We were delighted to hear that Old Bedfordian Kieran Gilmour, who left school last summer, was recently awarded a Royal Geographical Society (RGS) Award for achieving the UK’s highest raw mark in the 2022 International Baccalaureate (IB) Higher Level Geography examination.
News of Kieran’s accolade was announced on the RGS website as part of their Awards for Excellence in Geographical Learning.
Kieran joins schoolmate Reuben Glenville, as one of the school’s highest achievers who also left Bedford School last summer. Reuben achieved the Salters Horners Physics Prize with one of the UK’s highest A-Level Physics examination results.
Kieran was thrilled to hear he had done so well, explaining that his love of geography stems from “its multifaceted approach to the issues that it addresses and its uniqueness in being able to encompass theories from both physical and human schools of thoughts.”
Kieran as Captain of the 1st XV in 2022.
He went on to say, “The Geography Department at school were exceptional at driving curiosity and sparking interests in my study. They were incredibly helpful to facilitate extra research and knowledge while constantly being enthusiastic to investigate and debate any topics I presented. Classrooms were filled with the atmosphere of discovery with some lessons taking an informal style of discussion around issues studied and applicable to our syllabus.”
Studying the International Baccalaureate was an easy choice for Kieran. He told us, “I decided to study the IB due to its diverse range of study opportunities, not only in the range of subjects, but also in the material that can be used in examinations. In geography for example, I was able to use my own knowledge and case studies to answer questions on the syllabus. This led to the feelings of freedom and independence in my study which spiked my motivation for my subjects.”
Adrian Finch, Director of IB explained, “Kieran was a fantastic IB student. We were all aware of the immense sporting contribution he made to the school community (captaining the 1st XV), but he also set himself the highest academic standards and he was supported by some fantastic IB teaching, particularly from the Geography Department. This award is a wonderful national recognition of the academic qualities Kieran displayed throughout his time at Bedford School and it is thoroughly deserved.”