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Bedale High School
Secondary · Maintained · Bedale
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Don’t go here
For the love of God, don't enrol your child at this school. My only regret in life is going to this place, where it turned into five years of hell. I was eager to leave. The staff either chose to ignore or responded to the regular bullying I received as if it was a silly joke. I received a depression diagnosis couple months after leaving so even though i was glad to have left, I was still struggling.
Bedale high school
I m very satisfied with the school i feel my son is well supported and ,i havent met one bad teacher yet
Good school
I really like it it’s a good school
bad and needs to be fixed
No prom or atleast hardly anyone gets to go, it’s the end of a long 5 years everyone should go not just who the teacher’s favouritise, head of behaviur is shocking etc
Welcome to Hell, Destination: You.
I'm going to say this flat out: If you're under the delusion that Bedale High School was ever good and that it got worse several years later, you are wrong. Bedale High School was always a horrible place and as an autistic student who was there in 2013-2014, I got it somewhat easier than most. I'm not sure what happened to Room 29 but I do remember it was one of the few safe places in that hellhole.
The corridors are claustrophobic and if you had anxiety like I did, then I'm sure that you would understand what it's like having to get to classes through crowded corridors every day. The uniforms while not bad looking was accompanied by these ugly black jumpers with a house logo on them and you weren't allowed to take the accursed thing off unless it was summer lest you get a detention.
Lessons were awful. Most of the time, you'd have to deal with disruptive students who were really obnoxious and teachers who'd stop the lesson to shout at them instead of just sending them out. Bullying was a common issue, and if you were considered special ed like I was, expect to be called nasty ableist slurs. I did nothing to these people, and I had no self-confidence, so I was unable to stand up for myself. And in the case of one science class, I had the misfortune of being placed next to a bespectacled jerk who stole my pencils with impunity because the science teacher didn't give care enough to do anything about it and it took months before he was moved to a different seat.
If you get bullied here, nobody will stand up for you because they're all selfish gits who only care for themselves. I never really learnt much of anything despite being what you'd call a "good student" and it's clear the lessons weren't about actual learning and were only about getting high marks in exams. Exams which in the grand scheme of things were ultimately worthless.
The teachers themselves tend to do little about bullying and tend to give detentions if you forgot to bring in your homework and other things. Get this, if you were lagging behind in grades, you'd have to take additional classes later in the year which meant you'd end up with detention slips because the school were too lazy to come with unique cards for that situation. For what it's worth, my English, Math and History teachers weren't too bad, and they at least tried to make things work but that wasn't enough to save this place.
General Studies was utterly useless, and the homework was a joke. IT was an utter joke and I had to request that I move seats because one student felt the need to pick on me. Science classes were actually the worst classes out of all of them and bear the brunt of my hatred. Math was needlessly frustrating, and English wasn't too bad though it was kinda boring. Art wasn't too bad even if the teacher was kind of controlling in what we could do. Life Skills was a Room 29/Special ED exclusive class which was one of the few lessons that wasn't awful in some way.
However, those lessons don't excuse the horrible experiences I had there. I had to spend every day there fearing that I would have a mental breakdown and hurt everyone around me. Hate was the power that got me through the hell known as Bedale High School. That place was a nightmare and the few good moments I had there don't change that. Back then, outside of the school didn't have a prison-like gate so there was some illusion of freedom there and the place at least had some maintenance, so it wasn't falling apart.
Assemblies were useless and really boring. The only one that seemed even remotely interesting had "Always Look on the Bright of Life" playing which is exactly what you'll need to do after you finally leave that hellhole.
At least Room 29 students were allowed to go to the gym which was better than the PE that "normal" students got. Oh yeah and if you're a Mowbray School student who naively joined during Year 10 because of how good Year 9 English seemed, then welcome to hell. I honestly feel bad for the staff of Room 29 because there were one of the few who weren't apathetic as all hell towards the suffering of their students.
It shouldn't come as a surprise to me that the students I had the misfortune sharing classes with grew up to be horrible, obnoxious self-centred people who are also miserable, having to use social media to pretend they have some semblance of happiness. It wouldn't surprise me if all the people in relationships are secretly miserable, bored of their skulls and cheating on their SOs, longing for the days where their little high school "heaven" was the only thing that mattered to them.
