South African vs UK Boarding School
Boarding School Life, Education Systems, School Admissions
Comparing South Africa with the UK: Why is the British Boarding School system better for my child? One of the most important decisions a parent
Academic Families works with more than 450 schools throughout the UK, and we have become experts at matching children to the right boarding school for them in order to ensure each student thrives.
We're delighted to present one of our partner schools:
Bedford Prep and Senior School in Bedfordshire, England.
"Our mission is to teach boys to think intelligently, act wisely and be fully engaged in a challenging and changing world."
The average staff to pupil ratio at Bedford School is 1:9, and the curriculum is structured to provide a balanced and varied choice of subjects. The curriculum prepares students for GCSE exams, and for either A Level or IB exams in the Sixth Form. Bedford offers a breadth of IB subjects and pupils achieve excellent results, making Bedford one of the best IB boarding schools in the UK. The school believes that the IB diploma is particularly effective in setting pupils up to succeed at university.
In 2022, boys once again excelled with a superb set of results and top-flight university destinations, the most popular being Durham University, University College London, Loughborough, Bath and Exeter. Some boys also went on to study at the universities of Cambridge and Oxford.
Bedford School offers students a multitude of opportunities within the creative arts and sports, and boys are encouraged to participate in a new activity each term, allowing them to try out new hobbies and develop valuable skills. The school supports ‘Sport for All’ and offers every student the opportunity to take part in a wide variety of sporting activities, whether they are beginners or elite athletes. An average of 1,200 fixtures are played each year in 40 different sports. Bedford also offers a number of sporting scholarships, including one specifically for golf. This golfing scholarship runs in partnership with Woburn Golf Club - a local club which offers three championship courses.
Pupils are also encouraged to explore the creative arts, and boys can participate in a varied programme of music, art and drama. 109 concerts and recitals are held each year, and there are 70+ clubs and societies for boys to get involved with.
Bedford School welcomes pupils from all over the world, and currently is home to students of 27 different nationalities. Of the boarding community at Bedford School, 49% are overseas students.
Bedford was awarded a five-star rating in Fortune’s ‘World’s Leading Boarding Schools’ for 2023, which places them in the global top 100 and one of just six boys’ boarding schools in the world to have achieved such a rating. Boarders make up around a third of the population of the Senior School, with 250 boys and 40 members of staff living on campus full-time. Each of the school’s six Senior School boarding houses is distinctive: a genuinely warm and welcoming community with a character of its own. From Year 6 onwards, Saturday school allows students to complete their work at a more even pace, and results in school days being less frantic. Bedford School looks to nurture each boy as an individual and believes that the boarding experience contributes to this.
You'll probably have many questions about the exciting times that lie ahead. We are here to reassure you and support your decision to educate your child in the UK.
Message us via Live Chat or request a callback and one of our team members will contact you whenever you prefer.
© 2024 Academic Families | Academic Families is a Safer Recruiter