We recently visited Bede’s Senior School, a co-educational day and boarding school in the pretty village of Upper Dicker in the Sussex countryside. It has around 804 pupils and approximately 320 boarders.
A holistic approach to education
What you immediately notice about Bede’s is how unique it is. It is proudly non-selective and thrives on doing things differently taking a more holistic approach to educating young people. Bede’s aims to get the best out of its pupils both inside and outside the classroom enabling each pupil to succeed in every aspect of their education, placing creativity, passion and individuality at the heart of school life.
Offering over 40 GCSE, A Level and BTEC options
The school has the reputation as the best mainstream independent school in Sussex for value added and despite not being academically selective it produces excellent results. Academics are at the heart of the curriculum having a strong focus on the core subjects of English, Maths, Science and Languages. However, this is a school that offers a huge choice of subjects with over 40 GCSE, A Level and BTEC options.
A boarding school with an enviable sporting reputation
Co-curricular is hugely impressive with sport a core part of life at Bede’s. Bede’s has an enviable sporting reputation with first class coaching and outstanding facilities. Cricket, football, hockey, swimming and netball are the main sports in addition to basketball, golf, equestrian and athletics which are also played nationally as well as support sports such as touch rugby 7’s. squash, badminton and sailing. Walk into the Sports Centre and you will see the array of trophies which pupils have scooped up in regional and national titles. Framed pictures of photos and team shirts adorn the walls of past pupils who have gone on to represent their country at sport is testament to the standard of sport at Bede’s.
Access to creative arts, Legat Dance Academy and ceramics
Creative arts are superb here with Bede’s home to the Legat Dance Academy where pupils are required to audition to be part of it and are trained by world class professionals in ballet, contemporary and jazz. Such is the standard that many pupils go on to study at prestigious dance schools around the world. Art is also very impressive with ceramics offered at GCSE as a separate subject alongside art. At A Level pupils can specialise in photography, ceramics, drawing and painting or graphic design.
Clubs and activities, a BTEC in Animal Management and a Zoo!
There is a wide array of over 100 clubs and activities available all led by the staff for pupils to try something new and all part of the ethos of Bede’s that learning takes place alongside the confines of the classroom. Bede’s is unique in being the only school in the UK that has its own zoo which is home to up to 70 species of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish and insects. As a result, it can offer in Sixth Form a BTEC in Animal Management. The facility is hugely popular and younger students can get involved in the Zoological Society. Bede’s Zoo is part of a dormice conservation programme which has seen many animals they breed return to the wild.
Boarding houses with modern facilities and optional weekend programme
Bede’s has five boarding houses with around 70-80 pupils in each. All have modern facilities (the latest boys house was built in 2022), bright and cosy with stunning atriums with cinema-style seating, additional breakout and learning spaces and the houses we saw were all were beautifully maintained. There is no formal Saturday school but an optional weekend programme for both boarders and day pupils including sport, activities, and revision sessions.
Bede’s caters for every individual offering an all-round education.