It's even less of a surprise that the place seemed to have turned into a fascist hellhole that can't even maintain the illusion of competence it used to have or that the teachers are a bunch of creeps and bullies who couldn't care less about the students they're supposed to protect several years after I left.
Then again back when I was there, the English teacher was accused of trying to seduce a male student and or that one of the TAs was rumored to be sleeping with male students and later quit to become a dietician.
It's also not a surprise that it has several controversies and high turnover rates due to the headmasters somehow being even worse than the one I had (even though he himself didn't seem too bad)
There is nothing of worth in Bedale High School. Your soul will be tarred in hate and darkness as you live in the nightmare until it ends. Anxiety, Fear and Hate shall crawl on your back as each lesson seems to be worse than the last. You will wish you never set foot in Bedale High School. Welcome to Hell, Destination: You.
The corridors are claustrophobic and if you had anxiety like I did, then I'm sure that you would understand what it's like having to get to classes through crowded corridors every day. The uniforms while not bad looking was accompanied by these ugly black jumpers with a house logo on them and you weren't allowed to take the accursed thing off unless it was summer lest you get a detention.
Lessons were awful. Most of the time, you'd have to deal with disruptive students who were really obnoxious and teachers who'd stop the lesson to shout at them instead of just sending them out. Bullying was a common issue, and if you were considered special ed like I was, expect to be called nasty ableist slurs. I did nothing to these people, and I had no self-confidence, so I was unable to stand up for myself. And in the case of one science class, I had the misfortune of being placed next to a bespectacled jerk who stole my pencils with impunity because the science teacher didn't give care enough to do anything about it and it took months before he was moved to a different seat.
If you get bullied here, nobody will stand up for you because they're all selfish gits who only care for themselves. I never really learnt much of anything despite being what you'd call a "good student" and it's clear the lessons weren't about actual learning and were only about getting high marks in exams. Exams which in the grand scheme of things were ultimately worthless.
The teachers themselves tend to do little about bullying and tend to give detentions if you forgot to bring in your homework and other things. Get this, if you were lagging behind in grades, you'd have to take additional classes later in the year which meant you'd end up with detention slips because the school were too lazy to come with unique cards for that situation. For what it's worth, my English, Math and History teachers weren't too bad, and they at least tried to make things work but that wasn't enough to save this place.
General Studies was utterly useless, and the homework was a joke. IT was an utter joke and I had to request that I move seats because one student felt the need to pick on me. Science classes were actually the worst classes out of all of them and bear the brunt of my hatred. Math was needlessly frustrating, and English wasn't too bad though it was kinda boring. Art wasn't too bad even if the teacher was kind of controlling in what we could do. Life Skills was a Room 29/Special ED exclusive class which was one of the few lessons that wasn't awful in some way.
However, those lessons don't excuse the horrible experiences I had there. I had to spend every day there fearing that I would have a mental breakdown and hurt everyone around me. Hate was the power that got me through the hell known as Bedale High School. That place was a nightmare and the few good moments I had there don't change that. Back then, outside of the school didn't have a prison-like gate so there was some illusion of freedom there and the place at least had some maintenance, so it wasn't falling apart.
Assemblies were useless and really boring. The only one that seemed even remotely interesting had "Always Look on the Bright of Life" playing which is exactly what you'll need to do after you finally leave that hellhole.
At least Room 29 students were allowed to go to the gym which was better than the PE that "normal" students got. Oh yeah and if you're a Mowbray School student who naively joined during Year 10 because of how good Year 9 English seemed, then welcome to hell. I honestly feel bad for the staff of Room 29 because there were one of the few who weren't apathetic as all hell towards the suffering of their students.
It shouldn't come as a surprise to me that the students I had the misfortune sharing classes with grew up to be horrible, obnoxious self-centred people who are also miserable, having to use social media to pretend they have some semblance of happiness. It wouldn't surprise me if all the people in relationships are secretly miserable, bored of their skulls and cheating on their SOs, longing for the days where their little high school "heaven" was the only thing that mattered to them.
