Bedales was founded to be different from the schools of its time.

Where others imposed conformity, Bedales nurtured individuality, initiative and an enquiring mind. True to its roots and founding principles the school places emphasis on collaboration and care for others. Our students are naturally ambitious and competitive, and build strong relationships with each other and their teachers based on mutual respect; everyone, staff and students, is on first name terms. This approach enables students to concentrate on the complex business of learning, developing and becoming their own person.

Bedales continues to be an innovative school; we led the country in replacing many GCSEs with our own more interesting and more demanding Bedales Assessed Courses. Our students move on comfortably to university and beyond because they are self-disciplined, are already used to organising their own time, to studying in depth and to mixing and debating with their elders.