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Bedford School

Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Modern School or Bedford High School.

Bedford School is a public school for boys in Bedford (fifty miles north of London), Bedfordshire, England. The school is one of five run by the Harpur Trust.

Bedford School comprises the Preparatory School (ages 7 to 13) and the Upper School (ages 13 to 18) and has average of 1,200 pupils, both day-boys and boarders. A range of subjects is taught at GCSE and at A-level; the school also teaches the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. The current headmaster as of 1st September 2008 is Mr. John Moule, the previous Vice Master.

According to the Good Schools Guide the "School [is] much-respected by those in the know". However, the Guide also states that the school is "Something of a well-kept secret.

History

A church school was founded before the Domesday Book on the site which Bedford School occupied until the late 19th century. A grant of letters patent by King Edward VI in 1552 to the school was much aided by the actions of Sir William Harpur.

In 1979 the school suffered a devastating arson attack during the night, and the main building was gutted by fire. The fire was fought into the early morning of Sunday 4 March. Over 90% of the building was destroyed, with thirty classrooms lost. Almost all pupil records were saved, but books, furniture and the large collection of portraits were destroyed. The school re-opened the next week in temporary classrooms.

Two new buildings have been built in the last five years: a £1 million library and a £3 million music school.

In 2005 Bedford school was one of fifty of the country's leading private schools which were found guilty of running an illegal price-fixing cartel which had allowed them to drive up fees for thousands of parents. Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling three million pounds into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared.

Year groups

The first year at Bedford (for 13 to 14 year olds) is called the Fourth Form and is equivalent to Year 9 in the state system. After that is the Remove and the Fifth Form. The next two years are the Lower Sixth and the Upper Sixth. Bedford School also caters for the lower years (from year 3 to year 8) in Bedford Prep School this is on the same campus as the main school and many facilities are shared.

Year Group	State school equivalent
4th Form	Year 9
Remove	Year 10
5th Form	Year 11
Lower 6th	Year 12
Upper Sixth	Year 13

School houses

♦Talbot's House

♦Bromham House (twinned with Burnaby boarding house) House Mistress: Mrs R Down, Boarding House Master: Mr R Heale

♦St Peter's House (twinned with Talbots boarding house) House Mistress: Mrs F McEwan-Cox, Boarding House Master: Mr. M Cassell

♦St Cuthberts House (twinned with Phillpotts boarding house) House Master: Mr M Hopgood, Boarding House Master: Mr.Andrew Grimshaw

♦Cresent House (twinned with Pemberley boarding house) House Mistress: Miss Joanna Law, Boarding House Master: Dr.Paul Arnold

♦Paulo Pontine House (twinned with Redburn boarding house) House Master: Mr Edward Swanwick, Boarding House Master: Mr Jeremy Farrell

♦Ashburnham House (twinned with Sandersons boarding house) House Master: Mr Barry Burgess, Boarding House Master: Mr R Midgeley

Songs

A Bedford School tradition is singing songs and inter-house singing competitions. In the vein of the Eton Boating Song, many were written by teachers in the latter half of the 19th century. The official school song, "Domus Pater", was written by Henry Le Mesurier in 1861.

Domus Pater Harperiae      [Translation] In Harper's House, O Father, may

Honus Tuus sit incola;                   Thine honour aye indwelling stay

Tu porticus caelestibus                  May ever round its portals be

Praesidiis circumsede.                   The guardian angels placed by thee.

Impubes usque tu manus              The bands of youths look down and see

Huc ventitantes respice;                 Restoring here continuously;

Et inter mundi Semitas                   And safely on thro' life's rough way

Pedes securos dirige.                     Direct their footsteps day by day.

Infirma verbo pectora                  Strengthen the frail ones with thy word

Rectoque cultu robora;                  And guiding discipline, O Lord.

Cibum caelestem porrige             Hold forth thy heavenly food, we pray,

Et mala procul abige.                    And drive all evil things away.

