Enquiry-based learning in practice

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The Spring term concluded with a fabulous display of hard work from our Reception class, who transformed the library into a catwalk as they showcased the vibrant and creative party clothes they had impressively designed, cut and sewed themselves. 
 
The children had been inspired to make the outfits while exploring a learning enquiry about cultures, celebrations, and festivals, which saw them investigate party traditions, games, and cuisines. As the investigation broached the clothes people wear to parties, they asked if they could learn to use a sewing machine to make their own party clothes.

In preparation for making the clothes, the children looked through the school costume wardrobe and found a selection of fabrics and outfits they particularly liked, before designing an outfit they’d like to wear, with waistcoats, dresses and capes all popular choices. Finally, they used a sewing machine to stitch their garments together, carefully coordinating the foot pedal and guiding the fabric. 
 
At the fashion show, every child struck a pose down the runway in their handmade outfits as the rest of the school watched and cheered. It was a joy to witness just how proud the class were of their efforts, and to see everyone applauding them so supportively. After modelling their creations, the children celebrated with a well-deserved party back in their classroom, complete with delicious cupcakes they’d made for the occasion.

Reception’s fashion show is just one example of the impact of enquiry-based learning, which encourages children to extend their knowledge and understanding by exploring questions, problems, and scenarios. In contrast with traditional approaches such as rote learning, where students are recipients of information presented for memorisation, enquiry-led learning enables children to be active participants in the learning process, fostering coveted skills such as curiosity, creativity, and adaptability. 

We tailor the approach for every stage of the Pre-prep, so while all year groups start with the same broad enquiry, they explore it from different angles. With the cultures, celebrations and learning enquiry, for example, Nursery children delved into the topic of cultures around the world through magic carpet rides to a variety of countries across the globe. Students in Year 3, on the other hand, undertook a more in-depth investigation by deep-diving into Japanese culture, exploring the language, food and different art forms, before independently choosing one aspect to practise in preparation for a presentation to parents. 

Our approach ensures that children’s curiosity is nurtured in a way that is both age-appropriate and challenging, supporting them to develop a love of learning that will last a lifetime.

New life on the farm

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The working farm at Bedales is a fundamental and much-loved part of school life, offering learning opportunities for students at every stage of their learning journey, from Pre-prep to Senior. The Spring term always brings a flurry of activity to the farm and this year has been no different, with lambing season in full swing and five new piglets from our Berkshire sow, Bessie. Not to be outdone, our Pygmy goats have also been awaiting new arrivals of their own – and the first of three sets of twins made their entrance into the world on Easter Sunday!

With the farm only a short walk away from the Pre-prep, children always love visiting the farm to see the animals. More than just fun outings, these visits are experiences that nurture children’s budding knowledge, bringing their learning to life in an engaging and memorable way.

This term, the arrival of new life on the farm has given the children the opportunity to observe lifecycle stages of lambs and piglets first-hand. They’ve noticed developmental changes at each visit, and heard from staff at the farm how postnatal mothers tend to their young and how human helpers, at the farm support them. They’ve helped feed them, watched them being weighed, and observed as the animals have outgrown their initial home in the farm’s ‘maternity suite’ (otherwise known as the Black Barn) and moved out into the field (lambs) or woods (piglets). Direct observation like this helps to make abstract concepts more concrete in the minds of our students, so they can develop an understanding of the natural world. 

The farm also adds an extra dimension to the students’ learning enquiries. Students investigating habitats as part of their enquiry on the endangered snow leopard in the first half of the term observed the real-world habitats of animals on the farm, comparing it to the habitats of not only snow leopards, but other animals. Other students, who wrote their own haikus about nature in the second half of the term, were inspired by seasonal changes, including those on the farm. 

While opportunities to get involved in animal husbandry increase as students progress through the school, children at the Pre-prep have an early introduction through activities like incubating hen’s eggs, as Year 2 did earlier this term. The students observed the journey from embryonic development to hatching, giving them insight into the care and responsibility needed to nurture life (and laying the foundation for future involvement in activities like lambing!)
 
