We grow enquiring minds: our teaching methods stimulate independent thinkers.

Through an intricate support network of teachers and tutors, our students are encouraged to think for themselves and develop their own lines of academic argument. Discussion actively engages minds and spurs on inquisitive thinkers. It also means students are extremely well prepared for life beyond Bedales.

Image
Bedales student in the library

Students are pulled, not pushed, towards learning. This creates an environment in which they want to achieve their best. Qualifications are one part of the learning process. Bedales students achieve excellent results and arrive at similar destinations - A Levels and universities - as those who have followed a more rigid educational format. They have just taken a different and more personal route, such as through pursuing Bedales alternative to GCSES - Bedales Assessed Courses (BACs) and the Bedales Humanities Research Project in Block 3.

We urge students to follow their natural curiosity. They have a huge range of chances to engage with subjects that interest them, both in and outside the classroom: just see the magazines they produce that connect academic enthusiasms to the outside world – for example, in science, geography, creative writing. Find out more about our curriculum.

As students progress, they're helped to organise their own time and we guide them in developing their own sense of discipline and academic motivation. Students meet daily with their tutors in their tutor groups, and have one-to-one sessions fortnightly. By providing structure and support, we encourage independence and responsibility to grow from an early age.