It's even less of a surprise that the place seemed to have turned into a fascist hellhole that can't even maintain the illusion of competence it used to have or that the teachers are a bunch of creeps and bullies who couldn't care less about the students they're supposed to protect several years after I left.
Then again back when I was there, the English teacher was accused of trying to seduce a male student and or that one of the TAs was rumored to be sleeping with male students and later quit to become a dietician.
It's also not a surprise that it has several controversies and high turnover rates due to the headmasters somehow being even worse than the one I had (even though he himself didn't seem too bad)
There is nothing of worth in Bedale High School. Your soul will be tarred in hate and darkness as you live in the nightmare until it ends. Anxiety, Fear and Hate shall crawl on your back as each lesson seems to be worse than the last. You will wish you never set foot in Bedale High School. Welcome to Hell, Destination: You.
Definitely don't recommend
As a former student I would like to make people aware of how bullying and harassment was dealt with as a female student.Bullying was considered 'girl drama' and harassment was just boys being boys and anything that was reported was never resolved and the people doing the harassing never got any punishments.Pretty much ended up with some form of trauma after going through this school and I would never want anyone else to go through what I went through.The food was low quality and the classrooms were basically falling apart and the school had barely any funding to the point where teachers were worrying about not being able to afford a single glue stick.
Wouldn't recommend
Wasn't great, I joined at the start of Year 10, and I can't really say I learned anything (from the teachers/lessons anyway). In fact, I'm fairly certain I became dumber, at least compared to when I first arrived. The only positive I can name is the fact I met my (current) friends here, who taught me a lot, definitely more so than the teachers. I can't say it was a fun experience, however it's still somehow worse than my previous school, so points for that I guess. Please, consider homeschooling your child before this place
Tread with Caution
On the surface level, it is safe from knife and gang-related crime however it is far from perfect.
I attended BHS from 2016 to 2021 similarly to many of my fellow reviews. In this period there were 3 headteachers.
-
The first might as well of encouraged bullying as they didn't punish students consistently and there were multiple occasions where students bullied and even assault their peers with little to no consequences. The toilet protest also happened during this time.
-
The second clearly prioritised keeping their "saviour of the broken (schools)" appearance changing a lot of key aspects of the establishment in the process. They brought in stricter rules and a severely flawed uniform. Bullying was still rampant.
-
The third had similar pride issues and wanted to continue the work of the 2nd although the issues with the management of bullying were barely touched. Once even quoting "bullying happens everywhere we can't stop it".
The school is severely understaffed causing staff to teach multiple subjects and often not have a long-term classroom. This understaffing also meant the blind spots (places in which the architecture obstructed some of the outdoor areas) were overlooked and were risks for students hiding away from the supervisors to carry out things they otherwise wouldn't be able to.
The school's budget is presumably low as well, as the school stopped being able to use an entire building (which previously had music, art, language, and science classrooms alongside a well-sized library). The heating in the cafeteria was often not turned on which left students cold, made worse by the fact that students weren't allowed their coats/jackets/hoodies on in the building.
Some teachers ignored derogatory speech from students including but not limited to general degrading to homophobic, sexist, anti-disabled (ableist) and transphobic language. Some teachers also used outdated information when teaching important subjects such as a science teacher stating that AIDS and HIV are the same thing, it comes from gay sex and is a death sentence (which isn't necessarily correct). Amongst these bad eggs though there are some truly great teachers one notable example is Deputy Head Mr. Gill. This is the head of the history department and is a great teacher, he's polite and friendly and shows genuine care and interest in how the students are doing. His Lessons are accessible and interactive, engaging his students whilst showing off his genuine passion for teaching and history. He's not the only one but examples like this are still very uncommon here. The aforementioned verbal abuse is persistent ,frequently causing many students here to have declining mental health.
As an establishment, Bedale High School prides itself on creating a welcoming environment to get help on adolescent issues and mental health though this is mostly a facade. Often the student has to go way beyond their comfort zone to even begin to get help. Even if they do, the effort toward helping those who are struggling is irregular. Regardless if the desire to help their pupils is genuine, most staff still focus much too heavily on grades rather than the well-being of the individual with the grades. Furthermore, most students were not efficiently supported in times of the coronavirus pandemic and as an effect there is a large amount of Y12s (as of 2021-22) who are far behind in their college, apprenticeship and/or mental health progress.