Outdoor learning plays a key role in our distinctive educational ethos, which can be traced back to Bedales’ founding, when Outdoor Work was introduced as a core curriculum offering. Over 130 years later, it remains integral to our holistic approach. The embodiment of ‘hand’ in Badley’s belief in educating ‘head, hand and heart’, outdoor learning provides clear benefits for every aspects of a child’s development – intellectual, creative, emotional, social and physical. 

Poignant and insightful trip to WWI battlefields

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By Clive Burch, Head of Block 3

This week, Block 3 students have been Belgium and France to visit the historic battlefields which are a stark reminder of the impact of war, as the resting place for hundreds of thousands of servicemen who were killed in combat in World War I. Having focused on the war, anthroposphere, conflict and ethics in their humanities subjects this term, the trip gave students an opportunity to reflect on the historical, cultural and ethical aspects of their studies. 

On the first day, students visited Essex Farm, which famously moved John McCrae to write the poem In Flanders Fields while stationed there in 1915. They also visited Tyne Cot, the largest Commonwealth war cemetery in the world in terms of burials, and Langemark, where nearly 24,917 German servicemen are buried. Ending the day at Menin Gate, which bears the names of over 54,000 servicemen whose graves are not known, Felix Albizua and Alice Rawlence laid a remembrance wreath on behalf of Bedales.

The following day, students visited Vimy Ridge, where the four divisions of the Canadian Corps fought side by side in the Battle of Arras in 1917, and the 36,000 Canadian servicemen who lost their lives in World War I are commemorated. They then visited the Somme, taking in Beaumont Hamel, Newfoundland Park, the Thiepval Monument and Lochnagar Crater. The Battle of the Somme was one of the largest and bloodiest battles of the war, with over 57,000 casualties on the first day, and over 150,000 British troops buried in the battlefields. The Thiepval Monument bears the name of over 72,000 servicemen of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in the Somme before March 1918 and have no known grave.

After a cold and damp day which concluded the trip, we made an eagerly awaited stop at a chocolate shop, conscious that the weather, fatigue and discomfort was a mere fraction of that experienced by those who fought on the battlefields over 100 years ago. 

See more photos from the trip below.

Relocating to Petersfield

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The view from the Poet's Stone in Steep, near Petersfield, Hampshire
The view from the Poet’s Stone in Steep, near Petersfield, Hampshire

By Helen Martin, Freelance Writer

In 1900 John Badley moved his school, Bedales, from Lindfield, near Haywards Heath, to a small village called Steep, just outside Petersfield in Hampshire. It’s easy to see why the school is still here, over 125 years later. Surrounded by the stunning hills and woodlands of the South Downs, yet only 60 miles from London, the Petersfield area is a fantastic place to call home.  

Location is one of the area’s main selling points 

“For families looking to move out of town into the country, the area is highly desirable,” says local estate agent, Claudia Hunt of the Country House Company. “You have all the benefits of living in the country without any of the disadvantages, including excellent schools, reliable broadband and fast, efficient transport links.” 

Heathrow and Gatwick airports and London are within an hour’s drive. Guildford, Chichester, Portsmouth, Winchester and the Wittering beaches are within half an hour. The Petersfield to Waterloo train takes just over an hour. 

In Petersfield itself there is the Heath Pond and playground, a huge variety of baby, toddler and children’s clubs, lido, leisure centre, yoga studio, Waitrose, M&S, two doctors’ surgeries, a community hospital and a centre of complementary medicine. 

Queen Elizabeth Country Park is located a few miles further south. There you’ll find mountain bike trails, an assault course, adventure play area, dog agility course and weekly parkrun. The surrounding countryside is filled with walks of varying difficulty, including the South Downs Way, Serpent Trail, Hanger’s Way and Shipwright’s Way. There are plenty of bridleways too for getting out in the fresh air on foot, bike and horseback.  

The area is well served by historic country pubs 

The Hawkley Inn in Hawkley, The Harrow in Steep, The Queen’s Head in Sheet, The Thomas Lord in West Meon and The White Horse in Prior’s Dean (locally known as The Pub With No Name), all serve fantastic food in cosy, fire-lit surroundings (The Pub with No Name in particular has lots of safe, outside space for children).  

