Magnus Bashaarat, head of the 37,000-a-year Bedales, said he liked the idea of a national education system without the dichotomy between state and independent schools but that Bedales could not be subject to the. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Ultimately, government must trust teachers with the business of education.. GU32 2DG, Reception Applying to independent schoolscan vary significantly depending on whichinstitutiona child is hoping to attend, and the process can be both complex and stressful. E: admin@bedales.org.uk, Accessibility | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap | Cookies Policy | Privacy | Contact Us, Bedales Schools | Website Design by Oyster. To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account. The best seat in the house! However, many heads including some in private schools have said the GCSEs fail to provide a well-rounded education and put too much pressure on students. As well as core curriculum subjects, she is also receiving psychosocial support to assist her with any trauma she may have been exposed to while eeing their homes from the civil war in Syria, Sara and her family visit Beirut on our nal day in Lebanon. He says: Real-time, three-dimensional contact is irreplaceable, and seeing the reaction and emotion of students in person and the joy when that sacred connection was restored once we opened the school again was incredible. On the flip side, he observes that many of this summers school leavers are planning gap years because the prospect of some undergraduate courses being delivered online in the new university year is so unpalatable. Since then she has faced many adversaries with her friends and has won with their help. She is known for Our River.Our Sky (2021), Night Shapes (1999) and Homeland (2011). To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account. We are currently looking at precisely these issues as we seek to expand our Benenden Diploma, our highly successful curriculum for pupils in Year 7 and 8. Rather, Magnus believes we should build on the re-emergence of teacher assessment drawing upon a range of evidence, resulting from the COVIDpandemic and the cancellation of exams. The full Bedales response to the Pearson consultation can be read here. Steep But Mr Bashaarat condemned the state systems focus on the stultifying effects of competitive examinations and the importance of social background to academic achievement. Mr Bashaarat also said the unholy triumvirate of Boris Johnson, David Cameron and Jacob Rees-Mogg had made the Eton brand toxic and that the number of prime ministers coming from the same school was a legitimate concern. Privacy Policy. The head of a 37,000-a-year private school said he would rather shut down the institution than turn it over to the state system. ActorDaniel Day Lewis also attended the school. Catherine Lough. Myriam Abbas. It really is the moment to rethink assessment and overhaul the outdated national curriculum.. The comments below have not been moderated. Currently our. Rishi Sunak warns MPs they can't trust 'Mr 2nd Referendum' Keir Starmer on Brexit in meeting with backbench DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Rishi Sunak's vaunted Brexit deal could be a landmark achievement, Rishi's deal gives Brexit a second chance. Bedales is situated just one hour's journey from London, and has a linked prep school, Dunhurst and pre-prep, Dunannie. 'This approach enables students to concentrate on the complex business of learning, developing and becoming their own person.'. Predictions for the future of GCSE and ALevel gradesfollowing the coronavirus pandemic. We launched BACs in 2006 as an outward-looking alternative to some non-core GCSEs. Deserves to be heard by a bigger audience. Now it is a guided drafting and grading process on a shared online space that cannot get eaten by the dog.. He concludes: This year has taught us that many students have fared better when the high-stakes terminal assessments have been replaced by evidence of achievement spread over a much longer time. Church Road In contrast, our Diploma has been designed to enable pupils to make exciting and innovative links between subjects through a series of enquiry projects and themes. This website uses cookies to improve user experience. Lucas suggests that other subjects matter too in helping to facilitate the necessary habits of mind. Winchester T: 01730 300100 At Bedales we have been offering our own Bedales Assessed Courses (BACs) alongside GCSEs for many years; they are recognised by UCAS and liked by universities and employers alike. A vocal critic of GCSEs, Mr Bashaarat has previously called them a high stakes pub quiz. Discover whichGCSEs,A Levelsand BTECsare available to study atthe school, alongside their ownBedalesAssessed Courses. Keith Budge - the longest serving Bedales headteacher with the exception of its founder John Badley - is to step down after 17 years at the helm next summer. He said he would rather the famously progressive institution closed than 'sacrifice everything good that we do', adding that school should be 'a preparation for life', not just for a job. In 2016 former Education Secretary, Lord Baker decried the squeezing out of creative and technical subjects in our schools, and alongside the usual curricular suspects, argued that young people should study a technical subject such as design and technology or a BTEC, and a creative option such as a GCSE in art or drama. He said GCSEs should be scrapped by the Government altogether, but added that in the meantime private schools were slowly moving away from the qualification. Disingenuously, ministers have dismissed this history as a progressive aberration.. Hampshire Headteacher Magnus Bashaarat has spurned GCSEs for alternatives that are largely teacher-assessed. However, we dont need another change to the exam system in order to achieve this. Our termly magazine covers every stage of your childs schooling, with top education journalists and stellar heads giving you the inside track on what matters in education. Sitting on a swing in Beirut, she hopes for a better future built on a good education and psychosocial support made possible by EAA and UNRWA, Sara has dreams of moving to Canada, Europe or the Gulf states where she can study in English and eventually become a doctor. 