Bedford Modern vs Bedford Sch for v bright boy (Y3 entry)?

[Btc76]

Have applied for BMS and Bed Sch for DS for Y3 entry. Has anyone got any up-to-date knowledge of the current schools, both at Junior and Senior level?

Local folklore is that BMS is for more suited for the academically gifted, Bed Sch has a wider academic ability spread in the cohort but more holistic (character, discipline etc). Does this still hold? The fee differential, which only 5 or 10 years ago was 3 or 4K at senior level, is now over 10K at senior level once VAT is added. I find that many families tend to send their children to one school or another more based on their own history (perhaps one DP attending either school themselves), has anyone got any experience of a side-by-side comparison?

Would be grateful for any info!

My knowledge isn't the most up to date but as you haven't had any other replies I'll give it a go... Interesting that you've heard BMS is the more academic school, I'd say the opposite, GCSE results are very similar for both schools but at A Level BMS has performed the worst of all the Harpur Trust schools (we're talking by a small margin here though, nothing to write home about). To be honest I'd say a bright boy will do perfectly well in either, but neither school is a hothouse or particularly academically pushy, in the nicest possible way they're both pretty middle of the road/average-for-private schools TBH, selective but only loosely so, and while they'd have a handful each of kids going on to Oxbridge/Medicine/Vet Medicine and other similarly competitive degrees every year, that's by no means the majority or the default expectation for every child (I say that not in a pejorative way, I don't think that's a particularly healthy or desirable atmosphere).

So for me it really would come down to which school you feel would suit your child better in other ways - Bedford I'd say has more focus on sports whereas BMS was always known for its strong theatre and creative programme, Bedford always used to be known for its classical music. The £10k fee differential would make a big difference to me if I was still looking at I'm not really sure what more you get for that kind of money at Bedford (other than the public school tag but frankly given it's very much not at the prestigious end of public schools only quite inferior snobs would value that very much ), and co-ed vs boys only might make a big difference to you too?

Bms is known to be the cheapest of the private schools so the range of families attending are more 'normal'. I don't know if that makes any difference.

Really useful info mexelly, thank you! Maybe my current knowledge is out of date!

There is only a slight difference in academic results between BMS and Bedford School and this may be because BMS has girls (and girls do better nationally than boys). You can compare schools at A-level on the school comparison website.
I believe Bedford School is less selective on their day-pupil intake than BMS-less parents can afford the higher fees. Interestingly, not much difference in the results though. This may be because boarders bring up the results-someone suggested this but I don't know whether it is true.
Your choice may be affected by 1) whether you want an all boys school versus a mixed school 2) whether you want the commitment of Saturday school at Bedford School 3) whether you don't mind the higher fees at Bedford School 4) whether you place a high value on tradition-more of this at Bedford School 5) whether you want your son to have a more international experience-by mixing with international students at Bedford School 6) whether you want more rugby rather than football at Bedford school.