A little further afield is the Long Barn in Alresford: an elegant gift shop and café. In Petersfield itself there is Annie Jones for French cuisine and cocktails, Restaurant Six for Mediterranean food and   

Lemongrass for Thai. For coffee we have Madeleine’s Kitchen or The Natural Food Deli.

Steep punches well above its weight for such a small village 

There is an eight-court floodlit tennis club with adjoining cricket ground (both of which host children’s sessions). To the north of the village is the Poet’s Stone, dedicated to local poet Edward Thomas, which rewards a sharp climb with stunning views of the South Downs. Nearby is the famous Edward Barnsley Workshop, where the eponymous Barnsley made the furniture that would see him become one of the most significant figures in the Arts and Crafts movement (Barnsley himself was a former Bedales student and made the furniture for the Bedales Memorial Library, widely regarded as one of the UK’s finest examples of Arts and Crafts architecture). 

Sir Alec Guinness was perhaps Steep’s most famous resident, and the legacy he left for a film society ensures a regular film club continues to run in the village hall. For live performance, Bedales’ own arts events programme offers a diverse selection, ranging from visiting drama and dance practitioners, musicians (the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and Hackney Colliery Band are repeat visitors) and talks (in recent years we’ve welcomed the former Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, geneticist, author and broadcaster Adam Rutherford, and award-winning actress and Old Bedalian Minnie Driver, to name a few), as well as homegrown student productions.  

Small wonder the local property market is thriving 

“The property market is holding firm despite the roller coaster of Brexit, elections, weather and the pandemic,” says Claudia. “Supply remains low and demand is high, and it is likely that this demand will increase as we move through spring into the summer season and as families get organised for the start of the new school year in September.” 

For families looking for schools, Bedales Senior, Prep and Pre-prep are significant draws. Bedales’ approach encourages intellectual ambition, creative thinking and independent learning – vital requirements for further education and beyond – and they start developing these skills early with the youngest children as they progress through Bedales Pre-prep and Prep Schools. As the Good Schools Guide says: “This is a wonderful place to develop a strong sense of self, stretch minds, develop a love of learning and make lifelong friends.” 

“The delight of moving to the country is that the stress is taken out of constantly being in the car,“ adds Bedales Head of Admissions Janie Jarman. “The daily school-run is so much less pressured when everyone’s surrounded by fresh air and green fields. And with all the extra-curricular activities taking place in school, there is more family time at home.” 

When it comes to finding that family home, Claudia has some very sound advice. “Because time is precious and the logistics of settling in to a new school and new area can be significant, consider a rental property initially before committing to something more permanent to allow yourself time to better understand the local market and to give yourself options.” 

As John Badley himself might have said: keep an open mind.  

History BAC trip to Berlin

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By Agnes Bathurst, Block 5

The Block 5 History trip to Berlin was a fantastic experience, jam packed with museum visits and tours. We had an early start on Thursday morning to fly to Berlin and as we arrived, we were greeted with lots of snow.

Despite the weather, we went on a walking tour of the city’s sights and walked through the famous Brandenburg Gate – one of Germany’s best-known landmarks, which dates back to the 1700s, and is now considered a symbol of German reunification – and visited more of the city’s famous monuments. In the evening, we went to the DDR Museum, where we found out about East Germany and how it used to be. 

On Friday, we travelled by the U-Bahn and our first stop was the Stasi Museum, where we gained an understanding of the former political system in East Germany and the control they exerted on the population. The Berlin Wall was next on our list, and we viewed it from a watch tower. My favourite pat was going down to a nuclear fall-out bunker that was never used – it was very creepy! We went on a guided tour of the Reichstag, and seeing all the old graffiti from the Russian soldiers in 1945 – still preserved – was fascinating.

On Saturday, we had another early morning start and got straight on the coach to the Wannsee Conference House, where we learnt all about the meeting that actioned the Final Solution. We were there on 20 January – exactly 82 years since that terrible decision. We then took the coach to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp and learnt about its historical significance. This was one of the most affecting parts of the trip – visiting the site where prisoners of the Nazi regime were subjected to horrifying conditions and treatment.

On our final day of the trip, we also visited the Topography of Terror, which was built on the former Gestapo headquarters. The trip was hugely educational, and I enjoyed every bit of it. I learnt so much about Berlin’s culture and its complex history.

