BEDFORD SCHOOL

(Redirected from Bedford Grammar School)
:''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Modern School.''
'Bedford School' is a public school for boys in Bedford, fifty miles north of London, England.
Bedford School is split in two: the Upper School (ages 13 to 18) and the Preparatory School (ages 7 to 13). The school has approximately 1,200 boys, both day-boys and boarders between the ages of 7 and 18. A wide range of subjects are taught at GCSE and at A-level; the school also teaches the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. The current headmaster is Dr Philip Evans OBE. Mr John Moule has been appointed to succeed Dr Philip Evans OBE as Head Master of Bedford School. This appointment is to take effect from 1 September 2008.

Contents
History
Year groups
School houses
Songs
Monitors and Heads of Houses
Sports
Combined Cadet Force
The Charles Piazzi Smyth Observatory and the Wolfson Planetarium
Music
Orchestras and ensembles
Music staff
Prominent Old Bedfordian musicians
Notable Old Bedfordians
Military
Victoria Cross Holders
Staff
References
References
External links

History


Bedford School boys playing cricket outside the main school building.

The original foundation of a church school (on the site occupied by the institution until the late 19th century) dates back to before the Domesday Book. However, the school was granted letters patent by King Edward VI in 1552, much aided by the actions of Sir William Harpur (indeed, the school is now one of four in a group of schools run by the Harpur trust).
In 1979, the school suffered a devastating arson attack during the night, and the imposing main building was gutted by fire. The flames leaped to an astonishing 130 feet high. The fire was fought throughout the night, into the early morning of Sunday 4 March, and when it had finally been beaten, the extent of the damage was revealed: Over 90% of the building had been destroyed by the blaze, and thirty classrooms lost. Remarkably, almost all of the pupil-records were recovered, but the extensive collection of portraits, books and furniture were destroyed. The school re-opened the next week using temporary classrooms for the pupils.
Two new buildings have been built within the last five years: a £1 million library and a £3 million music school.

Year groups


The first year at Bedford is for 13-year-olds going on 14. It is called the Fourth Form and is equivalent to Year 9 in the state system. After that there is the Remove and the Fifth Form. The two years after that are the Sixth Form, which is made up of the Lower Sixth and the Upper Sixth.
Year GroupState school equivalent
4th FormYear 9
RemoveYear 10
5th FormYear 11
Lower 6thYear 12
Upper SixthYear 13

School houses


In the Main School (Upper School) there are six day houses, each linked to an individual boarding house. Each pair of houses (day and boarding) have their own unique colours. The day houses are each named after an area or landmark in Bedford:

★ Ashburnham (boarding house: Sandersons); colours red and brown

★ Bromham (boarding house: Burnaby); colours navy blue and light blue

★ Crescent (boarding house: Pemberley); colours black and white

★ Paulo Pontine (boarding house: Redburn); colours brown, light blue and yellow

★ St Cuthbert's (boarding house: Phillpotts); colours blue and black

★ St Peter's (boarding house: Talbot's); colours red and white
Each day house is set within the school grounds, and is run (for the most part) separately from its paired boarding house. Each boarding/day house pair will enter against other houses in competitions, including the prestigious House Singing competition (unison songs – tend to be the whole boarding houses only – and part song usually consists of around 7 people from both). Inter-house sports cover all major and minor sports run by the school, at both junior and senior level, and range from rugby and hockey (major sports) to shooting and fencing (minor sports).

