamber Choir, but was also awarded a Choral Scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge; and boys from Y3 to Y13 brought home an unprecedented 85 top three places at the Bedfordshire Festival of Music, Speech and Drama, including the festival’s top accolade.
In a year full of individual and team successes, Bedford School's 1st XI hockey team shone as they made the finals of both the indoor and outdoor national hockey championships. Boys also went the extra mile for charity by clocking up the miles in their Around the World in 80 Days Challenge for Movember. The challenge along with a wide-range of varied activities saw the boys’ fundraising efforts recognised as they topped the Movember schools’ leader board for fundraising once again. We are proud of the efforts of our boys as they serve our local community as well as many national charities.
As ever, the highlights above are testament to the extraordinary array of activity at Bedford School and the tremendous dedication of the boys and their teachers as they continually delight us with their curiosity and passion for the world around them.