6.2 Physics trip to CERN, Geneva

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By Dylan Hui and Sage Bidwell, 6.2

Last weekend saw the most recent iteration of the annual 6.2 Physics trip to Geneva, Switzerland, to visit CERN and the Large Hardon Collider (LHC). The trip began on Thursday 18 January, when we travelled to Geneva with Physics teachers Tobias Hardy, Allen Shone and Sarah Newnham. The journey went smoothly – although before we had left Geneva Airport, we had already left a passport on the plane and lost a suitcase (which was not in the itinerary!) We made our way to the Eden Hotel and got to explore the city for the first time.

On Friday, we had the chance to visit the UN Building in Geneva. We had an amazing tour guide, Lisa, who was a part-time interpreter working for the UN. She showed us around the different conference rooms in person and we had the opportunity to ask questions. Lisa was pleasantly surprised by our knowledge about politics and international relations (especially Allen’s!) In the evening, we took a stroll down the lakeside to the Old Town and explored the architecture of Geneva. To finish off the evening, we went to the Holy Cow burger restaurant, which was delicious, and finally we all sat in the lobby playing cards and sharing stories.

Saturday morning was an early one, since we had to make it to CERN in time for a 9am workshop. In the workshop we made our own cloud chambers and investigated background radiation, enhancing our previous knowledge of particle physics. It was very interesting to experience first-hand how these experiments changed particle physics, and we had the opportunity to speak to an expert who works at CERN. We then had a few hours of free time to wander around the CERN museum before embarking on our tour of the site.

We visited the main control centre of the LHC and saw how each component of the collider works. We then visited ALICE, another integral part of the LHC, focused on examining primordial matter. To finish the evening, we dined at Chez Ma Cousine, where most of us ate half a chicken accompanied by chips, salad and a hearty pint of Genevan beer. 

The next day, before we returned home, a few of us had time to hop onto a water taxi on the lake. We got to see the Jet d’Eau fountain, an impressive 140m tall fountain which has become one of the city’s most famous landmarks. We also enjoyed the view of the Alps and Mont Blanc before flying home, safe and sound, albeit with a bit of turbulence from Storm Isha.

Thank you to Tobias, Allen and Sarah for running this trip for us, and making it such a joyful and educational experience. We all thoroughly enjoyed it and will be remember it forever.

Bedales in the Greenpower International Finals

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By Alex McNaughton, Head of Faculty: Art & Design

On Sunday 8 October, Bedales qualified to compete in the Greenpower International Finals 2023 at Goodwood Motor Circuit. This was quite something; racing on one of the most iconic tracks in the world, with clear skies against 90+ other cars, the day was set to be one to remember. Our place in the finals had been achieved by our consistent performance in the Goodwood and Castle Combe heats earlier in the year.

The Bedales Greenpower project is going from strength to strength; we have a great group of regular attendees at our weekly sessions and have a real thirst to do better each time we race. We are aiming towards fielding an additional car for the next season – watch this space for future developments.

Here, two Bedales Greenpower team members reflect on their experience in the finals.

By Elliot Cundy, Block 5 and Max Galgey, Block 4

The first event of the day was open practice; 70 minutes in which we could run our car non-competitively to check everything was running as it should be, practice our race strategy, see how our lap times compared to the rest of the grid, and give a few of our new drivers some all-important practice behind the wheel.

Thankfully the car ran without any issues, and our race strategy was proving effective; the use of a pit board enabled us to communicate with the driver as to how much throttle to use, allowing us to pace the car for the optimal balance between performance and efficiency so as to not run out of power (as has been a problem in previous races). As the practice session came to an end, we swiftly swapped the car’s batteries to a fresh fully charged set and lined up on the grid for the first race, the results of which would decide our grid position for the second.

The first race went according to plan, with the four drivers all completing three laps, and setting good times for our finishing position. The first driver came into the pitlane after a very good stint. We had a good pitstop that held our position, and out the second driver went. A very close call on the start straight, when another car illegally blocked us. The car was unscathed, and we kept going, the next few pitstops went well. All the drivers in the second race drove very well and gave us a qualifying position on 50th.

