NURSERY . PRE-PREP . PREP
WE ARE MORE THAN A SCHOOL
are Bede’s...
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Head’s Welcome
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More than a School
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Nursery
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Creative & Performing Arts
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Beyond the Classroom
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Sport
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The Power of Belonging
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Life at Bede’s
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Reception to Year 2
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The Next Chapter
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Years 3 to 6
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Next steps & how to apply
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Academic Life & Enrichment
... we are more than a School
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WELCOME TO BEDE’S
At Bede’s, we believe that education should be an adventure - one filled with spark, curiosity, and infinite possibilities. We are a vibrant, forwardthinking school where high academic standards go hand in hand with a deep commitment to childhood and personal growth. From their very first day, our pupils are encouraged to question, take risks, and think for themselves. Through a rich, inspiring curriculum and a vast “festival of opportunities” beyond the classroom, we help every child unearth their unique talents whether that is on the sports field, in the science lab, on the stage, or out in the forest.
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... value the journey as much as the destination Underpinned by our core values of compassion, courage, conscientiousness, and curiosity, our community is defined by warmth and mutual respect. Above all, we take the time to truly know every child. Supported by teachers who care deeply, our pupils grow into confident, resilient, and globallyminded young people who learn to celebrate success and view mistakes simply as stepping stones. Bede’s is a place where pupils feel empowered to be unapologetically themselves. I am immensely proud to lead such a kind, energetic community, and I warmly invite you to visit us, feel the joyful buzz of our school, and see what makes a Bede’s education so special.
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N U R S E RY WHERE IT ALL BEGINS
... make today matter most Before a child can read, they can wonder. Before they can write, they can question. Bede’s Nursery is built entirely around that idea. Open 51 weeks a year, our nursery is a warm, unhurried world for children from 3 months old. From our bespoke baby and toddler room through to our confident pre-schoolers, every child is known, loved, and endlessly encouraged. We follow the child. Our expert team watches how each child naturally plays, then builds a ‘schematic learning’ programme around their individual curiosity. Literacy and numeracy aren’t taught at Bede’s - they’re discovered.
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Life in the Nursery Home-cooked lunches, Beach School adventures on our clifftop doorstep. Forest School mornings, weekly swimming, and the kind of dance lessons that spill out into the corridors. The nursery at Bede’s isn’t just childcare - it’s the beginning of a life well-lived. And when they are ready to take their first steps into the Prep School - into the dining hall with its view of the sea, into the library, the music centre, the science labs - they’ll go with the one thing that matters most. Confidence.
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BEYOND THE CLASSROOM:
A Festival of Opportunity
The South Downs are out the back door. The English Channel is out the front. We’d be doing something wrong if we kept every lesson indoors. At Bede’s, the natural world isn’t a backdrop - it’s a curriculum. Our Beach and Forest Schools are woven into the fabric of every child’s week, from nursery right through to Year 6.
... learn beyond the Classroom
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Forest School Beach School A few hundred metres away, the coast becomes a living laboratory. Coastal erosion in Geography. Marine life in Science. A beach clean as an act of genuine compassion. The shore at Eastbourne has never been so educational.
Muddy boots. Campfire smoke. The quiet focus of a child who has just made fire for the first time. Our Forest School isn’t about comfort - it’s about capability. Under our specialist leaders, children build dens, safely handle tools, and discover that independence is something you earn, slowly and brilliantly, beneath the canopy.
Children who learn outdoors remember differently. They connect ideas to places, to smells, to cold hands and bright skies. We’re building a bank of memories - and a generation of young people who genuinely love the world they live in.
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THE POWER OF BELONGING
... turn Ambition into Reality You can’t teach a child you don’t know. That’s not an educational philosophy - it’s just obvious. And yet it’s rarer than you’d think. At Bede’s, every member of staff knows every child. Not just their name, by their fears, their ambitions, their passions. The football coach knows the anxious new starter. The librarian knows the reluctant reader. The head has time to listen.
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Vertical Integration
Transitions That Work
Open Doors - Literally
Our Section system means children don’t just join a school year group - they join a crossage community, a family within the family. Older pupils mentor younger ones. Quiet children find their tribe. Bold leaders learn the art of looking after someone smaller than them.
The move between key stages can be a wobble for any child. We smooth it deliberately: familiar faces in new places, extra support exactly when it’s needed. A child’s sense of belonging grows as they do.
Children don’t feel comfortable on a schedule. At Bede’s, any door is the right door. Whether your child gravitates to the Head’s office, the sports pitch, or the art room, there is always someone ready to listen and someone who already knows what they’re going to say.
