One Bradfield Many Bradfieldians
Bradfield College aims to educate the individual and focus on an individuals’ strengths and passions. It is a traditional school, founded in 1850 but with a modern and forward – looking approach to education. Whilst it offers IB, A level and GCSE options it also has it’s own courses such as the Faulkner’s curriculum for Year 9 pupils, where it looks at skills and strengths needed for life in the 21st century.
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It sits in an historic village of some 2000 inhabitants which is located west of Reading, about 45 minute car journey from Heathrow airport and half an hour from Reading railway station, itself a major railway hub with excellent links into London. It is, therefore in a great location for travel logistics and also for exploring England, with Oxford less than an hour away by car.
Bradfield College is a medium to large boarding school with over 800 pupils, of which the vast majority are boarders with just over 100 day children. There are 4 girls boarding houses of around 70 girls in each whilst the 7 boys’ houses tend to be smaller with around 50+ per house. Relatively uniquely Bradfield has a Boarding House for all the Year 9 pupils, both boys and girls where they begin their Bradfield career before moving into one of the other boarding Houses for their remaining 4 years. Around about 60 children have English as a Second Language support so whilst there are a number of overseas pupils it is essentially a very British boarding school. It is a genuinely impressive school in what it provides and what the children achieve and there is an excellent balance of academic, sport, music, drama and community / charitable activities. This allows for the pupils to find their own area of interest and to discover new ones. It even has a Greek style amphitheatre and performs a Greek play every three years.
Bradfield College has a strong sporting reputation and competes well locally and nationally in a range of sports. It is very good at Football, and plays matches against all the strongest schools in school fixtures and in ISFA competitions. This focus does not come at the cost of ignoring those not in the top teams and it fields B,C,D and E teams on a regular basis. There is a fully committed programme for Girl’s Football as well and plenty of pitches for training and matches.
Tennis Bradfield College fields 42 teams throughout the academic year in block fixtures, Classic Clashes and LTA Schools Competitions. Pupils train on a weekly basis coached by 6 dedicates coaches. Tennis facilities include an indoor tennis centre. Bradfield offers Performance Players who are looking towards scholarships in the USA a weekly programme of up to ten hours per week plus a dedicated Strength and Conditioning programme.
Golf is another sport that is well-served with the school’s own 9 hole course, along with it’s own resident professional golf instructor and an Indoor Swing Studio. A full range of other sports are also available, in line with the principle of pupils following their individual passions and interests in preparation for making a difference to society after leaving school. The school has a modern, double-sized sports hall and a strength and conditioning suite.
Academically strong the College offers A level and IB and accordingly achieves excellent exam results in both exam systems. 2024 saw an IB average of 37 and 77% of pupils achieving A*AB grades. There is a big emphasis on the broader curriculum and a great deal of help and support for the pupils in terms of careers, helping also to develop the soft skills that will help employability in future years. The College’s vision is – ‘to enable our pupils to flourish personally and professionally beyond Bradfield and to make a positive contribution to their world’. Or as one former pupil expressed it ‘Bradfield enables its pupils to make a difference, not just to make a living’.
Richard Adams (Author), David Owen (politician) Tony Hancock (comedian), Benedict Allen (Explorer), Sir Timothy Ackroyd (Schauspieler)
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