Badminton School

Infobox UK school
name = Badminton School


size = 150px
latitude =
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motto = "Pro Omnibus Quisque, Pro Deo Omnes"
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established = 1858
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closed =
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type = Independent, Day & Boarding
religion = Non-denominational
president =
head_label = Headmistress
head = Mrs Jan A. Scarrow
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chair =
founder = Mrs William Badock
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street = Westbury Road
city = Bristol
county = Bristol
country = England flagicon|England
postcode = BS9 3BA
LEA =
ofsted = SC026660
staff = 45 full-time, 30 part-time
enrollment = ~420
gender = Girls
lower_age = 4
upper_age = 18
houses = Badock, Baker, Burke, Murray, Rendall, Webb-Johnson
colours = Blue & White color box|#0000FFcolor box|#FFFFFF
publication =
free_label_1 = Former students
free_1 = Old Badmintonians
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website = http://www.badmintonschool.co.uk/
website_name = www.badmintonschool.co.uk

Badminton School is an independent, day and boarding school for girls aged 4 to 18 years situated in Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, England. The school consistently performs well in the government's league tables, particularly at A level. [ [http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/cgi-bin/performancetables/school_07.pl?No=8016003&Mode=Z&Type=SC&Phase=1&Year=07&Base=b&Num=801 DCSF Achievement and Attainment tables 2007] ]

According to the "Good Schools Guide", "The secret of the school's success is in its size and a good deal of individual attention." [http://www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/school/badminton-school.html]

School history

Mrs William Badock established a school for girls in 1858 at Badminton House in Clifton. By 1898 it was known as Miss Bartlett's School for Young Ladies [ [http://www.bristolinformation.co.uk/srch/srchit.asp?list=list&gdoc=ed&howmany=200 Directory listing of Bristol schools] ]

Unusually for the time the school developed a broad curriculum and extra curricular activities, including sport, were encouraged. The School grew steadily in size and in 1924 moved to the present site, under the Headship of Miss Beatrice May Baker (1876–1973).

Miss Baker (known as BMB) [At Badminton with BMB by Those Who Were There, ed. Jean Storry (Badminton School, 1982)] was fundamental in shaping Badminton’s ethos and was a deep personal influence on individual pupils [ [http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3262 White, Frances Clare Patricia. "Dame Iris Murdoch". The Literary Encyclopedia. 18 November 2006. Accessed 2 July 2008] ] . She encouraged the girls to be aware of world affairs and internationalism [Inventing International Citizenship: Badminton School and the Progressive Tradition between the Wars, Christopher Watkins (History of Education, Volume 36, Issue 3 May 2007 , pages 315 - 338)] . She was a pioneer in many educational fields establishing Badminton as a much admired Progressive school [The Independent Progressive School By Hubert Alwyn Thomas Child (Hutchinson 1962)] She insisted on the rights of young people to freedom of expression and encouraged a questioning approach to learning: "in chapel 'Jesus often had to share the stage with Lenin'" [ [http://www.oup.com/oxforddnb/info/prelims/contents/07c/preface/#2 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography] ] . The international outlook she pioneered continues to this day.

In 1958, the school celebrated its centenary with the opening of a new Science Centre by Countess Mountbatten of Burma. Dame Sybil Thorndike was President of the School at that time and a new cantata called "The Crown of the Year" by Michael Tippett was specially commissioned to mark the event.

By the late 1960's the progressive aspects of the school had all but vanished [Alternatives To School, Royston Lambert speech at Exeter University 19th November 1971] and it became a standard independent academic school.

Notable alumnae

* Claire Bloom - Actress
* Indira Gandhi - ex-Prime Minister of India
* Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein - Daughter of King Hussein I of Jordan
* Phyllida Law - Actress
* Dame Iris Murdoch - Writer
* Rosamund Pike - Actress
* Polly Toynbee - Journalist

References

External links

* [http://www.badmintonschool.co.uk/ Badminton School website]
* [http://www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/school/badminton-school.html Profile at the Good Schools Guide]