Ut omni mane gratiam                       May they each morn the day begin

Tuam precentur cum fide                  With prayer sincere thy grace to win

Et corde grato vesperi                        With grateful hearts at fall of even

Laudes tuas concelebrent.                May they exalt thy praise to heaven.

Deo Patri sit gloria                             To God the Father and his Son,

Eiusque soli Filio,                               And God the Spirit, Holy One.

Sanctissimo cum Spiritu,                  May greatest glory henceforth be

Et nunc et in perpetuum.                 Both now and thro' eternity.

Monitors and Heads of Houses

Monitors are chosen from the top year group of the school (Upper 6th); these pupils are deemed to have the best qualities of leadership and achievement in their year group. In addition there are the separate roles of heads of boarding and school houses, although a monitor may occasionally be chosen to fulfill this role as well.

On a school-wide level the 'best' monitor is made Head Boy, and a deputy is appointed to assist him. Monitors can wear coloured waistcoats and brown shoes along with brass buttons on their blazers. Since 2004 monitors have been chosen by application and a selection committee.

The Heads of House are appointed directly by the Housemaster who also selects a Deputy and House Options except for Burnaby the 6th form Boarding House, where the students elect their Head and Deputy

Sports

Bedford school has a different major sport for each term. The Christmas term is rugby union-orientated, the Easter term hockey, and Summer is cricket season. Rowing takes place throughout the year.

Other sports at the school include, athletics, football, swimming, badminton, basketball, canoeing, cross-country running, fencing, fives, golf, rifle shooting, sailing, squash, tennis, volleyball, weights, table-tennis and water polo.

The school has produced many sportsmen, such as cricketer Alastair Cook, who went on to play Test cricket for England - whose coach was then sports master and ex-England all-rounder Derek Randall. Others include England rugby players, Martin Bayfield and Andy Gomarsall, and 1924 Olympic gold medalist, Harold Abrahams.

Bedford School won the Daily Mail Under 15 2006 Schools' Cup for the second time with a 16-3 victory over a fancied QEGS Wakefield side at Twickenham (the first time being in 1994 when they shared the cup after drawing 3-3).

Combined Cadet Force

One of the most popular extracurricular activities at Bedford School is the Combined Cadet Force. This differs from other Corps in that it draws members from three schools and that it is voluntary. Despite its voluntary status it is the largest CCF contingent of any school.

Bedford School is the third largest contributor to the armed forces of any school (behind Eton and Harrow). Unusually, over 20% of service personnel from Bedford served in the medical wing of one of the three uniformed services.

The Charles Piazzi Smyth Observatory and the Wolfson Planetarium

The Piazzi Smyth Observatory and Wolfson Planetarium were opened in May 2002 by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. Situated on the Bedford School estate, the facility is operated by the school's Astronomer in conjunction with members of the Bedford Astronomical Society. The observatory was named after an Old Bedfordian who went on to become the Astronomer Royal for Scotland. It features a specially made GRP dome and a computer controlled twelve-inch (305 mm) telescope. The telescope also has a hydrogen alpha filter, enabling one to see the magnetic plasma flow around the Sun. The adjacent Planetarium was named after the Wolfson Foundation.

Music

Bedford School has one of the largest school music departments in the UK.

Annually, there is a full programme of music concerts, culminating in a series of summer concerts at the end of the academic year. There are a number of senior music groups, including the School First (Symphony) Orchestra, School Band, Choral Society, Chapel Choir, and a large number of chamber groups. In addition, there is a Second Orchestra, a Chamber Orchestra, Dance Band, and jazz and rock groups. There is a Composer-in-Residence at the School, called the Eileen Norris Fellow.

