Every now and again, my alma mater is in the news, and why wouldn’t it be? Britain is obsessed with schools and class. Bedales provides ample fodder for both: the boarding school in Hampshire is famously ‘liberal’ – and was so even when England was famously illiberal. Bedales, whose graduates include Lily Allen, Kirstie Allsopp and Daniel Day-Lewis, is the educational equivalent of Tatler smashed together with Vogue.
Bedales hit the headlines again this week because it is the first school in the country to ditch GCSEs – those entering now will take just two, in maths and English. The rest will be a mixture of the usual subjects like history and physics, with Bedales’ own-brand, such as outdoor work (including learning how to corral sheep).
I found myself in a sea of terrifyingly glamorous and sexually experienced teens
This almost total abandonment follows the swapping, in 2006, of half of GCSEs with BACs (Bedales Assessed Courses).The
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in