Category Archives: Bedales

Walking from Syria to Steep to support refugees

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By Abi Wharton, Head of Global Perspectives, Geography and Politics

On Tuesday 8 March, the Bedales community will be off timetable for our termly community day – this term being Powell Day. It feels particularly important that we spend this day as a community after the tribulations of recent years – coming together to raise awareness and vital funds for those that continue to need support.

We are very excited to give you more information about our collective initiative to walk, as a school, the distance from Northern Syria to Steep in a single day (roughly 4500km). In tutor and year groups, Bedales students and staff will be walking a 10km route around Queen Elizabeth Country Park to raise sponsorship for the Rural Refugee Network, our charity partner. We are encouraging all tutor groups to raise at least £250 in sponsorship but encouraging some healthy competition by awarding prizes to both the tutor group and year group that raise the most in sponsorship!

Students will be able to give family and friends a URL allowing you to donate directly to their team via Give Penny, our chosen fundraising platform. We really hope you will be able to contribute to this worthwhile cause where both you and the students will be able to see exactly where these vital funds go. We would also be delighted if parents would like to participate on the walk itself.

I am also delighted that Gulwali Passarlay, a dear friend of the school who delivered the Global Awareness Lecture in 2017 will be joining us for the day to speak to the students and join us on the walk. Gulwali’s story is inspiring. It includes a 12-month odyssey across Europe to escape war-torn Afghanistan, arrival in the UK and graduation from one of the UK’s top universities. Gulwali Passarlay is a speaker, activist and former refugee who arrived in Britain in 2007, aged just 12, after being separated from his brother during his travels. His best-selling book, The Lightless Sky, is an account of his lone travels as a child including a 50-hour sea crossing in cramped quarters with more than 100 other refugees. At the time of the lecture, I said: “Gulwali’s resilience, determination and humour is a lesson to us all. He has faced unimaginable hardship and had his childhood taken away. Despite this, he bears no grudges, and has instead dedicated his life to raising awareness and improving the lives of millions of people around the world.” I think this message remains important as we look forward to 8 March – and I have certainly quoted the above when students have been a little reluctant about walking 10km!

Boys’ First XI Hockey v Ryde School

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By Kevin Boniface, Head of Hockey

On Wednesday, the first XI hosted Ryde School. Both sides should be credited for their contribution to a fantastic game – arguably one of the best boys’ first XI games seen on the Astro for a while.

Ryde started strongly, pinning back the Bedales side and deservedly taking a 1-0 lead. It was however, incredibly pleasing to see the Bedales side respond well to this, fighting their way back in to the game through the influential Zach Stewart and deservedly grabbing an equaliser through a well worked short corner – the week of self-directed practice paying off! With the imperious Sol Arbib and his sidekick Bruno Heggie keeping things tight at the back, this allowed the creative influences of Elio Mazas, Sam Gibbon, Jac Wheeler and Felix Bicknell to gain more possession in the right areas and Bedales deservedly took the lead just before half-time with a neat finish from Ben Greening who found himself in the perfect back-post position.

The second half ebbed and flowed, but it was the away side who created more clear cut chances. However, some missed opportunities and superb goalkeeping from captain Josh Baty ensured that Ryde didn’t add to their first goal and after an injury break, Felix Bicknell took advantage of a Ryde re-shuffle, finishing accurately in the far corner to give the Bedales side a perhaps slightly flattering 3-1 margin in a deserved victory.

The best performance so far of the season for the Bedales team against a very competitive opposition.

Prep schools visit Bedales for Music Day

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By Doug McIlwraith, Director of Music

On Thursday, we welcomed 40 pupils from Dorset House School, The Prebendal School and Froxfield and Steep primary schools for a music day. They were joined and supported brilliantly by over 20 Bedalians who assisted with pieces for orchestra and choir. The orchestra learnt music by Purcell and Dvorak, as well as a piece specially written for the occasion, which blended a bit of techno with orchestral colour, and the pupils thoroughly enjoyed. 

It was wonderful to see how our students interacted with the young visitors and helped build their enthusiasm and confidence and the whole group made swift and pleasing progress. We then opened the doors to let in some fresh air and sang several silly songs and a choral rendition of Ben E King’s Stand By Me. Our guitar teacher Kevin Walker was on hand to assist a group of fledgling guitarists ably assisted by Block 3 student Wulfie Pink-Smith and they worked on a blues improvisation. Imogen Tillotsen and Elliot Cundy gave impressive performances on harp and piano to inspire the visitors – and then they had an amazing 45-minute preview of the Rock Show which utterly blew their minds! The day ended with an open workshop for visiting parents where we presented the fruits of our work.

