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For the school in the United States, see Bedford School (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania).

Bedford School
Address
De Parys Avenue

Bedford
,
Bedfordshire

England
Information
TypePublic School
Private day and boarding
MottoFloreat Schola Bedfordiensis
(May Bedford School Flourish)
Religious affiliation(s)Church of England
EstablishedAugust 15, 1552; 472 years ago (1552-08-15)
FounderEdward VI
Department for Education URN109718 Tables
HeadmasterJames Hodgson
GenderBoys
Age7 to 18
Enrolment1111
Colour(s)    Navy and white
PublicationThe Ousel
Former pupilsOld Bedfordians
Boat ClubBedford School Boat Club
Websitewww.bedfordschool.org.uk

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To do list for this article - using this space for drafting... Look at Chiswick Chap's Winchester College when stuck.

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  1. Sort out the history section, split into subsections, and improve referencing.
  2. Sort out buildings: make more encyclopaedic, update with new buildings, remove weasel words: use De-La-Noy, Great Fire. Consider splitting info about the Fire and architectural details into separate articles.
  3. Combine Colours, Houses etc. into one "Academic" section, using Aspects of Bedford School.
  4. Whittle down extracurricular to remove rubbish, expand music with Songs of Bedford School, expand Sport with better referencing and info on the Rowing Club
  5. Rewrite lead to reflect new material
  6. End article should be ~3500-400 words by a quick estimate

History

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Main article: History of Bedford School

Background

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Further information: Education in Bedford

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.[1]

Foundation and early years

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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;[2] 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 it's appointment to choose the school's leadership.[1]

 
A statue of Harpur outside the Old Town Hall

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.[3] After a decline in school size following widespread miduse 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.[4] However, the school grew little over the next century and a half[5] (in 1747, the school had 11 pupils)[6], due to incompent headmasters and a lack of funding; it also grew little in social standing as compared to schools such as Winchester, Westminster, or Eton, although tihs can be partially attributed to its location in Bedford and lack of architecturally attractive estate.[5]

In 1764, the Harpur Trust was formally created by Act of Parliament to administer Bedford School's endowment.[7] After the Great Fire of London, much of Harpur's land in London was build on, and so by 1900, the Harpur Trust was receiving payments from these of around £14,000 (equivalent to £1,913,333 in 2023) per year.[8] Following its foundation, Bedford School expanded greatly, increasing its head count and restoring its buildings.[7] The "Writing School", now Bedford Modern School, also split to form a separate grammar school.[9]

Late modern period

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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.[10] 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 modernised the school,[11] for example by implementing better living conditions for boys[12] and installing gas.[13]

James Surtees Phillpotts was appointed as the twenty-second headmaster of Bedford School in 1874, at the age of thirty-five, and he remained in that position until his retirement in 1903. It was during his time as headmaster that, on 29 October 1891, a procession of masters, pupils and old boys moved the school from its site in St Paul's Square to its third, current, and far more spacious location in buildings constructed on land to the north of St Peter's Green.[14]

Contemporary history

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Bedford School's Main School Building remained in this form until a disastrous fire on 3 March 1979 destroyed all but the west end where the Bell Room and the headmaster's study were located. All that remained of the rest of the building was the brick shell which was incorporated in the restored building. The restored Main School Building was opened on 10 September 1981. In the interim the school functioned in twenty-two temporary huts and by using the Howard and Craig buildings on the school estate.[15]

make more neutral, link:

In 2005, Bedford School was one of fifty of the country's leading independent schools which were accused of running a price-fixing cartel which had allowed them to push up school fees.[16] Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling £3 million into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared.[17]

Buildings and grounds

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Main article: Architecture of Bedford School

Main School Building

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A view of the north side of Bedford School's Main School Building

The Main School Building, originally built in 1891, is a Gothic Revival Grade II listed building.[18][19] 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.[20][21]

The integral structure of the walls was not affected by the fire, and under the indefatigable leadership of the headmaster, Ian Jones, and two Chairmen of the Harpur Trust, John Howard and Anthony Abrahams, the building was restored within two years. The architect, Philip Dowson, made a number of alterations to the building during the restoration process: the most important was the raising of the central Great Hall to first floor level in order to provide more classroom and administrative space on the ground floor below.[18]

Chapel

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Bedford School Chapel (with the new Music School seen to the right)

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.[22]

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.

Observatory and planetarium

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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.[23]

The observatory was named after an Old Bedfordian who went on to become the Astronomer Royal for Scotland. It boasts 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.