The last thing I care to comment on is the uniform. To extend apon my prior mention on I'd like to explain some of it's issues. As a whole it is stiff and contrived, emphasising the "smart appearance" over the students' comfort. The blazer is hard to move in. Both skirt options have their issues: the pencil is also hard to move in and if pupils fold the waistband (so it sits higher resulting in less awkward movement) they are often slut shamed or punished, the other is way too flowy and comes completely up in the smallest of breezes never-mind the fact that the bundles of fabric are hard to keep down or not get caught on fences or hedges. The trousers are poorly sized and the tie is clip-on causing them to fall off, be broken or stolen very easily. Kelly has made it clear that his idea of presentable is "the only way to succeed in life". He believes that if you don't fit his standard of overpolished, conservative, Orwellian drones then you are an error. Any uniqueness is villianised whilst he falsely preaches to "not judge a book by its cover". The public perception of the school and the life inside are two different identities, but if you dare to do so:
Attend Oxymoron Academy.
I attended BHS from 2016 to 2021 similarly to many of my fellow reviews. In this period there were 3 headteachers.
-
The first might as well of encouraged bullying as they didn't punish students consistently and there were multiple occasions where students bullied and even assault their peers with little to no consequences. The toilet protest also happened during this time.
-
The second clearly prioritised keeping their "saviour of the broken (schools)" appearance changing a lot of key aspects of the establishment in the process. They brought in stricter rules and a severely flawed uniform. Bullying was still rampant.
-
The third had similar pride issues and wanted to continue the work of the 2nd although the issues with the management of bullying were barely touched. Once even quoting "bullying happens everywhere we can't stop it".
The school is severely understaffed causing staff to teach multiple subjects and often not have a long-term classroom. This understaffing also meant the blind spots (places in which the architecture obstructed some of the outdoor areas) were overlooked and were risks for students hiding away from the supervisors to carry out things they otherwise wouldn't be able to.
The school's budget is presumably low as well, as the school stopped being able to use an entire building (which previously had music, art, language, and science classrooms alongside a well-sized library). The heating in the cafeteria was often not turned on which left students cold, made worse by the fact that students weren't allowed their coats/jackets/hoodies on in the building.
Some teachers ignored derogatory speech from students including but not limited to general degrading to homophobic, sexist, anti-disabled (ableist) and transphobic language. Some teachers also used outdated information when teaching important subjects such as a science teacher stating that AIDS and HIV are the same thing, it comes from gay sex and is a death sentence (which isn't necessarily correct). Amongst these bad eggs though there are some truly great teachers one notable example is Deputy Head Mr. Gill. This is the head of the history department and is a great teacher, he's polite and friendly and shows genuine care and interest in how the students are doing. His Lessons are accessible and interactive, engaging his students whilst showing off his genuine passion for teaching and history. He's not the only one but examples like this are still very uncommon here. The aforementioned verbal abuse is persistent ,frequently causing many students here to have declining mental health.
As an establishment, Bedale High School prides itself on creating a welcoming environment to get help on adolescent issues and mental health though this is mostly a facade. Often the student has to go way beyond their comfort zone to even begin to get help. Even if they do, the effort toward helping those who are struggling is irregular. Regardless if the desire to help their pupils is genuine, most staff still focus much too heavily on grades rather than the well-being of the individual with the grades. Furthermore, most students were not efficiently supported in times of the coronavirus pandemic and as an effect there is a large amount of Y12s (as of 2021-22) who are far behind in their college, apprenticeship and/or mental health progress.
