“Not your archetypal English private school” – Bedales in The Guardian

Bedales features prominently in an article in The Guardian exploring the phenomenon of private schools persisting with progressive approaches despite the dominance of neo-traditionalism within the state sector.

The renewed traditionalist appetite for the teaching of a set hierarchy of knowledge as opposed to, for example, critical thinking and team- and project-learning, can be traced to Michael Gove’s tenure as Education Secretary from 2010-14. However, Bedales is one a number of independent schools to take the view that traditionalists are out of step with the lives of young people living in the modern world, and the requirements of employers.

Alistair McConville, Bedales Director of Learning & Innovation, explains how Bedales builds ‘idling time’ into the school and works to cultivate an appreciation of beauty. From the autumn term, Bedales will have a cross-disciplinary project on refugees; it also offers activities in baking and book-binding. In its outdoor work department students can rear sheep, pigs and chickens, renovate tractors and build polytunnels, and the school offers its own level 3 (A-level equivalent) qualification on living with the land. Its timetable has been reshaped to adapt to findings on adolescent sleep science.

Despite the protestations of traditionalists such as Katherine Birbalsingh that the state sector is 20 years ahead of the more progressive independent schools, and that today’s radical educationalists are those providing a traditional education for disadvantaged young people, others point to a wilful misunderstanding of progressivism within English education – and a fear of innovation in state schools.

For all of this, there is evidence of state schools bucking the traditionalist trend, and achieving impressive results in so doing. Indeed, author David Price argues that the COVID-19 pandemic represents a chance for education to move beyond test scores and targets, and to rally behind progressive and outspoken school leaders calling for a different approach.

The full article can be seen  here.

Alistair McConville | Outdoor Work | The Guardian | David Price: The Power of Us