Music school

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Bedford School Music Department is housed in the new purpose-built Music School, designed by Eric Parry, and completed in November 2005. The building houses a large recital hall with recording facilities, a recording studio, individual specialised teaching and practice rooms, and a rock music studio. The building was officially opened by Peter Maxwell Davies, Master of the Queen's Music, in March 2006, and the recording facilities were officially opened by David Arnold on 20 May 2013.[24]

Cricket ground

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The first recorded match on the Bedford School cricket ground was played in 1876, between Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire.[25] Bedfordshire played its first Minor Counties Championship match on the ground in 1895, against Hertfordshire. Since 1895, the ground has been host to 181 Minor Counties Championship matches.[26] In addition, the ground has been host to five MCCA Knockout Trophy matches for Bedfordshire, the first played in 1993 between Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.[27]

The ground has been host to two List-A matches for Northamptonshire: the first was played in the 1971 John Player League, between Northamptonshire and Lancashire; and the second was played in 1982, in the same competition and between the same two sides.[28] It has also been host to twenty-five Second XI fixtures for the Northamptonshire Second XI in the Second XI Championship for the Second XI Trophy.[29][30]

Houses

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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.[31] The houses are:

Ashburnham – The day house occupies a large building adjacent to the Design and Technology Building. The boarding house, Sandersons, known informally to students as ('Sandies'), is situated within a ten-minute walk of the school in Rothsay Gardens, adjacent to Redburn. The house colours are dark red and brown.

Bromham – The day house is situated on Burnaby Road at the main entrance to the school, next to the Rice Building. The school's sixth form boarding house, Burnaby, is situated on Burnaby Road. The house colours are light blue and navy blue.

Crescent – The day house is situated in a two-storey building towards the south of the school estate. The boarding house, Pemberley, is situated on Pemberley Avenue. The house colours are black and white. 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 situated within a ten-minute walk of the school. The house colours are gold, brown and light blue. 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 situated in the north-east corner of the school estate. The house colours are dark blue and black.

St Peter's – The day house occupies a purpose-built building next to its boarding house, Talbots, on Burnaby Road. The house colours are scarlet (formerly cerise) and white.

School officials

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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.[32] The head of school and the deputy head are selected from amongst the monitors.[citation needed]

Colours

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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).[33]

Academic colours – Awarded to Upper Sixth boys for outstanding academic achievement or for significant contributions to extracurricular academic activities supported by the school. Academic colours consist of a golden eagle to be worn on the blazer.[34]

Arts colours – Awarded for excellence in art, music or drama. Arts colours consist of a white eagle on a purple patch.

Headmaster's colours – Awarded by the headmaster to a boy who has made a significant contribution to the school. Headmaster's colours are the highest form of colours to be awarded at Bedford School and are typically awarded only to one or two boys each year. Headmaster's colours consist of just a woollen scarf: navy blue with three vertical gold stripes and the school shield embroidered at either end. The scarf may be worn on a daily basis.

House colours – Awarded by a housemaster for contributions made to a boy's house, for example through success in an inter-house competition. House colours consist of a house tie with pronounced double stripes (thicker than on the standard house tie) and a knitted house scarf with multiple horizontal stripes, both in the house colours. House colours may be worn on a daily basis.

Major sports colours – Awarded for success when representing the school in one of the four major sports (cricket, hockey, rowing or rugby) by the master in charge of that sport and with the headmaster's approval. Major sports colours consist of a club tie (dull blue with thick double white stripes), plain cable-knit cricket jumper, blazer and other accessories. The tie and jumper are common to all sports whilst the blazer and other accessories vary between them. The tie, jumper and scarf may be worn on a daily basis whilst blazers and other accessories are reserved for High Days, Saturdays and match days. The variants for each of the major sports are as follows:

Cricket: royal blue and white vertically striped blazer with a breast pocket white eagle; royal blue and white striped cricket cap; no scarf.
Hockey: navy blue woollen blazer with a breast pocket white eagle within a red shield; dull blue woollen scarf with three sky blue vertical stripes.
Rowing: navy blue woollen blazer with white piping and a breast pocket white eagle; dull blue woollen scarf with white vertical stripes; white trousers.
Rugby: navy blue woollen blazer with a breast pocket navy blue eagle within a red shield; dull blue woollen scarf with three red vertical stripes.

Minor sports colours – Awarded for success when representing the school in a minor sport (i.e. any sport other than one of the four major sports) by the master in charge of that sport. Minor sports colours may also be awarded to successful second team players of major sports. Minor sports colours consist of a royal blue club tie with single white stripes, a woollen navy blue blazer with a white eagle on the breast pocket and a navy blue woollen scarf with three vertical stripes (royal blue on the edges, white in the centre). The tie and scarf may be worn on a daily basis; the blazer is reserved for High Days, Saturdays and match days.

Extracurricular activities

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Bedford School's Main School Building at night, viewed from the Sports Field

Chapel Choir

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The Chapel Choir sings the weekly and special services in Bedford School Chapel.[35]

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.[36]

Combined Cadet Force

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Intelligence Corps Badge

One of the extracurricular activities at Bedford School is membership of the Combined Cadet Force. Bedford School CCF differs from other corps as it draws its members from two schools (Bedford School and Bedford Girls' School) he school's CCF was affiliated with the Corps of Royal Engineers until 2018 when the role was taken over by the Intelligence Corps.

Music

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Bedford School stages an annual concert programme, culminating in a series of summer concerts at the end of the academic year. There are a number of senior music groups, including the Bedford School First Orchestra, the Concert Band, the Choral Society, the Chapel Choir, and a large number of chamber groups. In addition, there is the Second Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra and the Jazz Orchestra (formerly known as the Dance Band), as well as a number of jazz and rock bands.[36] There is a musician in residence at the school.

