Badminton School
{{Short description|Girls' school in Bristol, England}}
{{use British English|date=October 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}
{{Infobox school
| name = Badminton School
| logo = Badminton School logo.png
| logo_size = 150px
| image = Badminton School Lodge, Bristol (geograph 3207215).jpg
| caption = The school lodge and gates
| motto = {{Langx|la|Pro Omnibus Quisque, Pro Deo Omnes}}
| motto_translation = Each for all, and all for God
| address = Westbury Road
| city = Bristol
| county =
| postcode = BS9 3BA
| country = England
| coordinates = {{Coord|51.48557|-2.617705|type:edu_region:GB_dim:100|format=dec|display=inline,title}}
| type = Private boarding and day school
| established = {{Start date and age|1858}}
| founder = Miriam Badock
| closed =
| oversight =
| local_authority = Bristol City Council
| urn = 109337
| ofsted =
| chair_label =
| chair =
| staff =
| enrollment = 550
| capacity = 550
| gender = Girls
| lower_age = 4
| upper_age = 18
| houses = {{Hlist|Badock|Baker|Burke|Murray|Rendall|Webb-Johnson (Webb-J)}}
| colours =
| publication =
| free_label_1 = Alumnae
| free_1 = Old Badmintonians
| website = {{URL|www.badmintonschool.co.uk}}
}}
Badminton School is a private boarding and day school for girls aged 4 to 18 years situated in Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, England. Named after Badminton House in Clifton, Bristol, where it was founded, the school has been located at its current site since 1924 and consistently performs well in the government's league tables, particularly at A-Level.
{{cite web
|url=https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/109337
|title=Badminton School
|publisher=Government of the United Kingdom
|access-date=26 January 2009
}}
In 2008 the school was ranked third in the Financial Times top 1,000 schools.
{{cite web
|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/4193a52a-ec59-11dc-86be-0000779fd2ac,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2F4193a52a-ec59-11dc-86be-0000779fd2ac.html%3Fnclick_check%3D1&_i_referer=&nclick_check=1
|title=FT.com – In depth – FT top schools
|work=Financial Times
|access-date=26 January 2009
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304193827/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/4193a52a-ec59-11dc-86be-0000779fd2ac%2CAuthorised%3Dfalse.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2F4193a52a-ec59-11dc-86be-0000779fd2ac.html%3Fnclick_check%3D1&_i_referer=&nclick_check=1
|archivedate=4 March 2009
|url-status=live
}}
In the 2023 A-Levels, the school saw 48.5% of its candidates score A*/A.
{{cite web
|url=https://britannia-study.co.uk/boarding-schools/badminton-school-review/
|title=Badminton School: Reviews, Rankings, Fees, And More
|work=Britannia UK
}}
According to the Good Schools Guide, "The secret of the school's success is in its size and a good deal of individual attention."{{cite web
|url=http://www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/school/badminton-school.html
|title=Badminton School, Bristol – The Good School Guide
|publisher=goodschoolsguide.co.uk
|access-date=26 January 2009
|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110502073952/http://www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/school/badminton-school.html
|archivedate=2 May 2011
}}
School history
{{Location map
| Bristol
| lat = 51.48557| long = -2.617705
| label = Badminton School| caption = Badminton School, Bristol
}}
Miriam Badock established a school for girls in 1858 at Badminton House in Clifton, Bristol.{{cite book|title=Badminton School: The First 150 Years|first=Nigel|last=Watson|date=2008}} By 1898 it had become known as Miss Bartlett's School for Young Ladies.{{cite web |title=Our History |url=https://www.badmintonschool.co.uk/about-us/our-history |publisher=Badminton School |access-date=15 August 2018}}
The school developed a broad curriculum, and extracurricular activities, including sports, were encouraged which was unusual for the time. The school grew steadily in size, and in 1924 moved to the present site, under the headship of Beatrice May Baker (1876–1973). Baker, known as BMB,{{cite book|title=At Badminton with BMB by Those Who Were There|editor=Jean Storry|publisher=Badminton School|year=1982}} was fundamental in shaping Badminton's ethos and had a deep personal influence on individual pupils.
