Boys and staff have been celebrating after beating stiff competition from across the UK to be named Independent Boys’ School of the Year in the much-coveted annual Independent Schools of the Year Awards.
We were both thrilled and humbled to receive the sought-after award after demonstrating how we have embraced and maximised the unique opportunities that an all-boys school can offer.
The awards were hosted online and chosen by a prestigious panel of judges, who know the sector well, including the CEO of the Independent Schools Council (ISC), the CEO of the Boarding Schools’ Association (BSA) and the CEO of the Council of British International Schools (COBIS), a number of others in senior association roles and five serving Heads.
This year, they were overwhelmed by the strength and volume of nominations received with over 700 entries submitted.
Jim Massey who presented the award to us explained they chose Bedford School for “its holistic school experience, tailored to the specific needs of the all-boys community, designed to ensure that students’ individual qualities are nurtured without inhibition and lived without awkwardness, so that they be good men.”
James Hodgson, Head Master, commented, “This is reward for the hard work of an entire community: over 1100 boys, their teachers, non-teaching staff, families, governors and Old Bedfordians, all of whom have played their part in making the school the happy, vibrant and successful place that it is today. I feel immensely lucky every day to be working here and contributing what we can to the town in which we all live.”
Independent Schools of the Year is an awards scheme that aims to showcase the excellence of the educational experience available to students of all backgrounds. It recognises and applauds the varied and imaginative ways in which independent schools prepare young people for their future lives and is a real celebration of the diversity of the sector and the impact that it has on the lives of children and young people.
Scholarships and Bursaries
We aim to offer as many talented boys as possible the opportunity to join independent education through our generous scholarships and bursaries scheme, and each year we offer financial assistance to parents of boys with significant academic, artistic, dramatic, musical or sporting potential, who would otherwise be unable to afford the annual school fees. More information can be found here.