Bedford School

Our mission is to teach boys to think intelligently, act wisely and be fully engaged in a challenging and changing world. In order to deliver this, we concentrate our efforts in three main areas: developing the young man within, realising his academic potential and providing sustainability over time. More detail behind each of these strands can be found in our strategic focus document.

Whilst our mission remains a constant, what is needed to achieve it requires regular reassessment, against both internal and external criteria, to ensure we focus our efforts and resources effectively.

Our current areas of strategic focus are the result of a series of discussions with our governors, where we asked them which skills they felt their own world of work would be requiring in the next few decades. From the results of these discussions, combined with a wide reading list around the subject, and recourse to the World Economic Forum’s Skills for Your Future paper, two clear findings emerged: firstly, that the boys will be entering a highly technological world, but secondly that it has never been more important to accentuate the wonders of being human. Whilst machines will always be faster and more accurate than we can ever be, the human skills of empathy, creativity, imagination, and sophisticated communication, amongst others, will be more critical than ever for the next generation.

We are proud of our history. We have given an unbroken service to education since 1552 and our traditions still influence the way we work today.

Founded in the reign of Edward VI, our school owes its existence to the generosity of Sir William and Dame Alice Harpur. Their charitable grant of land and finance became The Harpur Trust, and their vision continues through our scholarships and bursaries.

In the centuries that have followed, the school has seen continual change and development. We introduced boarders in 1811 and moved to our current campus in 1891. Through the 20th century, we grew steadily, adding buildings and facilities, despite setbacks including the devastating fire of 1979.

Since 2000, we’ve constructed a magnificent new theatre, The Quarry Theatre at St Luke’s, as well as a Library, Music School, Fitness Centre, Observatory and Planetarium. Significant bequests from two Old Bedfordians, Brian Saville and Professor John Roach, have also allowed us to introduce generous new scholarships for boys who demonstrate exceptional talent.