Thanks so much to all of our students who helped in the Lupton Hall and to the Rock Show musicians who contributed magnificently to the event. It was our first musical event where we have been able to invite young musicians from beyond our community to join us and we look forward to future joint events where Bedalian musicians can help inspire a new generation of young players. Particular thanks go to Janie Jarman, Rachel Hinett and Matt Potts for ensuring everyone was in the right place at the right time and well fed.

Bedales Boys’ First XI Hockey v Embley Park

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By Kevin Boniface, Head of Hockey

On Wednesday the boys’ first XI hockey travelled to play Embley Park. The game got off to an absolute flyer with Bedales going 1-0 up with a fast counter-attacking move, replicating their work in training on Monday, finished off neatly by Felix Bicknell. However, almost within seconds Embley had equalised and the score was 1-1 within three minutes. Pleasingly, this set the tone for the remainder of the game, with both sides creating a number of chances. The Embley side contained a number of talented, representative players but this was well matched by the harder-working and slightly more structured Bedales team. The first half saw another three goals, all of a very high calibre; a drag-flick short corner and rasping finish from a tight angle for Embley, alongside a very well worked team goal for Bedales that was finished off by Nate Shuster after excellent work in the middle of the pitch from Jac Wheeler, Zach Stewart and the incredibly productive and fleet-footed Sam Gibbon.
 
As we moved in to the second half, it was hard to call which way the game would go. Zach maintained his influence in the middle of the pitch and Bedales were productive down the right channel with Elio Mazas and Sam Gibbon. But Embley remained a constant threat going forward and used the aerial ball to maintain territory. However, it is credit to goalkeeper Josh Baty and the defensive unit of Sol Arbib and Bruno Heggie that clear attacking threats were limited to three short corners. At the other end, Bedales created a number of good open play chances but failed to convert and ultimately paid the price when pressing for the equaliser were left exposed at the back and Embley neatly converted to win 4-2. Fantastic game. Credit to both sides for playing their part in a very competitive game.

Creative responses to philosophical ideas

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By Josh Block, Head of Philosophy and Religious Studies

One of the key aspects of philosophy is the emphasis on having an open mind and being willing to engage with and sometimes embrace a wide range of new and perplexing ideas. As Aristotle put it: “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”

On this basis, the Block 5 Philosophy, Religi and Ethics (PRE) students are a highly educated lot indeed! This year so far they have encountered thinkers from Plato to Turing, the existence of no world to many worlds, and their reality not being real at all. To say nothing of the ever-topical question of whether AI is about to take over the human race! They have embraced all of this with enthusiasm and the well known Bedalian desire for more, and not necessarily simple, answers.

As part of their BAC assessment the students produced creative responses to a chosen aspect of the areas they had studied. They could choose their topic, media, focus and conclusions with complete freedom – or at least perceived freedom as there was inevitably a mark scheme which had to be followed! But all of this was met with passion and skill; the range of ideas was inspiring, and the means of execution nothing short of mind-blowing.

As nothing I type will actually do the work justice, I will allow as the phrase goes ‘an image to speak a thousand words’. Cast your eye over the images, and if you happen to be the parent or guardian of one of the students involved, please congratulate them and if they haven’t already, ask them to help you entertain new thoughts!

Embracing sustainable theatre practices at Bedales

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By Joanne Greenwood, Theatre Manager and Production Designer

Here at Bedales we have always embraced the circular economy when it comes to productions. Reuse. Remake. Recycle. As with many theatres, we have a wardrobe which houses an extensive collection of clothing and accessories, and a prop store built up over the past 25 years.

With the global trend towards sustainably lockdown saw the creation of the Theatre Green Book. The Theatre Green Book gives theatre a path towards sustainability. It maps the journey towards a way of theatre-making that is low carbon and low waste, values people, and contributes to a more sustainable society.

The design brief we set ourselves for the Whole School Show 2021 was to honour 25 years of Bedales Olivier Theatre and to take part in the Theatre Green Book initiative in creating sustainable productions.

When designing any show, I consider what we have available to see what can be reused or adapted. Where possible, purchases are made on the basis that items have a future life and are considered an investment.

