Bedford School is committed to empowering all boys with the knowledge and skills they need to realise their potential. We believe boys’ achievements should never be limited by false barriers and we are dedicated to ensuring that every boy receives the support they need throughout their time at school.
Historically, this was not always the case for everyone. Old Bedfordian Richard Foxen (71-74) achieved good A-Level results but always felt that there was something holding him back. It was not until much later in life that he discovered he has Dyslexia. Whilst this did not stop him going on to have a varied and interesting career, Richard was keen to find a way to help the school “encourage any individuals who are, or might be, struggling to know that there is support available”.
After liaising closely with Rachel Mellor, Head of Academic Support, Richard generously donated £2,000, via the Bedford School Foundation Trust (BSFT), to enable the school to purchase the Lexia UK ‘Power Up’ literacy intervention programme. The programme allows the school to track pupils’ progress in great detail and indicates if further practise is required, or indeed further instruction from a teacher.
During the last academic year, all Fourth Form boys completed the baseline assessment with ‘Power Up’ to assess their word study, grammar and comprehension. This enabled the Academic Support team to identify a number of Fourth Form boys who then engaged with the programme in some of their English lessons. This year, we are again assessing all Fourth Formers to see who will benefit from the programme.
One of our Remove boys summed up how the programme has helped him;
“I think Lexia has really helped with my confidence and my grammar. The way it breaks things down is so helpful and the way it works is incredible. It really does just help.”
The programme has become a powerful tool for our Academic Support Team and will enable early identification of those pupils who need support to help them achieve their best outcomes. To help raise awareness of Dyslexia with the boys, the school are also running a Dyslexia Awareness week from Monday 2nd to Sunday 8th October.
We are very grateful to Richard for all his support with the programme.