Prominent Old Bedfordian musicians

Peter Freyhan (1950–1957); principal cellist BBC Symphony Orchestra (retd).
Ian Fox (1956–1964); Director of Music of The King's School, Gloucester (retd).
Richard Kerr (1958–1962); songwriter, for Elkie Brooks, Dionne Warwick, Frank Sinatra, and Andy Williams.
Michael Freyhan (1951–1958); pianist and harpsichordist.
Alisdair MacRae Birch (1967–1976); jazz guitarist, bassist, and arranger.
Alec Dankworth (1968–1977); jazz bassist.
Andrew Manze (1975–1982); violinist and Musical Director of The English Concert.
Philip Stopford (1990–1995); Director of Music at Belfast Cathedral.
Dave Vitty; Lead Nose-Flautist of popular BBC Radio One band Folk Face

Notable Old Bedfordians

James Dennis (1815–1861), palaeontologist and natural historian
Henry Hawkins, Baron Brampton (1817–1907), barrister and Judge of the High Court of Justice, 1876–1898
Henry Corbet (1820–1878), agricultural writer and editor
Sir Wyndham Dunstan (1861–1949), chemist and Director, Imperial Institute, 1903–1924
John Platts (1830–1904), Indian and Persian language expert
Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers (1854–1918), occultist
Hubert Burge (1862–1925), Headmaster of Winchester College, 1901–1910, Bishop of Southwark, 1910–1919, and Bishop of Oxford, 1919–1925
Sir Walter Langdon-Brown (1870–1946), Regius Professor of Physic, University of Cambridge, 1932–1935
H. H. Munro (Saki) (1870–1916), short story writer
Paget Wilkes (1871–1934), missionary in Japan
Sir Lynden Macassey (1876–1963), engineer and barrister
Gilbert Campion, Baron Campion (1882–1958), Clerk of the House of Commons, 1937–1948
Sir Bernard Reilly (1882–1966), Resident/Chief Commissioner/Governor of Aden, 1931–1940
Charles Meek (1885–1965), anthropologist
Marshal of the RAF Cyril Newall, 1st Baron Newall (1886–1963), Air Member for Supply and Organisation, 1935–1937, Chief of the Air Staff, 1937–1940, and Governor-General of New Zealand, 1940–1946
Lieutenant-Colonel Stewart Blacker (1887–1964), soldier, adventurer, and weapons designer
Admiral Sir Robert Burnett (1887–1959), Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic, 1944–1946, and Flag Officer Plymouth, 1946–1950
William Rowan (1891–1957), ornithologist
Air Vice-Marshal Sir Paul Maltby (1892–1971), Air Officer Commanding Java, 1942, and Black Rod, 1946–1962
John Dudley North (1893–1968), aircraft designer
Sir Percivale Liesching (1895–1973), Permanent Under-Secretary, Ministry of Food, 1946–1948, Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations, 1949–1955, and High Commissioner in South Africa, 1955–1958
Sir Karl Parker (1895–1992), art historian and Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, 1945–1962
Harold Abrahams (1899–1978), sprinter, long jumper, barrister and civil servant
Jack Beresford (1899–1977), oarsman and coach
John Desmond Bernal (1901–1971), physicist
Rex Alston (1901–1994) was a master at the school, 1924–1941, before becoming a cricket, rugby and athletics commentator for BBC Radio.
Vice-Admiral John Hughes-Hallett (1901–1972), naval officer, amphibious warfare expert and politician
Sir Bob Dixon (1904–1965), Principal Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary, 1943–1948, UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations, 1954–1960, and Ambassador to France, 1960–1965
Torin Thatcher (1905–1981), actor
Archer John Porter Martin (1910-2002) Nobel prize winner, 1952
Charles Dent (1911–1976), physician and biochemist
Richard D'Aeth (1912–2008), educationalist and President of Hughes Hall, Cambridge
Joseph Godber, Baron Godber of Willington (1914–1980), Minister of Labour, 1963–1964, and Secretary of State for Agriculture, 1972–1974
Joe Chamberlin (1919–1978), architect and town planner
Leo Oakley (1925–1981), England rugby player
Sir Peter Parker (1924–2002), chairman of British Rail, 1976–1983
John Fowles (1926–2005), author
Frank Adams (1930–1989), Fielden Professor of Mathematics, University of Manchester, 1964–1970, and Lowndean Professor of Astronomy and Geometry, University of Cambridge, 1970–1989
Budge Rogers (born 1933), England rugby player
Michael De-la-Noy (1934–2002), author, journalist and gay-rights activist
Michael Morris, Baron Naseby (born 1936), politician
Quentin Skinner (born 1940), Regius Professor of Modern History, University of Cambridge, 1996–2008
Paddy Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon (born 1941), leader of the Liberal Democrats, 1988–1999
Sir Gerry Neale (born 1941), politician
John Carlisle (born 1942), politician
Bob Clay (born 1946), politician
Shoo Rayner (born 1956), children's book author and illustrator
Lucien Jenkins (born 1957), writer and editor
Jeff Hilson (born 1966), poet
Martin Bayfield (born 1966), England rugby player
Al Murray (born 1968), comedian
Joel Beckett (born 1973), actor
Andy Gomarsall (born 1974), England rugby player
David Lloyd Vitty (born 1974), Radio 1 presenter
Dan Wheldon (born 1978), racing driver, Indianapolis 500 winner in 2005
David Callam (born 1983), Scotland rugby player
Alastair Cook (born 1984), cricketer