The last thing I care to comment on is the uniform. To extend apon my prior mention on I'd like to explain some of it's issues. As a whole it is stiff and contrived, emphasising the "smart appearance" over the students' comfort. The blazer is hard to move in. Both skirt options have their issues: the pencil is also hard to move in and if pupils fold the waistband (so it sits higher resulting in less awkward movement) they are often slut shamed or punished, the other is way too flowy and comes completely up in the smallest of breezes never-mind the fact that the bundles of fabric are hard to keep down or not get caught on fences or hedges. The trousers are poorly sized and the tie is clip-on causing them to fall off, be broken or stolen very easily. Kelly has made it clear that his idea of presentable is "the only way to succeed in life". He believes that if you don't fit his standard of overpolished, conservative, Orwellian drones then you are an error. Any uniqueness is villianised whilst he falsely preaches to "not judge a book by its cover". The public perception of the school and the life inside are two different identities, but if you dare to do so:
Attend Oxymoron Academy.
BHS 2016-2021
Some improvements have been made in this school throughout my five years of attendance here, especially in management and handling of bullying however Bedale High School is far from perfect.
Whilst it is safe from knife and gang-related crime students aren't always safe from harassment and physical assault from peers. As the outdoor area is twisted around the architecture, buildings obstruct a lot of areas where students congregate. This wouldn't necessarily be an issue if the establishment wasn't so understaffed: there is supervision through patrol on breaks but there are still blind spots. I agree that privacy is important but all it takes is a few minutes in these spots for an assault to occur. I would know as it has happened twice to me.
Other than physical harm, staff often ignore degrading and cruel comments targeted toward other students. Over time these comments can severely erode one's self-confidence and mental health and it is very common here. Derogatory terms targeted especially toward women, the LGBT community, and disabled individuals are frequently thrown around by students without much consequence or discussion.
What makes the previous paragraph so ironic is that this High School prides itself on supporting these vulnerable groups and helping improve the mental health of adolescents. I truly believe they intend to do good but unfortunately, there is a lack of consistency in the effort put toward helping those who are silently struggling. Pride is a big issue here, multiple headteachers have explicitly revealed their vain intention of the school to present as perfect and presentable as possible. Head Teachers Rawdin then followed by Kelly, were nitpicky of uniform. Specifically, Kelley (alongside some prior pastoral staff) made comments on the "unprofessional" appearance of less conventional looks including dyed hair, piercings, and tattoos stating that "you'll never get a job with (the things listed)" Not to mention the uniform is unpleasant, its stiff and poorly designed especially for the female anatomy. The two options for skirts and uncomfortable: the first skirt (the pencil skirt) is hard to move in and the slit on the back creates some awkward situations - most students fold the waistband so it doesn't sit so close to the knees which causes slut shaming and punishment from staff, the other a more flowy skirt which comes completely upwards in the smallest of breezes. Some may argue that people with these issues should just wear the trousers but the sizing is flawed ( being either too tight and restrictive or too baggy).
There are plenty more issues but I want to mention a positive: the minority of teachers. Amongst the masses there are a few amazing teachers, these members of staff are passionate about their subject, friendly and accepting to students, and have an interactive and great way of teaching. These notable and influential teachers are perfectly represented in the Deputy Head and Head of History - Mr. Gill. I hope improvements are made in the future to make a more positive learning environment.
Whilst it is safe from knife and gang-related crime students aren't always safe from harassment and physical assault from peers. As the outdoor area is twisted around the architecture, buildings obstruct a lot of areas where students congregate. This wouldn't necessarily be an issue if the establishment wasn't so understaffed: there is supervision through patrol on breaks but there are still blind spots. I agree that privacy is important but all it takes is a few minutes in these spots for an assault to occur. I would know as it has happened twice to me.
Other than physical harm, staff often ignore degrading and cruel comments targeted toward other students. Over time these comments can severely erode one's self-confidence and mental health and it is very common here. Derogatory terms targeted especially toward women, the LGBT community, and disabled individuals are frequently thrown around by students without much consequence or discussion.