Heading into the second race, we qualified 50th out of 92 with a strong mindset and a clear strategy, calculated from previous results in an Excel spreadsheet. At the race start we swiftly moved up through the field at a steady but strong pace. We completed five laps before heading into the pitlane where the next driver was waiting. With a decent pitstop, we were back out onto the track. In the pitlane, we had lost a few positions, but we kept going strong.

On the second lap of the second stint, the driver clocked a new Goodwood team best of a five-minute and 10-second time. The next lap had a bit of confusion, letting the driver go 100% for another lap, a mistake that would later affect the car’s performance. The driver then pulled into the pits a few laps later, where the team completed a new fastest pit stop of around five seconds.

Out went the last driver, going as fast as he wanted to finish the race. Heading onto the final lap the car started to run low on power, but thankfully the car kept going. While heading into the final corner, the car’s speed dropped significantly and it rolled across the line to finish 18th of 52 in class and 48th of 92 overall.

Since last year’s finals, the Bedales Greenpower team have been working hard each week to fit a variety of upgrades and make modifications to the car, including new cooling inlets, aerodynamic vacuum-formed wheel covers and a custom-made telemetry system. Alongside this, we are currently in the process of designing a new car, completely from scratch. It was therefore very useful to get the chance to talk to the different teams at the race about what aspects have and haven’t worked for them and to take inspiration from their designs. 

Energise South Downs’ Future Energy Forum at Bedales

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Energise South Downs (ESD)’s recent Energy Forum held in the Bedales Theatre was a great success, with more than 200 attendees. Members of the local community came to learn about the challenges and opportunities with the UK’s journey to net zero. If you weren’t able to attend, you can see the Future Energy Forum recording in five parts here.

After a brief introduction by ESD Director Catriona Cockburn, the evening was chaired by John Palmer (Deputy Director, Energy Performance of Buildings, Department of Levelling Up Housing and Communities). He oversaw a panel of experts including Professor Mark Gaterell, Professor of Sustainable Construction and Associate Dean for Research in the Faculty of Technology at the University of Portsmouth; Ollie Pendered, CEO of Community Energy South; Steve Shaw, Director of Power for People; and Steve Waygood, Chief Responsible Investment Officer, Aviva.

Professor Gaterell spoke about the importance of energy efficient housing, with a robust policy being essential to ensuring industry meets the standards for net zero. He also highlighted that abrupt changes in policy impact investor confidence in the construction sector, while clear consistent long-term policy ensures the development of appropriate products and skills. 

Community Energy South’s Ollie Pendered emphasised the positive impact community energy schemes can have on the health of the planet. Energise South Downs is just one of at least 400 not-for-profit community energy groups across the UK, which all enable renewable energy to be produced locally. This both powers and empowers local communities by providing energy security, helping to green the grid and delivering profits locally from their investment.

The speaker who most inspired the audience to take action was Steve Shaw from Power for People. Steve was instrumental in getting the Climate Change Act passed in 2008 and has now drafted the Local Electricity Bill. He explained the significance of this legislation for community energy schemes, the public and ultimately our ability to reach net zero. Before the evening began he had put cards on every seat in the auditorium for people to take home and send to their MPs requesting they support the bill. At the end of the evening it was pleasing to discover that all but five had been picked up. 

The final speaker, Steve Waygood, homed in on how financial institutions and governments can help tackle the climate emergency. “We’ve heard that money talks, about how many of us know what our money is saying on our behalf?” he asked. He told the audience that their money is shaping the world, so by taking more interest in how it is invested, they have the power to promote the kind of future they want for generations to come. With just 20 minutes to discuss a lengthy topic, Steve finished by highlighting two papers – Act Now: A Climate Emergency Roadmap for the International Finance Architecture and A Roadmap for Sustainable Capital Markets.

To close the evening, Catriona referenced Chris Skidmore’s report, which says that the most successful version of net zero will be delivered by unlocking the ambition of places and communities. She hoped the evening’s Future Energy Forum had helped kick start this process.

Attendee Amelia Gabriel praised the event, saying: “An inspiring set of speakers who raised the urgency of the situation and gaps in policy as well as giving positive examples and clear actions that we can take as individuals and as communities.”

