Our recent tour of South East schools took us to Bethany which is situated in the heart of the beautiful Kent countryside near Goudhurst. Bethany is a co-educational day and boarding school with around 352 students aged 11-18. Only 55 miles from central London with excellent links to Heathrow and Gatwick Airports.
A school that supports pupils with dyslexia and dyspraxia
A friendly and welcoming school with a small nurturing and supportive community, Bethany is a mainstream school which offers a well-rounded education for all comers. It not only caters to all gifted and talented pupils but also for those with mild learning support needs such as dyslexia and dyspraxia. An accredited member of the CReSTeD (Council for the Registration of Schools Teaching Dyslexic Pupils) it has a superb specialist learning support department with around 30% of pupils receiving help. Its primary specialism is dyslexia, but learning support is woven into all aspects of school life to maximise learning outcomes for those students who need more supportive environments to flourish.
A wide range of examinations & extra-curricular activities
Pupils who are academically gifted can take advantage of its wide range of subjects on offer. 21 subjects are offered at GCSE and 25 at A Level or similar, including a range of BTECs subjects in sixth form demonstrating its commitment to supporting those who may not perform as well in high-pressure exam situations. A huge list of extra-curricular activities is available including the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, horse riding, sailing at nearby Bewl Water, model making, golf, biking, cake decorating, street dance, life-saving and soft ball, to name but a few. Students last year went onto study at a wide range of universities including Cambridge, York, Southampton, Manchester, Exeter, UCL, Goldsmiths, Dundee, University of Arts London, Leicester, Oxford Brooks, Royal Holloway and more.
Excelling in the arts
Arts and creative students do particularly well at Bethany. Performing arts is very strong with superb drama productions throughout the year and about a third of pupils learn a musical instrument. Performing is seen as an essential part of a Bethany education and an important part of developing life skills. Every year a significant number of sixth formers leave to move onto careers in dance, drama and music.
A new £2.5m performing arts centre is currently being built and due for completion in September 2024. It will include a 214-seat theatre with full lighting rig and backstage area, dance studio, drama classroom, music centre with 7 practice rooms, Mac suite for composition and music tech, and a recording studio. The new performing arts centre will create an abundance of opportunity for all pupils to further develop their
creative talents.
Bethany has an impressive and thriving art department and a huge diversity of work is on display from drawing, painting, digital art, textiles, ceramics, printmaking and photography. It has its own dedicated photography studio and darkroom. Many pupils go on to study fashion and textiles at Central St Martins and UAL. This year they have textile students in the World Final of ‘Junk Kouture’ which is being held in Monaco in February with 200 participants from 20 different countries.
Sports at Bethany
Core sports for boys are swimming, football, hockey and cricket, and for girls, swimming, netball, hockey and cricket with a high-quality fixture list against other schools. Pupils can also play athletics, rugby, girls’ football, squash, tennis, basketball, climbing, high ropes and martial arts. The school has an award winning 25 metre six-lane swimming pool, state of the art fitness suite, floodlit all weather hockey pitch and tennis courts, high ropes course and climbing wall, squash and netball courts, football, rugby and cricket pitches, and a sports hall with basketball, badminton and cricket nets.
Family feel in and around school
Bethany has a diverse boarding community with strong pastoral care and very much a family feel. There are around 45 full boarders, 35 weekly and a few flexi boarders. Younger pupils sharing a bedroom with two other pupils and older pupils having their own bedroom with ensuite facilities. All the boarding houses have their own kitchens and common rooms and are run by a live-in houseparent. There are no exeats or
Saturday morning school, but there is a programme of weekend activities and outings. Refurbishment is in the planning for some of the boarding houses.
For the academic and for those who need extra support
Bethany is a caring, supportive environment in which children’s well-being is paramount. It caters for all academic levels including those who are academically bright but for who a larger school could overwhelm them, and also for those who need extra support from the schools excellent Dyslexia and Learning Success teachers. Bethany describes itself as ‘those in need of stretch or support, the quiet and the confident, the humble and the high flyers’. We very much feel this sums up what makes Bethany such a special school.