What makes the previous paragraph so ironic is that this High School prides itself on supporting these vulnerable groups and helping improve the mental health of adolescents. I truly believe they intend to do good but unfortunately, there is a lack of consistency in the effort put toward helping those who are silently struggling. Pride is a big issue here, multiple headteachers have explicitly revealed their vain intention of the school to present as perfect and presentable as possible. Head Teachers Rawdin then followed by Kelly, were nitpicky of uniform. Specifically, Kelley (alongside some prior pastoral staff) made comments on the "unprofessional" appearance of less conventional looks including dyed hair, piercings, and tattoos stating that "you'll never get a job with (the things listed)" Not to mention the uniform is unpleasant, its stiff and poorly designed especially for the female anatomy. The two options for skirts and uncomfortable: the first skirt (the pencil skirt) is hard to move in and the slit on the back creates some awkward situations - most students fold the waistband so it doesn't sit so close to the knees which causes slut shaming and punishment from staff, the other a more flowy skirt which comes completely upwards in the smallest of breezes. Some may argue that people with these issues should just wear the trousers but the sizing is flawed ( being either too tight and restrictive or too baggy).
There are plenty more issues but I want to mention a positive: the minority of teachers. Amongst the masses there are a few amazing teachers, these members of staff are passionate about their subject, friendly and accepting to students, and have an interactive and great way of teaching. These notable and influential teachers are perfectly represented in the Deputy Head and Head of History - Mr. Gill. I hope improvements are made in the future to make a more positive learning environment.
Don't send your kids here.
The teachers for specific subjects are highly judgemental and cruel, especially with PE (where you are forced to wear shorts and very thin long sleeves or short sleeve tops in the rain and snow). If you send your child to Bedale High School, they are likely to be bullied or bully someone else. From my experience, at least a quarter of the school is at least racist, homophobic, transphobic or sexist (to name a few), which the school couldn't care less. Do not send your child here because I can assure you they will become exceedingly mentally unwell or start taking drugs like a large portion of the pupils do.
- a pupil who left in 2021
- a pupil who left in 2021
Great School.
I had a fantastic experience at Bedale High School. The new headteacher is excellent and really turned the school around in a very short time. I had brilliant teachers who were kind, supportive and genuinely cared about my welfare and making sure I left school with the best possible GCSE results. The extra curricular opportunities were good and I got involved with loads of great stuff throughout my time at Bedale. I had great friends there, and loads of them have now moved on to QE in Darlington with me. I highly recommend this school. If you go here you will be well taught, happy and well supported. Yes, there are a few idiot kids, but that’s the same as any school. The teachers do their best to sort them out.
Don’t send your kid here.
Bedale High School is not a good school, pupils all across the school get bullied and nothing by the headteacher of pastoral do anything. my mental health for the 5 years i was there was poor, and i reached out for help but they don’t do anything to help. The school rules are astonishingly cruel to the students, the staff are poor at comforting and friendliness towards students, and students have no privacy with not allowing to be allowed toilet breaks through class or drinks of water or not to take blazers off when it’s warm ( depending on teacher ) the one way system put in place for covid did nothing, teachers would still walk the other way and put children in isolation and treat them unfairly. after the toilet protest that happened in 2016 bedale high school has had several new head teachers, and new teachers coming in and out. not one of them i was able to bond to to be able to talk to. the headteacher currently did not put the y11s having exams first. and honestly i think we were the last year to experience the toilet protest and the ‘ old ‘ bedale high school, so they just wanted us to leave.
- former student graduated 2021
- former student graduated 2021
Honest experience from past pupil
This school is awful for anyone wanting real education. Rather than teaching you in a nice friendly environment environment wants you to engage with learning it instead makes you hate learning and the entire education system. The teachers bullied me for the majority of my time there and it cause me many issues including making my depression worse the same woth my anxiety. I genuinely fell bad for children who are sent here . Over 5 years of being I that high school I had mabye 6- 7 different head teachers and many different teachers/ substitutes as either the teachers had left or they couldn't afford to pay them so they had to leave. They had rules which now that I think about were human right violations: unable to use toilet during lessons and for the majority of both break and lunch time, unable to take a drink of water or get a drink of water during any lesson, unjust punishments for slightest bending of any rule didn't even need to break a rule and you could get isolation. Over the years I spent there I had told them about my mental health and no time was anything ever done about it, I was never refers to a doctor, or a therapist or cams or any such service, I felt as if they didn't care.
Bedale high school is not a good school.
Bedale high school is not a good school.
Don’t recommend
It’s okay people wise but the rules are terrible and the school itself sucks
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