‘The best schools don’t just educate children. They know them.’ 11
RECEPTION TO YEAR 2 T H E P R E-P R E P Y E AR S
The first day of school is one of the biggest moments in a family’s life. We treat it that way. Our Pre-Prep years are built around one big idea: that when children are genuinely excited to be in school, learning happens almost by accident. Our creative curriculum is designed to blur the line between play and discovery - because at this age, there shouldn’t be one.
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...create a place where every child is known One term, a Year 1 class might be sculpting clay fossils on a Tuesday, identifying rock pools on the beach on Wednesday, and performing a French play for parents on Friday. Nothing is ordinary. Everything is remembered.
There are specialist teachers in swimming, dance, and Forest School - including in our dedicated Holywell building with its famously magnificent ‘Pirate Ship’ playground. By Year 2, the senior labs and art studios beckon. The children don’t experience it as a step up. They experience it as a reward. ‘Learning is always more powerful when it feels like an adventure.’
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YEARS 3 TO 6 G R O W I N G U P AT B E D E ’ S
... inspire tomorrow’s thinkers, creators and problem solvers Growing up at Bede’s is a genuinely good time to be alive.
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Year 3 - Finding Your Feet
Year 4 - Finding Your Edge
The move into the main Prep School is handled with care. Specialist subjects begin, but every child returns to the security of their form teacher - the person who knows them best, who notices when something’s a little off, who quietly makes sure no one gets lost in the transition.
We swap the safety net for a compass. By now, children are ready to be challenged - and the highlight is a five-day residential trip that reliably produces muddy clothes, lifelong friendships, and a confidence boost that follows pupils throughout their time at the school.
Year 5 - Finding Your Passions Core subjects begin to be streamed and tailored. Maths challenges, theatre trips, and the first hints of genuine specialism. This is the year children start to surprise themselves.
Year 6 - Ready for Everything Form rooms give way to subject experts and independent thinking. Year 6 at Bede’s is designed as a launchpad - academic, social, emotional - so that our Year 6’s don’t just arrive at their next school. They arrive ready to lead it.
‘It’s not just a curriculum. It’s a childhood, done properly.’ 15
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ACADEMIC LIFE AND ENRICHMENT
Real Understanding Comes from Experience History isn’t just in textbooks at Bede’s - it’s in the immersive days when children handle real artefacts and step inside the story. Science means launching custom rockets from the clifftop. ICT means designing original software, not filling in worksheets. We believe that if a child understands something, they remember it. And if they remember it, they can build on it. Academic depth and genuine excitement are not competing values here - they’re the same ambition.
Finding Your Voice Oracy - the ability to speak with clarity, confidence, and purpose sits at the heart of our English curriculum. Bede’s children find their voices early: performing at the Globe Theatre, delivering TED-style talks, debating global policy at our Model United Nations. We believe that articulate children become articulate adults, and articulate adults change things.
For Those Who Want to Go Further National Mathematics Challenges, inter-school competitions, specialist masterclasses. For children who are hungry for more, there is always more.
For Those Who Need a Different Way In Every child arrives with a full assessment and a personal learning plan that follows them into every classroom, every lab, every sports session. We don’t ask children to fit the school. We fit the school to the child. ‘Excellence isn’t for a few children. It’s what we expect for every single one.’
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MORE THAN A SCHOOL
... transform doubt into daring The questions we ask of our pupils don’t stop at the classroom door. Who are you when no one’s marking you? What do you love when no one’s watching? Our co-curricular programme is enormous, deliberately varied, and completely child-led. Climbing wall or ceramics. Kayaking or origami. Coding or choral singing, or even the zoo at our Senior School in Upper Dicker. Children choose - and in choosing, they begin to understand themselves.
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From Studio to Stage The arts at Bede’s are not an afterthought. In the Art Studio, traditional kilns sit next to digital design suites. On our stages, everyone gets a turn in the spotlight: from nursery ballet and rock bands to Shakespeare and full-scale musical theatre. The courage it takes to perform in front of an audience is, we think, one of the most important things a school can teach.
From First Steps to National Finals We hold National Championships in football, hockey, and cricket. We also cheer just as loudly for the child who completes their first length of the pool. Our Sports Academies offer pathways to elite coaching; our ethos insists that every child - every single one - is worth coaching well.
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C R E AT I V E A N D PERFORMING ARTS
... turn curiosity into discovery Every child has something to express. At Bede’s, we spend a great deal of time helping them find out what it is.