'Mr Bashaarat is highly experienced and joins us having been Headmaster of Milton Abbey School and, most recently, Bedales. I'm sure everyone appreciates how challenging the last 18 months have been for everyone, especially teachers. After a one-year teaching sabbatical at Sydney Grammar School he returned to Eton to become a Housemaster before moving to Stowe School as Deputy Head in 2009 and then Milton Abbey School as Headmaster, in January 2014. Bedales Head Magnus Basharaat has responded to a major consultation conducted by exam board Pearson Future of Qualifications and Assessment steered by an expert panel including former education secretaries Damian Hinds, Baroness Morris and Lord Blunkett. Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore's family say the actor, 61, has 'no further hope' after going into a Ed Sheeran reveals wife Cherry was diagnosed with tumour while pregnant which couldn't be treated until Matt Hancock was warned it was 'inhumane' to impose restrictions on visiting care homes and elderly were at Jacob Rees-Mogg 'had a Covid test for one of his children couriered to his home amid a shortage', according Time to veto keto? Bedales Senior, Pupils at Bedales Prep, Dunhurst took part in the Royal Society for the, The Spring term may have only started a few weeks ago, but children at Bedales, In a piece published by School Management Plus, Head of Bedales Will Goldsmith, U10/U11 Girls' Hockey v Ripley Court (A), U13 Basketball v Frensham and St Edmunds (H), Lessons from the pandemic - Magnus Bashaarat in The Week, Bedales Prep, Dunhurst takes part in RSPB Big Schools Birdwatch, Curriculum enriching trips at Bedales Pre-prep, History and Philosophy, Religion & Ethics. 'You've had your day - it's time to make way for someone younger': BBC icon Angela Rippon, 78, reveals how Headmaster would rather close down Bedales than take it into state system | News | The Times, Do not sell or share my personal information. In most senior schools, pupils of this age will have many unrelated lessons across a week, where the content within each subject is not linked to other subjects. Magnus is enthusiastic about some of the possibilities revealed by schools migration to online learning for example the shared real-time editing of written work using SharePoint. If the government were to follow his lead, he says, we could still prevent a grading disaster next year . 'GCSEs are no discriminator. Mr Bashaarat said the school had been offering BACs for over 10 years and it doesnt mean that there are fewer offers made to university applicants at all. Please, Magnus Bashaarat said the school could not be subject to the national curriculum. The subjects are diverse science students might want to act or draw; alternatively they may want to deepen their major disciplinary interest through an extended project. T: 01730 300100 The start of the pandemic saw some independent schools delivering their curricula online to a paying customer base beyond their usual rolls. Bedalesis situated just one hours journey from London, andhas a linked prep school,Dunhurstand pre-prep,Dunannie. Academic & Curriculum, It is encouraging that many of the new universities offer imaginative programmes in emerging creative and technological fields, and are similarly broad-minded in their entry requirements. We are now working hard to expand this connective approach to learning into the GCSE years. But it has emerged that school governors at Bedales asked him to resign his HMC role in order to dedicate more time to the school during his final year as headmaster, helping with the transition to his successor, Magnus Bashaarat. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. 'Were I to be given the ultimatum that Bedales be made a state school, and that it should follow the national curriculum and policymakers' preoccupations with the transfer of knowledge and disregard for humanities and the arts, I would have to decline. This can be achieved by schools connecting content across subjects and linking it to overarching concepts, engaging questions and real life problems, as we are currently doing at Benenden. DISCLAIMER: I hereby declare that I do not own the. Magnus concludes: As we consider a world no longer dominated by the threat of COVID, we must aim higher than simply returning to what we knew. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Saras family cannot aord to buy luxuries like meat on the $260 per month cash vouchers they receive from UNRWA and therefore their meals only consists of rice, potatoes and salad, Sara is a beneciary of Educate A Child, a programme of the Education Above All Foundation. The head of a private school has said he would rather close down than see it become part of the state system. However, they are notoriously unreliable, and there is powerful evidence that the status quo does a disservice to applicants from the state sector and disadvantaged families. Sparkford Road Inevitably, the transition has not been seamless and another disruption to the exam system at the moment is the last thing young people and teachers need. 