Bede's School consists of a preparatory school and pre-preparatory nursery in
Holywell
Holywell may refer to:
* Holywell, Flintshire, Wales
* Holywell, Swords, Ireland
* Holywell, Bedfordshire, England
* Holywell, Cambridgeshire, England
* Holywell, Cornwall, England
* Holywell, Dorset, England
* Holywell, Eastbourne, East Susse ...
,
Meads
The Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) is a ground-mobile air and missile defense system intended to replace the Patriot missile system through a NATO-managed development. The program is a development of the United States, Germany and Ital ...
,
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...
,
East Sussex
East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, as well as a senior school based in
Upper Dicker
Arlington is a village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The parish is on the River Cuckmere, and is the location of a medieval priory, a reservoir and a car racetrack.
History
The area has been settled sinc ...
,
Hailsham
Hailsham is a town, a civil parish and the administrative centre of the Wealden district of East Sussex, England.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Dat ...
,
East Sussex
East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. These, along with the Legat School of Dance, form the Bede's School Trust, an educational charity. All three schools are
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
and fee-charging. While the schools are on holiday, their sites form part of Bede's Summer School for exchange students.
Until 2012, the schools were known as St Bede's.
History
The prep school was founded in 1895 by Frances Browne, at her house in Blackwater Road, Eastbourne, as
Eastbourne College
Eastbourne College is a co-educational independent school in the British public school tradition, for day and boarding pupils aged 13–18, in the town of Eastbourne on the south coast of England. The College's headmaster is Tom Lawson.
Over ...
Prep School. It opened with four boys and D Burdett was appointed headmaster.
In 1900 the school was acquired by G Gowring who purchased a site in Dukes Drive and, at a cost of £7000 built what is still the school's home today.
At the time of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, St Bede's was owned by and Kenneth Harding and his wife. During the war pupils were evacuated to St Edward's, Oxford, whilst the building itself was used for the essential wartime training of about 2,000 telegraphists who specialised in enemy code and cipher. St Bede's boys moved back to Eastbourne on VE Day, 8 May 1945.
Hugh Candlin was headmaster from 1946 to 1964 following the retirement of Ken Harding in 1946.
In 1964 Peter Pyemont and his wife took over the school and four years later it accepted its first girl pupil.
In 1971 it was formed into a charitable trust, administered by a board of governors.
In 1978 a country estate, eight miles to the north of
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...
, was purchased, and St Bede's Senior School opened its doors in the village of
Upper Dicker
Arlington is a village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The parish is on the River Cuckmere, and is the location of a medieval priory, a reservoir and a car racetrack.
History
The area has been settled sinc ...
to just over 30 students.
St Bede's Senior School grew out of St Bede's Preparatory School as an opportunity for pupils to enjoy the same educational
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
throughout their school careers, the Senior school was introduced.
The estate that was purchased, known to some as The Dicker, was the former of the Edwardian
MP, financier and fraudster,
Horatio Bottomley
Horatio William Bottomley (23 March 1860 – 26 May 1933) was an English financier, journalist, editor, newspaper proprietor, swindler, and Member of Parliament. He is best known for his editorship of the popular magazine ''John Bull (maga ...
.
One of the most prominent houses in the village was the home of Bottomley's stud manager, known as Stud House. That building still exists today, as the Sixth Form Centre and Café. This was only a recent change, as before the changes of Easter 2012 and the recent development of new boarding houses, this used to be 'Stud House', but have now been located adjacent to the 'Multi Purpose Hall'.
As of September 2012, St Bede's Senior School, Prep School and Pre-Prep and Nursery dropped the 'St.' from their titles.
Prep school
Bede's Prep School is situated on the South Downs, next to the Helen Gardens in
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...
.
The Prep School was founded in 1895 with a roll of four boys. In 1902, it moved from its site in Blackwater Road to larger premises in the
Meads
The Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) is a ground-mobile air and missile defense system intended to replace the Patriot missile system through a NATO-managed development. The program is a development of the United States, Germany and Ital ...
area of
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...
, at Dukes Drive.
The school is now over 100 years old, and much has changed.
In 2009, new dining rooms, the conversion of Holywell Mount to a nursery, and new classrooms were built, and there is now a roll of around 400 pupils.
Through Bede's Pre-Prep and Nursery, the trust now educates children from infancy up to Common Entrance exams at Year 8.
Its current headmaster is Mark Hammond, who was appointed in 2020.
It has a number of notable alumni, including
Eddie Izzard
Edward John Izzard (; born 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomime.
Izzard's stand- ...
and
Nicky Henson
Nicky Henson ( Nicholas Victor Leslie Henson; 12 May 1945 – 15 December 2019) was a British actor.