Many costumes in the wardrobe are used time and again, especially period costumes, but for a production to have an original and cohesive design there will always be adaptions and new costumes to be made. For Tales from Ovid (2021) we selected costumes from previous productions which hadn’t been used again and reinterpreted them in a new way to reflect the various tales.

The school pinafores from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (2007) formed the basis of the design for the Echo and Narcissus tale with collars made from remnants of fabric we had in stock. The Tereus and Philomela chorus wore jackets from Spring Awakening (2017), skirts from Les Misérables (2004) and boots from Me (2017). The male chorus jackets from Oedipus (2008) were used for the Midas tale with the hi top trainers from Around the World in 80 Days (2019).

The costumes in Jane Eyre (2006) were historically accurate in shape but the design concept was that all the costumes were various shades of red and therefore not realistic to how they would have been worn in the period. Worn by the Bacchic chorus in Bacchus and Pentheus with bare feet, ivy headdresses and doe eye make-up they paid tribute to the Sixth Form production of the Bacchae (1998).

The production also gave us the opportunity to use some memorable character costumes from the past:

  • Juno; Dress originally designed for Medea in Medea (2016)
  • Jupiter; Suit worn by The Prince in Sound of the Night Feather (2015)
  • Procne; Dress worn by Jocasta in Oedipus (2008), originally designed for Gertrude in Hamlet (2003)

Over 95% of the costumes from Tales from Ovid came from our wardrobe stock.

“Everyone in theatre starts their career by creatively stretching resource as far as possible. All theatre-makers are experts in sustainability. To the challenge of responding to the climate emergency, theatre is already bringing resourcefulness, dynamism and creativity.” – Theatre Green Book

Bedales Library’s most read books of 2021

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By Matilda McMorrow, Librarian

The ‘beating heart of the school’ – its library, if you ask those in the know, including the 2014 all-part parliamentary report of the same name. So when I read our final borrowing figures for 2021, I felt like the stats threw some light on what kept the school’s heart beating last year.

Our second most loaned book of 2021 was Ms Marvel: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson. From the thriving graphic novel section we created in the library in 2019, it’s the first in the Ms Marvel series. We have a growing community of graphic novel lovers at Bedales, which is no surprise – the medium is immediate, dynamic, and full of artistic experimentation, like most of our students on a good day. American-Pakistani heroine Kamala Khan (AKA Ms Marvel) has been lauded as an engaging and loveable protagonist, the series as a groundbreaking new take on the superhero genre. This book kicks you off with her origin story, and is witty, charming and thoughtful. As Kamala’s dad quotes from the Quran, “Whoever kills one person, it is as if he has killed all of mankind… And whoever saves one person, it is as if he has saved all of mankind.” We all needed some superpowers and a grounded friend in 2021, and Ms Marvel provided. Fingers crossed she’ll keep it up in 2022, as a TV version is being made for Disney+.

Now, number 1, the most loaned book. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a modern classic. If you didn’t know, it’s a novel about a 15-year-old boy who sees the world in an extraordinary way, and who falls under suspicion for killing his neighbour’s dog. It’s by turns funny, painful and revealing, and is also one of the most banned and challenged books on the American Library Association’s list. I’m sure some of these loans were following the smash-hit stage adaptation at the National Theatre, and some might after teacher recommendation, especially for Block 3’s ‘coming of age’ English topic. For lots of reasons, it’s a book we reached for in 2021. As the author Mark Haddon said, “It’s about flawed people dealing with conflict, like nearly all novels.” 

Of course, a library is more than the sum of its borrowed books. Some people spend months reading a library book without ever borrowing it, which will go unlogged. And then there’s our huge online library of resources I haven’t had space to talk about here. A library is also the curiosity quests, the conversations, the recommendations, burning questions, being steered in the right direction, all kinds of things we don’t have stats on. But we do have stats for what words and phrases were searched for most on the library catalogue, which give some clues. One of the most popular searches was ‘shelf help’, library code for books on mental health. No prizes for guessing that would be a big hitter. Yes, it can be concerning to think about all the students and staff who have been struggling with poor mental health. But I find it reassuring to know there’s somewhere they can be empowered to look for help on their own terms, and to find good quality resources, chosen, managed and navigable. This is what libraries are about. Power to the patrons!