Songs


One of the most distinctive Bedford traditions is the singing of songs and inter-house singing competitions. In the vein of the Eton Boating Song, many were written by teachers in the latter half of the 19th century. The official school song, "Domus Pater", was written by Henry Le Mesurier in 1861.
Domus Pater Harperiae [Translation] In Harper's House, O Father, may
Honus Tuus sit incola; Thine honour aye indwelling stay
Tu porticus caelestibus May ever round its portals be
Praesidiis circumsede. The guardian angels placed by thee.
Impubes usque tu manus The bands of youths look down and see
Huc ventitantes respice; Restoring here continuously;
Et inter mundi Semitas And safely on thro' life's rough way
Pedes securos dirige. Direct their footsteps day by day.
Infirma verbo pectora Strengthen the frail ones with thy word
Rectoque cultu robora; And guiding discipline, O Lord.
Cibum caelestem porrige Hold forth thy heavenly food, we pray,
Et mala procul abige. And drive all evil things away.
Ut omni mane gratiam May they each morn the day begin
Tuam precentur cum fide With prayer sincere thy grace to win
Et corde grato vesperi With grateful hearts at fall of even
Laudes tuas concelebrent. May they exalt thy praise to heaven.
Deo Patri sit gloria To God the Father and his Son,
Eiusque soli Filio, And God the Spirit, Holy One.
Sanctissimo cum Spiritu, May greatest glory henceforth be
Et nunc et in perpetuum. Both now and thro' eternity.

Monitors and Heads of Houses


Monitors are chosen from the top year group of the school (Upper 6th); they are deemed to have the best qualities of leadership and achievement. In addition there are the separate roles of heads of boarding and school houses, although a monitor may occasionally be chosen to fulfill this role as well.
On a school-wide level the best monitor is made "Head Boy", and a deputy is appointed to assist him. Monitors can wear coloured waistcoats and brown shoes along with brass buttons on their blazers. Since 2004 monitors have been chosen by application and a selection committee.
The Heads of house are appointed directly by the housemaster who also selects a Deputy and House Options except for Burnaby, where the students elect their Head and Deputy

Sports


Bedford school has a different major sport for each term, and has enjoyed success in all of them. The Christmas term is rugby-orientated, the Easter term hockey, and Summer is cricket season. Rowing takes place throughout the year.
Minor sports include athletics, football, swimming, archery, badminton, basketball, canoeing, cross-country running, fencing, fives, golf, rifle shooting, sailing, squash, tennis, volleyball, table-tennis and water polo.
All sports feature at all levels of ability, and most pupils find a sport to suit them, such is the diversity of the school. The school has produced many fine sportsmen, such as cricketer Alastair Cook, who went on to play Test cricket for England - whose coach was then sports master and ex-England all-rounder Derek Randall
Bedford School won the Daily Mail Under 15 2006 Schools' Cup for the second time with a 16-3 victory over a fancied QEGS Wakefield side at Twickenham (the first time being in 1994 when they shared the cup after drawing 3-3). The teams number 8, and prolific sportsman, James Ingle was recently selected for the England U16 team. He played in the Four Nations tournament over Easter.

Combined Cadet Force


One of the most popular extra curriclar activities at Bedford School is the Combined Cadet Force. This differs from other Corps in that it draws members from three schools and that it is voluntary. Despite its voluntary status it is the largest CCF contingent of any school.
Bedford School is the third largest contributor to the armed forces of any school (behind Eton and Harrow). Unusually, over 20% of service personnel from Bedford served in the medical wing of one of the three uniformed services.

The Charles Piazzi Smyth Observatory and the Wolfson Planetarium


The Piazzi Smyth Observatory and Wolfson Planetarium were opened in May 2002 by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. Situated on the Bedford School estate, the facility is operated by the school's Astronomer in conjunction with members of the Bedford Astronomical Society. The Observatory was named after an Old Bedfordian who went on to become the Astronomer Royal for Scotland. It features a specially made GRP dome and a computer controlled twelve-inch telescope which gives stunning views of the Moon, planets, and deep-sky objects. This telescope also has a hydrogen alpha filter, enabling one to see the magnetic plasma flow around the Sun. The adjacent Planetarium was named after the Wolfson Foundation.