School magazines

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Bedford School produces several magazines, of which the most prominent is The Ousel, published regularly since 1876.[37] 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.[38] In 2011, the Classical Society introduced its new publication, VIM Magazine. Run entirely by the boys, with support provided by members of staff from the Classics Department, the magazine contains academic essays as well as more light-hearted articles on classical fashion and travel. It bears testament to the burgeoning resurgence of Classics at Bedford School.

Sport

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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.[39]

On the rugby field, Bedford School competes regularly against Dulwich College, Haileybury, Harrow School, Oakham School, Oundle School, Radley College, Rugby School, St Edward's School, Oxford, Stowe School, Uppingham School, Warwick School and Wellington College. Bedford School has also fielded rugby teams against Marlborough College, Merchant Taylors' School, Mill Hill School, RGS High Wycombe and St Paul's School, amongst other schools.

The school has produced many internationally famous sportsmen, including cricketer Alastair Cook,[40] 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 famous 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 medalist Harold Abrahams.

Headmasters

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Edmund Greene was appointed as headmaster of Bedford School by the Mayor, Bailiffs, Burgesses and Commonality of Bedford following the dissolution of Newnham Priory in 1540. His appointment was made prior to Bedford School's refoundation 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).[41] This came to an end in 1903, with the appointment of John Edward King to headship. The schools headmasters have been:[42]

Alumni

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Main article: List of people educated at Bedford School

Notes and references

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Notes

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b De-la-Noy 1999, p. 3.
  2. ^ De-la-Noy 1999, p. 1.
  3. ^ De-la-Noy 1999, p. 5.
  4. ^ De-la-Noy 1999, pp. 8–9.
  5. ^ a b De-la-Noy 1999, pp. 10–11.
  6. ^ De-la-Noy 1999, p. 14.
  7. ^ a b De-la-Noy 1999, p. 15.
  8. ^ De-la-Noy 1999, p. 6.
  9. ^ Davis, Robin (1967). The Grammar School. Penguin Books. p. 34 – via Internet Archive.
  10. ^ De-la-Noy 1999, p. 19.
  11. ^ De-la-Noy 1999, p. 21.
  12. ^ De-la-Noy 1999, p. 23.
  13. ^ De-la-Noy 1999, p. 26.
  14. ^ De-la-Noy, pp.47–72
  15. ^ M.E. Barlen, M.P. Stambach and D.P.C. Stileman (1984). Bedford School and the Great Fire. Quiller Press. ISBN 0-907621-37-6
  16. ^ Halpin, Tony (10 November 2005). "Independent schools face huge fines over cartel to fix fees". The Times. London. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  17. ^ "The Office of Fair Trading: OFT names further trustees as part of the independent schools settlement". Oft.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 10 June 2008. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  18. ^ a b Barlen, M E: Bedford School and the Great Fire (London: Quiller Press, 1984) p.86
  19. ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1137959)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  20. ^ "www.bedfordschool.org.uk 25th Anniversary of Bedford School's Great Fire, March 2004". Bedfordschool.org.uk. Archived from the original on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  21. ^ "www.bedfordschool.org.uk An interview with Mr Simms, who celebrated 50 years with Bedford School this week, November 2009". Bedfordschool.org.uk. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  22. ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1321037)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  23. ^ De-la-Noy, p.221
  24. ^ "An introduction to Bedford School Music School". Bedford School. 20 September 2011. Archived from the original on 27 July 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  25. ^ "Other matches played on Bedford School Ground". Cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  26. ^ "Minor Counties Championship Matches played on Bedford School Ground". Cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  27. ^ "Minor Counties Trophy Matches played on Bedford School Ground". Cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  28. ^ "List-A Matches played on Bedford School Ground". Cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  29. ^ "Second XI Championship Matches played on Bedford School Ground". Cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  30. ^ "Second XI Trophy Matches played on Bedford School Ground". Cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  31. ^ De-la-Noy, p.123
  32. ^ De-la-Noy, p.56
  33. ^ Awards & Achievements
  34. ^ Academic Colours – Bedford School Archived 8 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  35. ^ "Bedford School". Bedford School. Archived from the original on 3 April 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  36. ^ a b De-la-Noy, p.218
  37. ^ De-la-Noy, p.52
  38. ^ De-la-Noy, pp.116–117
  39. ^ De-la-Noy, Michael (1999). Bedford School : a history, 1552-2002. Bedford School. Bedford: Bedford School. pp. 197–198. ISBN 0-9536685-0-9. OCLC 43821861.
  40. ^ Randall, Charles (16 April 2008). "Alastair Cook reprises his original hits". London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
  41. ^ F.A.M. Webster, Our Great Public Schools, 1937.
  42. ^ De-la-Noy 1999, p. 225.
  43. ^ "Moule, John Stuart, (born 29 May 1971), Warden, Radley College, since 2014". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u257808. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  44. ^ "Bedford School: Winners of Independent Boys' School of the Year 2021". Independent School Parent. 25 February 2022. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 25 October 2023.

Bibliography

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