Boys’ First XI Hockey v Kings’ School, Winchester

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By Kevin Boniface, Head of Hockey

On Wednesday the first XI travelled to their traditional season opener against Kings’ School, Winchester. Typically, the opposition were well organised and capable on the ball. It was perhaps not surprising then that Kings made the majority of the early attacking play and, despite some impressive defending from Sol Arbib and Joe Cullen, found themselves 2-0 up inside 15 minutes. However, the new look Bedales side began to settle into a rhythm and became more precise moving forward, driven by the influential Zach Stewart and Sam Gibbon.
 
Bedales created a number of decent chances but unfortunately failed to convert. However, on the stroke of half-time, a moment of individual brilliance and a clinical finish from Jac Wheeler, deservedly pulled Bedales back in to the game.
 
Despite a well presented half-time talk from captain Josh Baty, the Bedales side weren’t able to match the same intensity levels as the first half and began to lose shape, producing a number of turnovers which were clinically finished by Kings, who came away deserved winners. Plenty of promise from the Bedales side and a clear target of maintaining intensity and structural discipline levels.

Block 3 English students’ creativity and flair

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By Lucy McIlwraith, Teacher of English

The English department office has recently been awash with truly stunning pieces of work from our Block 3 sets: hand-made, hand-sewn, whimsically decorated with string, ribbon and raffia, the poetry anthologies we asked the students to make over Christmas have been a real antidote to the winter greyness!

Some students chose to include their own poetry as well as analysis of poems they had studied over the term; others added paintings and sketches their work. We also had anthologies presented as meticulously detailed multi-media scrapbooks with layers of newsprint or card or recycled books. Each page in some of them showed a different layout, with fold-out sections or pockets in which a bonus poem nestled. One example even had fairy lights!

We’ve had such a variety of beautiful and imaginative work which shows truly exceptional sensitivity and creativity and we hope you enjoy see a few examples in the pictures below.

‘Fascinating’ Beyond Bedales Sustainability Careers event

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By Jade Mark, 6.2

Last Friday the Professional Guidance department hosted a Beyond Bedales Sustainability careers talk, which involved five very influential people. 

James Bidwell, co-owner of Re_set and owner and Chair of Springwise, spoke to us about the sustainability changes he is helping businesses to make. Re_set is an organisation that helps businesses reset themselves for the future. James’ job is to help create strategies to help transition the companies from linear fossil fuels businesses into much more eco-friendly companies thinking about the circulatory use of all their products. 

Kemi Williams is the Development Director at the British High Commission in Tanzania, and she spoke to us about her role in the Department of International Development. She works in developing countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and currently Tanzania. She works on distributing the money that is given to their government from richer countries such as Britain to help these developing countries in a sustainable way. This means that she finds solutions to ensure that once the money is no longer being fed into their economy, the country is able to survive on its own.  

Emma Cusworth works for the Green Finance Institute, where she is responsible for driving the organisation’s strategic brand and communication activity. She follows her own philosophy through a very fascinating story which was concluded with the lesson: work in alignment, everyone moving in the same direction, working together to make actions faster and less tiresome, something which the world needs to realise today in order to resolve the huge dilemmas with lack of sustainability on our planet. She also emphasised the importance of finance in our world, and how drastically finance needs to change in order to make more sustainable ways of life more profitable than fossil fuels, as right now that is not the case. 

Roxy Rocks-Engleman has her hands in many different places, all associated with sustainable development. She is currently the Sustainability Manager for Cafédirect, a company empowering smallholder farmers. The company also set a charity to help smallholder growers in its network and has now helped an incredible amount of 1.3 million smallholders. Roxy emphasised all the incredible changes that are being made. Global supply chains have currently never been closer together, joining forces to make many opportunities that will surprise us and help us work towards something more positive. 

Scott Emerson was also part of the lecture, telling us about the changes that are occurring in fashion and how there are so many sustainable ways in which to delve into the fashion world. Having been thrown into the industry through horrible high consumerism and unsustainable fashion trends he decided to research into eco-friendly ways in which to change this, finding extremely fascinating solutions such as plant dying. He recently used this newfound talent of plant dying in London’s Fashion Week, spreading awareness to the public that new changes must be made to allow our world to attain more positive and sustainable products in the world’s second worst polluting industry.

Overall, the lecture was extremely fascinating and opened the students’ eyes to how sustainability is relevant in any job and career that one wishes to follow.