Bedales > Prospectus > Teaching & Learning > New 14-16 Curriculum
New 14-16 Curriculum
	Bedales school has been a test bed of advanced educational thinking ever since it was founded, over a hundred years ago. Then, it challenged the whole authoritarian model of independent schooling. Now, it has decided that GCSE ‘simply won’t do’. From September 2006 the school is introducing ten of its own courses alongside the small core of GCSEs that are required for university entrance.

Intended to provide more choice, depth and richness of learning for the students, the Bedales courses have been developed like university courses: created by the school’s own subject specialists and quality-assured by external experts.

Bedales students will choose up to three out of the ten new Bedales Assessed Courses (BACs). In addition, the small number of GCSEs that are required for university entrance (English, Maths, a modern language, and a double or triple award in Science) are compulsory, as are two Bedales courses that are not assessed (Physical Education; and Personal, Social and Health Education).

Students may then, if they wish, select a further two externally examined subjects, such as Latin GCSE or the European Computer Driving Licence. Most students will take nine or ten courses in all.

For more information on why the school has taken this initiative, read on.

For a more detailed description of the opportunities and requirements of the new curriculum,
including the Bedales Assesed Courses, click here to view or download.

What is the Problem with GCSE?

GCSE does not provide enough stimulation for imaginative students. We want them to develop and pursue an interest in the subject, not just in the exam. In fact, we really want them to aim above GCSE to A-level and to higher education. more ...

Bedales Assessed Courses

Since maths and science are covered in the core of remaining GCSE subjects, the new Bedales Assessed Courses focus on the humanities, the arts, Design and – a speciality of Bedales – Outdoor Work. more ...

Assessment

The methods of assessment in the new Bedales courses vary according to the subject.
more ...

Assurance of Quality

The Bedales Assessed Courses must be acceptable to university admissions tutors, so we have consulted universities at every stage of development. In addition, all the courses are moderated by external experts. more ...

Educational Innovation at Bedales

Educational innovation has been the hallmark of Bedales from the start. The revolutionary ideas of its founder have since become mainstream in many schools, and we expect other schools to follow our lead in curriculum development. more ...

What is the Problem with GCSE?

The Bedales initiative redresses several shortcomings of GCSE. Philip Young, Director of Studies at Bedales, says: “GCSE has become a cat and mouse game. To pass, students must too often present a limited kind of information in a specified format. Teachers could simply tell them what to say – but teaching and learning should be about much more than that. GCSE does not provide enough stimulation for imaginative students. We want them to develop and pursue an interest in the subject, not just in the exam; and we should be able to give credit to students who produce the unexpected insight. We really want our students to aim above GCSE to A-level and, beyond that, to higher education. GCSE, with its over-prescriptive syllabuses, is in many ways a distraction. BACs will provide richness and depth of learning – and our students will be more interesting people as a result.”
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Example

The Bedales Assessed Course in English Literature is an example.  “It places greater emphasis on studying a wide range of demanding texts than GCSE,” says Graham Banks, Head of English.  “GCSE sets out a range of criteria by which every individual piece of work will be assessed, like the requirement to consider the social and historical context.  This restricts the range of questions which can be asked and can produce a tick-box approach to essay writing.  At Bedales we have similar assessment criteria for the course as a whole, but within those bounds we can decide to assess individual pieces of work according to the student’s stated aims.  This is much closer to how literary critics work in real life, with the emphasis on coherence and precision of argument.  Like many aspects of a Bedales education, the approach resembles university more than school.”

Bedales Assessed Courses

Since maths and science are covered in the core of remaining GCSE subjects, the new Bedales Assessed Courses focus on the humanities, the arts, Design and – a speciality of Bedales – Outdoor Work. The list includes English, History, PRE (Philosophy, Religion & Ethics) Dance, Music, Art, and Theatre Arts (in which options for the performance module include stage fighting, music theatre, and sound & lighting). Design concentrates on product design and textiles, and including elements of computer-aided design and manufacturing. The final BAC fits no traditional categories: Outdoor Work. For over a century pupils at Bedales, not to mention staff and parents, have engaged in practical as well as intellectual work: for example, learning the techniques of traditional timber-frame building, and helping to tend the school’s flock of sheep on the 140-acre estate.
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Assessment

The methods of assessment in the new Bedales courses vary according to the subject. Some incorporate formal exams; PRE students may spend a whole term developing an extended dissertation; Design is assessed by four large-scale projects, English by the best five out of ten essays; and Art students must present a final exhibition along with a portfolio of preparatory work.
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The Assurance of Quality

Amongst so much flexibility, how is quality guaranteed? “The Bedales Assessed Courses absolutely must be acceptable to university admissions tutors,” says Philip Young, “so we have taken great pains to consult and brief universities at every stage of development – and we have had very positive responses.” In addition, all the courses are moderated by external experts: Weald & Downland Open Air Museum for the course in Outdoor Work, for example; architects Walters & Cohen for the Design course; and Winchester School of Art for the Art course, which blends historical study of the Pop Art movement with creative skills such as printmaking and ceramics.
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Educational Innovation at Bedales

Educational innovation has been the hallmark of Bedales from the start. Its founder, J H Badley, declared in 1893 that conventional independent schooling “simply wouldn’t do” and established his own school to demonstrate the alternative. His belief in giving equal emphasis to ‘head, hand and heart’ still informs every aspect of Bedales life over a century later.

Badley’s revolutionary ideas have since become mainstream in many schools: coeducational boarding (at Bedales since 1898); consulting pupils about the development of the school (at Bedales since 1916); and an emphasis on arts, sciences and voluntary service. The school expects others to follow its lead in curriculum development.
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