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Art
Music
The studio is a place of genuine creative freedom. Pottery wheels. Traditional kilns. Digital graphic design. The only expectation is that children get their hands dirty and make something they’re proud of.
Pick up an instrument - any instrument. Our Music department is built on the belief that music-making changes people. Between InterSection competitions, year-round concerts, and the simple magic of an ensemble finding its sound, our young musicians discover something about themselves that goes far beyond the notes.
Dance Dance at Bede’s begins in the nursery and, for many, continues all the way through to the nationally recognised Legat Dance Academy. Ballet, tap, modern - whether for joy or for graded examinations, the focus is always on the beauty and energy of movement.
Drama From Pre-Prep plays to ambitious senior productions, every child gets a chance to stand in the light. LAMDA qualifications for those who want to pursue it seriously; a massive confidence boost for everyone else. It turns out that performing in front of an audience is terrifying and wonderful in almost equal measure - and entirely worth it.
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S P O R T AT B E D E ’ S
The roar of the crowd. The last-minute save. The moment a child who said ‘I’m not sporty’ runs onto the pitch and realises they absolutely are.
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...know learning is not just lessons Sport at Bede’s is for everyone. Yes, our trophy cabinet holds County, Regional, and National Championships across football, hockey, cricket, tennis, and swimming. But the achievement we’re most proud of is far simpler: every child at Bede’s, from Under-8s to Under-11s, gets expert coaching - the same level of coaching that produced our champions.
For those who want to push further, our Sports Academies provide a dedicated pathway to elite training, with access to the Senior School’s world-class facilities. For everyone else, our packed fixture list means that pulling on a Bede’s jersey and feeling the thrill of match day is a right, not a privilege. ‘Being active is, above all else, fun. We never let anyone forget that.’
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We know that modern family life is a balancing act, which is why our school day is designed around flexibility, convenience, and genuine care. Depending on your needs, the morning begins from 7.45am with our cozy Breakfast Club, where children settle into the day over a freshly cooked, hot breakfast to set them up until lunch! By the time the children reach the Prep School in Year 3 - Three afternoons a week, the timetable expands beyond the traditional classroom into our rich Co-Curricular programme. Built directly into the standard school day, these dedicated activity sessions give every pupil the space to explore new interests, unearth hidden talents, and discover what truly makes them tick. For families needing a longer day, our Late Stay provision provides a calm, structured space to unwind, complete with a nutritious, chef-prepared hot supper crafted by our award-winning catering team. To ease the daily juggle, our comprehensive minibus network spans across Sussex - with late bus services running after activities - ensuring your child arrives and returns home safely, comfortably, and ready for the day ahead.
...welcome muddy shoes and bright ideas 24
L I F E AT B E D E ’ S
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Senior School. s e’ ed B at 8 & 7 r New Yea 7 Opening September 202 26
THE NEXT CHAPTER
From September 2027, families leaving Bede’s Prep at Year 6 will have a choice. A genuinely good one.
Bede’s Senior School, Upper Dicker
Bede’s Upper School, Eastbourne
For pupils ready for a larger stage - a sprawling campus in the heart of the Sussex countryside, a wide social world, professional-standard facilities, and a broad GCSE and A-Level offer. Academically rigorous, creatively rich, and backed by the Bede’s values our children already live by.
For pupils who thrive in a smaller, more familiar environment - our Upper School, right here on the Prep School site. The same high academic standards. A more intimate community. A focused curriculum. And, because it’s a leaner model by design, a more accessible price point.
Neither path is the ‘better’ one. They’re just different - as children are different. What we can promise is this: whichever direction your child goes, they remain part of the Bede’s family. Known, valued, and brilliantly supported.
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EXPERIENCE THE DIFFERENCE
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There’s no entrance exam to sit and no trick questions to answer. Our admissions process begins with a conversation - about your child, about what they love, about what you’re hoping for. We offer Scholarships across a wide range of disciplines: Academic, Art, Dance, Drama, Music, and Sport. These aren’t simply financial awards. They’re an invitation to children to bring their talent to a community that will celebrate and develop It. Whether you’re enquiring about the nursery or a senior year entry, our admissions team is here to make the process simple, personal, and - above all - exciting. This is the beginning of something really good. Book an open morning, arrange a private visit, or simply pick up the phone. We’d love to meet you.
Arrange your personal visit. Experience the difference. prep.admissions@bedes.org | 01323 356939 | bedes.org
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are Bede’s...
We are WHERE EVERY CHILD FINDS JOY IN THEIR PURSUIT OF BRILLIANCE.
Arrange your personal visit. Experience the difference.
01323 356939 bedes.org