Scholarships and other Awards

Access Awards and Scholarships at Bedford School

The following Press Release gives further information about the scheme:

We all want the best for our children

Designed to open up new opportunities and bring out the best in every boy, Bedford School's radical new Access Award & Scholarship Scheme is changing the face of independent education.

Always committed to innovation and opportunity, from 2007 Bedford School has offered generous funding in recognition of academic, music or sporting potential to provide a wealth of opportunities for boys, irrespective of background.

Awards are available for boys entering the School at 11, 13 and 16 years.

To be considered for an award, boys first sit tests that have been developed uniquely for the School, by Durham University’s Department of Education. These secure tests, which will be taken on-line here at the School, will measure true academic potential as opposed to current ability. The tests are designed to be taken by students from any background, irrespective of the school they previously attended and are not coachable.

The essential features of this new scheme are:

• All Scholarship and Bursary funding has been combined in one coherent set of awards.

• Awards are available for candidates entering at 11+, 13+ and 16+

• Music and Sports awards will be available and will be subject to additional specific assessments.

Additional Information

Boys will also be asked to sit a curriculum test to ensure that they have reached a basic standard in reading, writing and mathematics. This will be a very simple test and is designed to ensure that the basic knowledge is in place for us to build on. This test plays no part in the award process other than forming the first hurdle that all candidates must pass.

Bedford School is leading the way in the UK with a scheme which is designed to provide access to the type of education we offer for all gifted boys, regardless of their parents’ ability to pay the fees. Although a few independent schools, such as Rugby, offer means-tested scholarships none currently offer the type of academic assessment that we have developed in partnership with Durham University.

The drawback of the traditional scholarship examination was that boys who had been well taught and well prepared for it performed better than boys who did not have these advantages but who had the same potential to benefit from a Bedford education. It is not possible to coach a boy for the new test or for him to prepare for it. It is therefore a genuine test of academic potential.

GAP Year Awards.

This endowed fund is intended to help young OBs taking a GAP year before university to undertake projects with significant academic merit or which are character developing in nature. An endowed fund of £15,000 will provide a grant of £500 per annum.

Sports Awards

 As part of our development plan for sport we have decided to offer exhibitions and scholarships which are specifically tied to sporting potential. This will allow those boys, particularly those whose parents could not otherwise afford the fees, to benefit from the coaching and facilities available at Bedford. It will also help raise the overall standard of sport at the School.

Initially these awards will be allocated at 13+ each year on the following basis:

•Two Sports Scholarships reserved for boys at other preparatory and middle schools.

•One Sports Scholarship reserved for boys coming from Bedford Preparatory School

The value of each of these awards will be 20% of tuition and boarding fees.

There is also one all round award for boys strong in music, art, drama and/or sport. The value of the award will be dependent on the assessed need.

The cost of these awards will be in the order of £7,000 p.a. for the 3 Sports Scholarships and a variable amount which is expected to average £3,000 p.a. for the all-rounder award.

Funds are needed

The Foundation is raising

1.£250,000 for an endowed fund to meet these costs on an ongoing basis. This award is being named in honour of Murray Fletcher, former Master in charge of Sport at Bedford School.

2.And an additional £5M to add to the School's Access & Award Scholorship scheme, which would fund its projected increase in activities through 2010-2020.