Early life
Nicholas Victor Leslie Henson was born in London, the son of Harriet Martha ( Collins) and comedian Leslie Henson. Adam Henson, a fa ...
.
The school is also famous for its
John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams (21 January 18994 July 1983) was an Irish-born British general practitioner, convicted fraudster, and suspected serial killer. Between 1946 and 1956, 163 of his patients died while in comas, which was deemed to be worthy of i ...
' connection, a doctor believed to have tricked patients into adding him into their will before poisoning them. The headmaster, Vaughan Tomlinson died on 14 November 1950. His widow, Gertrude, having remarried and now
Gertrude Hullett
Gertrude or Gertrud may refer to:
Places In space
*Gertrude (crater), a crater on Uranus's moon Titania
*710 Gertrud, a minor planet
Terrestrial placenames
* Gertrude, Arkansas
*Gertrude, Washington
* Gertrude, West Virginia
People
*Gertrude (g ...
, died soon after this in mysterious circumstances on 23 July 1956. Her death led to an investigation into her doctor, John Bodkin Adams. He was tried at the
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
in 1957 on two counts of
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
and controversially found not guilty.
Home Office pathologist
Pathology is the study of the causal, causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when us ...
Francis Camps
Francis Edward Camps, FRCP, FRCPath (28 June 1905 – 8 July 1972) was an English pathologist notable for his work on the cases of serial killer John Christie and suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams.
Early life and training
Camps was bo ...
identified 163 cases where Adams' patients died in suspicious circumstances.
[Cullen, Pamela V., ''A Stranger in Blood: The Case Files on Dr John Bodkin Adams'', London, Elliott & Thompson, 2006, ]
Senior school
Bede's Senior School is a
secondary
Secondary may refer to: Science and nature
* Secondary emission, of particles
** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products
* The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...
, co-educational
boarding school
A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
with five boarding houses and five day houses, in the village of
Upper Dicker
Arlington is a village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The parish is on the River Cuckmere, and is the location of a medieval priory, a reservoir and a car racetrack.
History
The area has been settled sinc ...
, near
Hailsham
Hailsham is a town, a civil parish and the administrative centre of the Wealden district of East Sussex, England.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Dat ...
, with a total of 750 pupils and 223 staff, not including grounds or catering staff, working across the site giving a student to teacher ratio of just over three to one.
The Senior School site covers around of area and was founded in 1979 by P. Pyemont. The first appointed headmaster was R. Perrin.
The current headmaster is Peter Goodyer, who joined the school in 2016.
Bede's Senior School offers academic scholarships based on the school's own tests, interview and reference, as well as in areas such as music, art, drama and sports.
At GCSE there are over 60 subjects on offer. In the sixth form there are over 30 courses which may be A-Level, BTEC, National Diploma or Cambridge Pre-U.
The co-curricular activities programme provides over 120 choices for three days each week.
School councils
A school council exists of students from each year group, to discuss ideas and plans for the school. Each day and boarding house has its own house council, run by the head girl or boy of that house. The head of house, and another elected member of the house then take ideas and suggestions to the senior school council, which is chaired by the head of school.
Facilities
![Atrium of New Boarding House, St Bede's Hailsham](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Atrium_of_New_Boarding_House%2C_St_Bede%27s_Hailsham.jpg)
At the Prep School, much renovation has gone on over the years since the initial purchase of the building years ago. Holywell House, which was formerly used for Year 8 and senior years, has now been completely rebuilt into a state-of-the-art nursery for infants. The Prep's senior years have moved into brand new classrooms, built on top of the new dining room, using the area which had situated the dilapidated year 1 and 2 classrooms. The Prep School also boasts new science labs which were built in 2007, with plenty of equipment such as gas taps and electrical points for experiments. The area which had been taken up by the old dining room has also been converted into cookery rooms and a bigger dance studio.
At the Senior School the facilities have been expanded enormously from the temporary classrooms built at the school's creation. Which are slowly being replaced in the future.
New boarding houses have been built with common rooms and bedrooms that are arranged in ‘flats’ ranging from singles and doubles to ‘fours’ for the younger students. Drama performances take place in the Miles Studio, which opened in 2006 by comedian
Ronnie Corbett
Ronald Balfour Corbett (4 December 1930 – 31 March 2016) was a Scottish actor, broadcaster, comedian and writer. He had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the BBC television comedy sketch show ''The Two Ronnies''. He achieved promine ...
, which also houses the Legat School of Dance. The Multi Purpose Hall (MPH), opened in 2007, ensures that sport can take place whatever the weather and boasts indoor cricket nets, netball courts and badminton courts. At other times it is transformed into a concert hall for audiences of up to a thousand. It is also used regularly for school assemblies, remembrance day services, and the Inter house music competition.