Music


Bedford School has a rich tradition of music and one of the largest school music departments in the UK
Every year, there is a full and active programme of music concerts, culminating in a series of summer concerts at the end of the academic year. There are a number of senior music groups, including the School First (Symphony) Orchestra, School Band, Choral Society, Chapel Choir, and a large number of chamber groups. In addition, there is a Second Orchestra, a Chamber Orchestra, Dance Band, and jazz and rock groups. There is a Composer-in-Residence at the School, called the Eileen Norris Fellow.
During the war in 1941 the BBC Symphony and Theatre Orchestras made the school their home, from where a large number of broadcasts were made, under the batons of Adrian Boult, Clarence Raybould, and Stanford Robinson.
Alastair Cook as mentioned above, did not actually get a scholarship for being good at sport, it was actually because he excelled at music.
Orchestras and ensembles


★ First Orchestra

★ Second Orchestra

★ Chamber Orchestra

★ School Band

★ Dance Band

★ Brass Ensemble

★ Clarinet Quartet

★ Choral Society

★ Chapel Choir
Music staff


★ Mr Andrew Morris, Director of Music and Head of Department who has held these posts since 1979

★ Mr Jeremy Rouse, Organist and Assistant Director of Music who has held these posts since 2007.

★ Mr Richard Heyes, Head of Piano who has held this post since 1983

★ Mr Malcolm Green, Head of Woodwind who has held this post since 1986.

★ Mr Guy Bennett, Head of Brass who has held this post since 1987.

★ Martin Hughes was appointed Head of Strings at Bedford School from Easter 2003

★ Mr Timothy Watts is the Eileen Norris Fellow in Composition.
Prominent Old Bedfordian musicians


Peter Freyhan (1950–1957); principal cellist BBC Symphony Orchestra (retd).

★ Ian Fox (1956–1964); Director of Music of The King's School, Gloucester (retd).

Richard Kerr (1958–1962); songwriter, for Elkie Brooks, Dionne Warwick, Frank Sinatra, and Andy Williams.

Michael Freyhan (1951–1958); pianist and harpsichordist.

Alisdair MacRae Birch (1967–1976); jazz guitarist, bassist, and arranger.

Alec Dankworth (1968–1977); jazz bassist.

Andrew Manze (19–195-82); violinist and Musical Director of The English Concert.

Philip Stopford (1990–1995); Director of Music at Belfast Cathedral.

Notable Old Bedfordians



James Dennis (1815–1861), palaeontologist and natural historian

Henry Hawkins, Baron Brampton (1817–1907), barrister and Judge of the High Court of Justice, 1876–1898

Henry Corbet (1820–1878), agricultural writer and editor

James Howard (1821–1889), agriculturalist and agricultural implement manufacturer

Sir Wyndham Dunstan (1861–1949), chemist and Director, Imperial Institute, 1903–1924

John Platts (1830–1904), Indian and Persian language expert

Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers (1854–1918), occultist

Hubert Burge (1862–1925), Headmaster of Winchester College, 1901–1910, Bishop of Southwark, 1910–1919, and Bishop of Oxford, 1919–1925

Sir Walter Langdon-Brown (1870–1946), Regius Professor of Physic, University of Cambridge, 1932–1935

H. H. Munro (Saki) (1870–1916), short story writer

Sir Lynden Macassey (1876–1963), engineer and barrister

Gilbert Campion, Baron Campion (1882–1958), Clerk of the House of Commons, 1937–1948

Sir Bernard Reilly (1882–1966), Resident/Chief Commissioner/Governor of Aden, 1931–1940

Charles Meek (1885–1965), anthropologist

Marshal of the RAF Cyril Newall, 1st Baron Newall (1886–1963), Air Member for Supply and Organisation, 1935–1937, Chief of the Air Staff, 1937–1940, and Governor-General of New Zealand, 1940–1946

Lieutenant-Colonel Stewart Blacker (1887–1964), soldier and weapons designer

Admiral Sir Robert Burnett (1887–1959), Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic, 1944–1946, and Flag Officer Plymouth, 1946–1950

William Rowan (1891–1957), ornithologist

Air Vice-Marshal Sir Paul Maltby (1892–1971), Air Officer Commanding Java, 1942, and Black Rod, 1946–1962