'Where others imposed conformity, Bedales nurtured individuality, initiative and an enquiring mind,' its website states. A leading co-educational day and boarding school for ages 13-18, Bedales offers A levels and GCSEs as well as their own Bedales Assessed Courses. I would rather we shut our doors,' Mr Bashaarat said. School should be a preparation for life, rather than a job, Mr Bashaarat insisted. They leave Bedales well-positioned to meet the changing priorities and requirements of todays higher education and work environments, and I would like to see the same for all of our young people. The current climate on educational qualifications and job prospects, and the influence thatBedalesschool has on this. Magnus has been Head of Bedales Schools since September 2018. To build a broader coalition of support for exam reform from like-minded educationalists, politicians and business people, Bedales has played a central role in founding the Rethinking Assessment group. Magnus Bashaarat, of the 37,000-a-year Bedales in Hampshire, made the claim in. Courses have been made tougher with extra content, and in some subjects like English Literature there is a greater emphasis on memorising poems and quotations. Inside the forest palace 'Putin shares with his gymnast lover and their secret children': Luxury estate Vanessa Bryant settles with LA County for $28,850,000 over misuse of photos from helicopter crash that What does the 1st March say for MY star sign? I suspect that the authors might like what we are doing at Bedales, first, through the introduction of BACs (Bedales Assessed Courses) as an alternative to GCSEs, and now with the introduction of the Enrichment Programme for Sixth Formers. This needs to be supported by a rigorous enrichment programme which is explicitly delivered in a way that nurtures soft skills. Magnus Bashaarat, the head of Bedales School, says 'retro-traditional' GCSEs are outdated By Will Hazell Education Correspondent January 26, 2020 6:00 pm (Updated July 10, 2020 4:51 pm) More. The school,founded in 1893, advertises itself as being 'different' from the schools of its time. Mumsnet carries some affiliate marketing links, so if you buy something through our posts, we may get a small share of the sale (more details here). Magnus Bashaarat told i that retro-traditional GCSEs were terribly past their sell-by-date. Rishi Sunak looked like he had won the lottery. A large number of students change school at 16, and to proceed without any qualifications would not be helpful for the next establishment they enter, whether this is a school, a Sixth Form college or a further education college. It recommended replacing GCSEs and A-Levels with a diploma covering both academic and vocational pathways, allowing for their combination. 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The school (pictured) advertises itself as being 'different' from the schools of its time, having been founded in 1893, Mr Bashaarat, whose school's alumni include presenter Kirstie Allsopp (left) and singer Lily Allen (right), said Bedales could not become subject to the national curriculum or 'policymakers' preoccupations' with competitive exams and rote learning, He called the conversation about integration 'timely and necessary', but added:'We in the UK have an awfully long way to go before schools such as mine might operate in mainstream education without sacrificing everything good that we do.'. I support the ongoing reforms: the overriding effort to further raise standards is a laudable one. By continuing to use this website youare giving consent to cookies being used. The latest Tweets from Magnus Bashaarat (@MagnusBashaarat) Tweet with a location. Pearson consultation | Bedales Assessed Courses | Rethinking Assessment | Magnus Bashaarat, Bedales School With appropriate moderation, this would play to strengths already present in our education system. We all need to work towards this together. Magnus explains that the school considers the national curriculum and associated qualification regime to be prescriptive, dull, narrow and inadequate, and points to the growing dissatisfaction with GCSEs, increasingly considered redundant given the raising of the school leaving age to 18, and governments fixation with exams. We have noticed that there is an issue with your subscription billing details. Whilst assessment is important it should not mean an exclusive reliance on terminal exams. I think theyre terribly past their sell-by-date.. Sydenham High School on navigating change, The King Alfred School on real-world learning. Don't miss an issueSubscribe and save.Subscribe. Discover whatisnearby for students to enjoyduring the weekends, and more about the location. Magnus Bashaarat, head of Bedales school in Steep, Hampshire,hit out at a Labour motion to integrate all private schools into the government system and have their assets redistributed - a proposition that was passed last week at the party's conference. She attends King Acadamy as a sophomore in Dorchester in Boston, but when duty calls, she puts up a cover story to be . At last months party conference, Labour voted to scrap private schools, redistribute their assets among state schools and end their charitable status and tax privileges. MrBashaarat, whose school's alumni include actor Daniel Day Lewis, presenter Kirstie Allsopp and singer Lily Allen, said Bedales could not become subject to the national curriculum or 'policymakers' preoccupations' with competitive exams, The Times reported. Another private school head has added its weight to a growing independent school campaign pushing for GCSEs to be replaced with broader, alternative courses. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. If your child is applying toindependent schools, this interview provides a powerful insight into the current independent school climate, and the kind of experiences your child can expect comparedto other education systems. I'm sure everyone appreciates how challenging the last 18 months have been for everyone, especially teachers. 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