{{cite web
|url=http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3262
|title=Literary Encyclopedia: Dame Iris Murdoch
|publisher=litencyc.com
|access-date=26 January 2009
}}
She encouraged the girls to be aware of world affairs and internationalism.{{cite journal|last=Watkins|first=Christopher|date=May 2007|title=Inventing International Citizenship: Badminton School and the Progressive Tradition between the Wars|journal=History of Education|publisher=Routledge|volume=36|issue=3|pages=315–338|issn=1464-5130|doi=10.1080/00467600500419810|s2cid=144980232 }} A pioneer in many educational fields, she established Badminton as a much-admired progressive school.{{cite book|last=Child|first=Hubert Alwyn Thomas|title=The Independent Progressive School|publisher=Hutchinson|year=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{{'}}".
{{cite web
|url=http://www.oup.com/oxforddnb/info/prelims/contents/07c/preface/#2
|title=Preface to the online release, October 2007
|publisher=oup.com
|access-date=26 January 2009
}}
The international outlook she pioneered continues today.
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 1960s, the progressive aspects of the school had all but vanished (Royston Lambert speech at Exeter University, 19 November 1971){{cite book|last=Lambert|first=Royston|title=Alternatives To School|year=1972 |publisher=Exeter University Press|isbn=0-900771-36-4}} and it had become a standard independent academic school.
Old Badmintonians
{{See also|Category:People educated at Badminton School}}
Alumnae of the school are known as Old Badmintonians.
- Claire Bloom – actressfilm adaptations of plays on video By Thomas L. Erskine, James Michael Welsh, John C. Tibbetts.
- Midge Bruford – (9 April 1902 – 1958){{cite web |url=https://cornwallartists.org/cornwall-artists/midge-bruford |title=Midge Bruford |work=Cornwall Artists Index|access-date=13 February 2022}}
- Mary Fedden – artist
{{cite web
|url=http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/mary-fedden-1084
|title=Tate: Mary Fedden
|work=Tate Etc.
|access-date=21 February 2013
}}
- Indira Gandhi – Prime Minister of IndiaCarol Dommermuth-Costa, Indira Gandhi: Daughter of India.
- Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein – daughter of King Hussein I of JordanJordanian Royalty: Jordanian Princes, Jordanian Princesses, Jordanian Royal Consorts, Kings of Jordan, Recipients of Jordanian Royal Pardons.
- Jenny Joseph – poet {{Cite news |last=Brownjohn |first=Alan |date=2018-01-19 |title=Jenny Joseph obituary |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jan/19/jenny-joseph-obituary |access-date=2023-07-06 |issn=0261-3077}}
- Charlotte Leslie – Conservative Party MP for Bristol North West, 2010–2017
- Phyllida Law – actressNotes to My Mother-in-Law – P Law.
- Dame Iris Murdoch – writerIris Murdoch: A life — Peter J. Conradi.
- Rosamund Pike – actressRoger Ebert, Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2009.
- Unity Spencer (1930–2017), British artist{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/nov/23/unity-spencer-obituary|title=Unity Spencer obituary|first=Andrew|last=Lambirth|date=23 November 2017|newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=17 December 2017 }}
- Shirley Teed – artist{{cite web|author=|url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/obituaries/peter-teed-headmaster-and-shirley-teed-artist-1-9326867|title=Peter Teed, headmaster, and Shirley Teed, artist |date=1 September 2018|access-date=17 March 2019|work=The Yorkshire Post}}
- Polly Toynbee – journalistRank: picturing social order 1516–2009.
- Shirley Hopkins Civil – musician ,
{{cite web
|url=https://www.hornsociety.org/290-elections/756-hopkins-bio
|title=Shirley Hopkins Civil
|work=International Horn Society
}}
French Horn, Wagner Tuba specialist. Born 1933.
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://www.badmintonschool.co.uk/}}
- [http://www.isc.co.uk/schools/england/bristol/bristol/badminton-school Profile] on the ISC website
{{Education in Bristol}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Boarding schools in Bristol
Category:Girls' schools in Bristol
Category:Private schools in Bristol
Category:Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association
Category:Educational institutions established in 1858
Category:1858 establishments in England