Dunhurst comes together to celebrate founder

Bedales Prep, Dunhurst took a morning off-timetable for a ‘Living Together Morning’ with pupils working around the school in groups of ‘working bees’, Outdoor Work sessions and traditional playground games.   

The timing of the morning was part of the school’s COVID recovery support programme. It is hard to gauge the impact of the COVID pandemic on mental health, with children coping in a variety of different ways and with varying degrees of success.  

With some pupils having had up to six months out of school, Dunhurst was keen to offer a programme of support, which focuses on routine, making time to talk, laughing, gratitude, self-esteem and self-efficacy; this, in turn, leads to happy, fulfilled learners. The ‘Living Together Morning’ was a place for all of these to flourish, reminding pupils about the Bedales ‘Head, Hand, Heart’ ethos and founder John Badley’s vision which still rings true today. Pupils learnt more about the history of the school (Dunhurst opened in 1902 nine years after Bedales Senior) and how John Badley’s own education at Rugby School and Cambridge shaped his desire to create a school that was different from the stricter Victorian schools of the time. He sought to broaden the subjects being taught and developed a hugely innovative curriculum with academic work in the mornings and the arts and Outdoor Work in the afternoons.  

Colin Baty, Head of Bedales Prep, Dunhurst commented:  

“All the pupils played their part as working bees, and lived up to our motto, ‘Work of Each for Weal of All’. Today, the Dunhurst ethos remains focused on enabling children to thrive and enjoy their life at school, offering a wide range of experiences, with both academic rigour and pupil wellbeing at its heart.”

Life at Dunhurst | Colin Baty | Admissions | Good Schools Guide review