Catriona commented: “Energise South Downs was enormously encouraged by the full Bedales Theatre. The event felt hugely positive, and people should feel optimistic about the future and the solutions that are available. ESD has been working with local communities who are passionate about powering the renewable energy transition and we are looking forward to continuing to work together to realise these ambitions and take the opportunities that will help deliver the commitments to net zero.”

Find out more about ESD and their renewable energy projects here.

A ‘Splendid’ workshop

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By Ollie Dodd, 6.2 Drama Scholar

On Wednesday, A Level Drama students had the opportunity to be a part of a brilliant three-hour workshop with the Artistic Director of Splendid Productions, Kerry Frampton. Splendid create challenging, entertaining, politically engaging theatre for young audiences. The workshop taught us a great deal about their techniques and gave us invaluable devising skills.  

The workshop began with us becoming aware of the concept of dialectics (two polarising ideas coming together to create a final product), which would inform a great deal of the workshop. We were then led through a variety of techniques and exercises such as mime and sign language, each time honing and developing the skills.

The workshop was amazingly useful to us and gave us a much better understanding of the devising process and a great set of tools to use in our devised productions in March. You can read more about what the workshop entailed below:

We took to our feet as we began an exercise of walking around the stage in a straight line before turning suddenly. Simultaneously the technique of clocking – two people meeting each others’ eyes – was introduced. This exercise had layers introduced to it progressively, such as changing the speed, theatricality or energy of our walks. These factors were then brought into the exercise of mime-writing our name, to which the lenses of size and proficiency were added. 

With the skill of tweaking aspects of our work added to our repertoire, we split off into pairs, where we learned how to tweak others work. We were given a word such as ‘cut’ and had to build off the action our partner associated with said word. Following this, we described giving special attention to the texture and mimed an object that was special to us. Our partner would then mime the item back to us, before becoming that item and giving us a piece of advice as the item would. This activity taught us a lot about listening to our partner and creating through play. 

We moved into bigger groups of five and between us chose a fairytale or nursery rhyme that our group would adapt. We created five freeze moments that would be set off in canon and between them had moments of chaos, where each member was responsible for a different aspect such as asking questions, miming the scenery or describing the characters. We then put these on for each other and spoke about what we could do to improve. 

The final exercise gave us an understanding of how to sign eight different emotions in British Sign Language (BSL) before we were tasked to create massively over the top versions of a snobbish rich lady and a working class West Ham fan. In our groups we had to make these characters criticise a character from our earlier piece using the BSL signs as a basis to show their emotions. 

The workshop was amazingly useful to us and gave us a much better understanding of the devising process and a great set of tools to use in our own devised productions in March.

Reflections from Ullswater

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By Clive Burch, Head of Block 3

Coming to the end of this first week back at school, Ullswater seems not only a long way away but also a long time ago. However, while it is still relatively fresh in the collective memory (and before I sound too much like the opening of a space opera), I wanted to pause to reflect upon what has been achieved by Block 3 as a year group already this year.

Knowing everything they need to know for their return to school in a day was always going to be a stretch, but getting familiar with the school systems, our expectations, additional offerings, subject areas (if not individual classrooms) and the school grounds was a good start.

Then taking them away from all of this and placing them out of their comfort zone in the Lake District to do something they may not ordinarily do was a true test of character, which they passed with flying colours. There were some ambitious expeditions undertaken (one including a keen headteacher) and some mini adventures enjoyed. I certainly felt like I was part of a familiar fellowship when I joined a group for a gorge walk which culminated in a cliff jump. The whole group ended up doing this, much to my pride and joy.

Here, Block 3 student Maya reflects on the trip.

By Maya Tazi, Block 3

Ullswater was rich in life lessons, sometimes learned the hard way! Some moments were very fun, like the gorge scrambling, with its rushing current and beautiful views, or cliff jumping, which required the courage to jump in what felt like a frozen lake. Other parts were more challenging, like the dorm life, compromise with my roommates and organising turns to shower.

A big part of it was about teamwork; as a tutor group, we had to learn to work together as a team by learning coordination while rowing for hours, or working towards the same goals when hiking up a mountain or setting up camp for the night. Secrets were shared, laughs exchanged, tired groans echoed and friendships formed. Thank you to everyone who made the trip possible.

See more photos from Ullswater below.