Inside the MPH, the indoor swimming pool is of championship size, along with a fitness centre and four squash courts. Music performances also take place in the Multi Purpose Hall, in the school's Recital Room and often outside in the Park, with the annual 'Bede's Fest' rock and pop music festival taking place here.
The school has its own zoo that maintains over 60 species of animals. These range from mammals including monkeys, lemurs and marmosets to various birds, reptiles and fish. An extension to the school was completed in 2018.
Elsewhere within the grounds, there is a golf course, football, rugby and cricket pitches, an all-weather Astro that is used for hockey throughout the year, tennis courts, and a cricket oval including the 'M-J Pavilion' built in honour of alumnus and cricket commentator Christopher Martin-Jenkins.
Houses
At the Prep School, all students, both girls and boys, and boarders and day pupils, are randomly split into the houses Eagle, Falcon, Hawk and Raven, unlike at the Senior School where girls houses are separate to boys, and boarders are separate to day students houses.
Bede's Prep School's house system is based around section points, and houses battle it out in sports, academic quizzes and music events such as the Interhouse Music Competition to become the house with the most points at the end of the year. Children are also given badges for points they have earned themselves.
At St Bede's Senior School, houses play a much more important role, with physical buildings for each house rather than just a points system. 'Deis', 'Dicker' and 'Knights' are the day houses for boys. 'Charleston' and 'Bloomsbury' are the day houses for girls. For boarders, 'Camberlot'; 'Dorms' and 'Stud' are for boys, and 'Dorter' and 'Crossways' for girls. These houses are the ‘homes’ within the school for the students. There is also a day boarding option, where a day student can enrol in a boarding house.
At St Bede's Senior School, boarding houses have a Housemaster and two House Tutors who live in the houses, matrons are on duty from 7 am to 10 pm. Each student has a Tutor who is a member of the academic staff and each Tutor will have up to eight Tutees. Tutor time is scheduled into the weekly timetable.
Former pupils
Alumni are known as Old Bedians.
St Bede's Senior School, Upper Dicker
*
Rob Buchanan
*
Earl Cave
Earl Cave (born 23 June 2000) is an English actor. He is known for his film roles in '' Days of the Bagnold Summer'' and ''True History of the Kelly Gang''.
Early life and education
Cave was born in London to Australian singer Nick Cave and Eng ...
*
Dan Harding
Daniel Andrew Harding (born 23 December 1983) is an English footballer who last played as a defender for National League South club Whitehawk.
Harding began his career with Brighton & Hove Albion and has also played for Leeds United, Ipswich ...
*
Shai Hope
Shai Diego Hope (born 10 November 1993) is a Barbadian cricketer, who plays international cricket for the West Indies cricket team. He is regarded as one of the best ODI batsmen in the contemporary world. At the age of 21, he was called into the ...
*
Jamie Lloyd
Jamie Lloyd is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of the ''Halloween'' franchise. Introduced in '' Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers'' as the series' new protagonist after Jamie Lee Curtis declined to return as Laurie ...
*
Solomon March
*
James Norwood
James Norwood (born 5 September 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Oldham Athletic.
He started his career with Eastbourne Town, making eighteen senior appearances before signing for Exeter City in July 2 ...
*
Ollie Rayner
Oliver Philip Rayner (born 1 November 1985) is an English former professional cricketer. He is a right-arm off break bowler and right-handed batsman who most recently played for Middlesex County Cricket Club. In May 2019, he was selected to repr ...
*
Luke Wells
*
Fynn Hudson-Prentice
St Bede's Prep School, Eastbourne
*
Nicky Henson
Nicky Henson ( Nicholas Victor Leslie Henson; 12 May 1945 – 15 December 2019) was a British actor.
Early life
Nicholas Victor Leslie Henson was born in London, the son of Harriet Martha ( Collins) and comedian Leslie Henson. Adam Henson, a fa ...
*
Eddie Izzard
Edward John Izzard (; born 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomime.
Izzard's stand- ...
*
Sirichok Sopha
Sirichok Sopha ( th, ศิริโชค โสภา; born 14 June 1967 in Bang Rak, Bangkok), nicknamed Lek (, th, เล็ก, "small"), is a former Thai Democrat Party (Thailand), Democrat Party politician who used to represent Songkhla Pr ...
*
Christopher Martin-Jenkins
Christopher Dennis Alexander Martin-Jenkins, MBE (20 January 1945 – 1 January 2013), also known as CMJ, was a British cricket journalist and a President of MCC. He was also the longest serving commentator for ''Test Match Special'' (TMS) on B ...
*
Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English actor, comedian, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishme ...
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Preparatory schools in East Sussex
Independent schools in East Sussex
Boarding schools in East Sussex
Educational institutions established in 1895
1895 establishments in England