John Dudley North (1893–1968), aircraft designer

Sir Percivale Liesching (1895–1973), Permanent Under-Secretary, Ministry of Food, 1946–1948, Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations, 1949–1955, and High Commissioner in South Africa, 1955–1958

Sir Karl Parker (1895–1992), art historian and Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, 1945–1962

Harold Abrahams (1899–1978), sprinter, long jumper, barrister and civil servant

Jack Beresford (1899–1977), oarsman and coach

J. D. Bernal (1901–1971), physicist

Vice-Admiral John Hughes-Hallett (1901–1972), naval officer, amphibious warfare expert and politician

Sir Bob Dixon (1904–1965), Principal Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary, 1943–1948, UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations, 1954–1960, and Ambassador to France, 1960–1965

Torin Thatcher (1905–1981), actor

Charles Dent (1911–1976), physician and biochemist

Joseph Godber, Baron Godber of Willington (1914–1980), Minister of Labour, 1963–1964, and Secretary of State for Agriculture, 1972–1974

Joe Chamberlin (1919–1978), architect and town planner

Leo Oakley (1925–1981), England rugby player

Sir Peter Parker (1924–2002), chairman of British Rail, 1976–1983

John Fowles (1926–2005), author

Frank Adams (1930–1989), Fielden Professor of Mathematics, University of Manchester, 1964–1970, and Lowndean Professor of Astronomy and Geometry, University of Cambridge, 1970–1989

Budge Rogers (born 1933), England rugby player

Michael De-la-Noy (1934–2002), author, journalist and gay-rights activist

Michael Morris, Baron Naseby (born 1936), politician

Quentin Skinner (born 1940), Regius Professor of Modern History, University of Cambridge, 1996–

Paddy Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon (born 1941), leader of the Liberal Democrats, 1988–1999

Sir Gerry Neale (born 1941), politician

John Carlisle (born 1942), politician

Bob Clay (born 1946), politician

Lucien Jenkins (born 1957), writer and editor

Jeff Hilson (born 1966), poet

Martin Bayfield (born 1966), England rugby player

Al Murray (born 1968), comedian

Joel Beckett (born 1973), actor

Andy Gomarsall (born 1974), England rugby player

David Lloyd Vitty (born 1974), Radio 1 presenter

Dan Wheldon (born 1978), racing driver, Indianapolis 500 winner in 2005

David Callam (born 1983), Scotland rugby player

Alastair Cook (born 1984), cricketer
Military


General Sir Walter Braithwaite (1865–1945), Adjutant-General to the Forces, 1927–1931

Field Marshal Sir Cyril Deverell (1874–1947), Chief of the Imperial General Staff, 1936–1937

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Michael Le Fanu (1913–1970), Director-General, Naval Weapons, 1958–1960, Controller of the Navy, 1961–1965, Commander-in-Chief, Middle East, 1965–1968, and First Sea Lord, 1968–1970

Air Vice-Marshal Sir Sefton Brancker (1877–1930), Director-General of Civil Aviation, 1922–1930, and victim of R101 disaster

Major-General Sir Hubert Huddleston (1880–1950), Commandant, Sudan Defence Force and General Officer Commanding Sudan, 1925–1930, and Governor-General of the Sudan, 1940–1947

Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Burnett (1882–1945), Air Officer Commanding British Forces in Iraq, 1932–1935, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Royal Air Force Training Command, 1936–1939, and Chief of the Air Staff, Royal Australian Air Force, 1939–1942

General Sir Sidney Kirkman (1895–1982), General Officer Commanding, 50th (Northumbrian) Division, 1942–1944, and XIII Corps, 1944–1945, Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff, 1945–1947, and Quartermaster-General to the Forces, 1947–1950

Marshal of the RAF Sir Thomas Pike (1906–1983), Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, 1953–1956, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Fighter Command, 1956–1959, Chief of the Air Staff, 1960–1964, and Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, 1964–1967
Victoria Cross Holders

Four Old Bedfordians have won the

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