Military

General Sir Walter Braithwaite (1865–1945), Adjutant-General to the Forces, 1927–1931
Field Marshal Sir Cyril Deverell (1874–1947), Chief of the Imperial General Staff, 1936–1937
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Michael Le Fanu (1913–1970), Director-General, Naval Weapons, 1958–1960, Controller of the Navy, 1961–1965, Commander-in-Chief, Middle East, 1965–1968, and First Sea Lord, 1968–1970
Air Vice-Marshal Sir Sefton Brancker (1877–1930), Director-General of Civil Aviation, 1922–1930, and victim of R101 disaster
Major-General Sir Hubert Huddleston (1880–1950), Commandant, Sudan Defence Force and General Officer Commanding Sudan, 1925–1930, and Governor-General of the Sudan, 1940–1947
Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Burnett (1882–1945), Air Officer Commanding British Forces in Iraq, 1932–1935, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Royal Air Force Training Command, 1936–1939, and Chief of the Air Staff, Royal Australian Air Force, 1939–1942
General Sir Sidney Kirkman (1895–1982), General Officer Commanding, 50th (Northumbrian) Division, 1942–1944, and XIII Corps, 1944–1945, Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff, 1945–1947, and Quartermaster-General to the Forces, 1947–1950
Marshal of the RAF Sir Thomas Pike (1906–1983), Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, 1953–1956, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Fighter Command, 1956–1959, Chief of the Air Staff, 1960–1964, and Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, 1964–1967

Victoria Cross and George Cross Holders

Four Old Bedfordians have won the Victoria Cross and one the George Cross:

Victoria Cross

First World War

Arthur Walderne St. Clair Tisdall VC
Major George Campbell Wheeler VC. He later achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Second Lieutenant Montague Shadworth Seymour Moore VC.He later achieved the rank of Major.

Second World War

Major General Henry Robert Bowreman Foote VC CB DSO

George Cross

Commander Richard Frank Jolly (at Bedford from 1907 to 1914) - Commander Jolly was posthumously awarded the Empire Gallantry Medal which was later converted into a George Cross.

References

Sargeaunt, John & Hockliffe, Ernest (1925). A History Of Bedford School. F.R.Hocliffe & T. Fisher Unwin Ltd. ISBN N/A.
M. E. Barlen, M. P. Stambach and D. P. C. Stileman (1984). Bedford School And The Great Fire. Quiller Press. ISBN 0-907621-37-6.
Michael De-la-Noy (1999). Bedford School: A History. Bedford School. ISBN 0-9536685-0-9.