Talk me through Bedales

[Colleger]

I know, I know...

Pros, cons, academic standards, SLD, music, manners etc.

[Needmoresleep]

Why? Surely there are better schools out there. Oundle, Bradfield, Kings Canterbury, etc.

People I know who sent children there were "disappointed".

[Colleger]

Son - quirky, square peg, artistic, liberal (in the good and bad sense).

Find me a school please in the South East if not Bedales!

[happygardening]

Which ever you ask about horror stories are going to be told. I think few would dispute Bedales is ideal for the "quirky, square peg, artistic, liberal (in the good and bad sense)."

[EdithWeston]

I think it would be worth going and having a look with an open mind. They certainly do offer the usual range of academic subjects at GCSE and A level, and should turn out good results in them. But they also have their own accredited qualifications in a surprising range of disciplines, and are keen that pupils take those too for a more diverse education in a broad sense. This mix could be just right for the quirky.

I know one family with a DC there now. They cannot fault the pastoral care (their elder DC went to a well known, very academic school which they do not speak of with anything like the warmth).

[Elibean]

Going back a loooong time, but I spent half my adolescence envying my BF's sister, who was at Bedales. She seemed to have a glorious time

Some future-star-actors in her year, as I remember.

They did do a lot of naughty things in the cornfields, back then, according to her...(she went on to do a PhD in art history, so clearly not all wasted time)

[EdithWeston]

They still do naughty things - sex in the sand pit hit the papers last year! But the pupils also get expelled for it, and some pretty straight talking went on afterwards about rules and standards.

[joanofarchitrave]

Have a look at Sevenoaks? I have a personal downer on it but I always thought it was good for artistic types. May have changed though.

[brandysoakedbitch]

Bedales also has quite a prolific drug culture - two friends of mine attended and were bang at it!!! Neither of them has gone onto further education but one is a rather spivvy entrepreneur and with the help of mummy/daddy investment has done very well for himself - the other one spent many a year 'travelling' but that was because his parents are arses who didn't give him any rules at all.

[bulletpoint]

Reading this with interest for obvious reasons! Never knew choosing a senior school could be so stressful, i am now 70% grey!

Dont mean to derail thread, just had to say something, Colleger i really hope your ds and mine both end up at the right place for them eventually, i think yours is 2014 same as mine.

[happygardening]

Happiest children by miles we saw when looking for schools were at Bedales. I think your find there very strict on drugs now. I suspect sex between pupils at mixed boarding schools is not that uncommon.

[bulletpoint]

I'm not surprised they're happy

[Colleger]

I don't know what is the right place really. I love Harrow for DS but dislike every Harrovian I've ever met. Eton may be too conventional for him, and he only has a waiting list place so therefore no place. If only Win Coll wasn't so academic then I'd be sending him there. Maybe Harrow is conventional too - argh, I'm going mad!

The thing is, it has to be a jolly good school to even contemplating taking him out of music school in Year 9.

[joanofarchitrave]

What is the current school not doing? Is it just not flexible enough, not arts-based enough (apart from music, obv)?

[Colleger]

The other schoo is fine but it requires a re-audition around the Year 8 mark and he may decided music school is not for him so we need a fall back that we hopefully will never use.

[EdithWeston]

Every Harrovian I've ever met is weird too!

Did you look at Oakham?

[joanofarchitrave]

Ah Ok.

I do suggest having a look at Sevenoaks. And there's always Summerhill...

[MollieO]

I think it is a bit odd to want to send your ds to a school where you don't actually like the end result

If you have already place at Radley why wouldn't you want to accept it?

[Colleger]

MollieO, I have battled for years trying to turn my son into something he is not. I now have to accept that his happiness has got to take priority and I need to embrace the square peg and everything that goes with it. Of course, a liberal school worries me because it may be too free in some of the areas mentioned.

As for Radley, I mentioned on another thread why I was unsure about it.

[notatigermother]

Marlborough? I know a quirky, v musical boy who's loving it there.

[happygardening]

Oakham is supposed to be good quite conventional I understand lots of day children? Have said it before i know ampleforth is not SE but what about Kings?

[MollieO]

Colleger I just have this image of you running around the country making your poor ds sit loads of different school entrance exams. You know your ds best so can't you visit the schools you are interested in and form a view? What strangers advise on a forum is their own personal experience that may not fit with yours.

I'm not at the secondary school decision age yet but when I was looking for prep schools it was a question of assessing which would be suitable for my ds and which ones weren't. It wasn't overly complicated. I appreciate there is more choice at secondary but from your various posts it seems there isn't an independent school in the country that you haven't considered!!

[joanofarchitrave]

Yes, tricky. It slightly changes things if this is a backup, rather than a bid for improvement IMO.

What about Hockerill? Don't know anything about it but it has specialist music and languages status.

[Colleger]

MollieO, the reason I'm asking is so I don't need to run all over the country looking at schools and DS could only ever sit one common entrance exam. As it is I have manages to cross off one school from public and personal messages on here and the advice on Radley has confirmed that it's probably not right for DS. I do need to go and see a few schools but I have very little time to do this.

Re Hockerhill: I think languages is preferred there for late admissions and DS hates languages!

[EdithWeston]

Oakham is good all round and is about 50% full boarders, so th weekend community is fine.

Colleger: I don't know where you are, but are London schools any good? Dulwich has good music (and access to all sorts of London choirs/ensembles/orchestras/youth programmes) and is a good all round school. But the boarding community is small and mainly international pupils. Alleyns is coed, day only, but strong for the arts and performing arts.

[milkshake3]

St Edwards Oxford? I would have thought Harrow ticked all the conventional boxes and left the liberal one blank?