Bedales featured by BBC for its 'humane' approach to boarding
Head Students Kipp and Nate, together with Will Goldsmith, Head of Bedales Schools, have featured in a BBC Radio 4 documentary about the public school boarding system in a global context. Presenter Nels Abbey looks at how this model was driven by the building of Empire and the legacy of educational colonialism in former colonies. In the 1990s, Nels attended boarding schools in the former British colony of Nigeria.
Bedales was featured as the antithesis to the more traditional boarding school, with its more authentic nature of relationships, first name terms and students choosing what to wear, rather than formal uniforms. Will spoke of Bedales not needing so much of the “apparatus used in the British system [such] as modes of control.” The building of trust at Bedales, a lack of unnecessary rules, and the emphasis on student voice were also highlighted.
The presenter concluded that, having visited a more enlightened version of boarding than his own experience, he left with a prospectus and started planning the finance options for his own child!
The programme is available on BBC Sounds, here.