Director of International Development
Bedford School
Bedford
- Expired
- Salary:
- Competitive
- Job type:
- Full Time, Permanent
- Apply by:
- 11 July 2022
Job overview
We are delighted to be supporting Bedford School on the appointment of a Director of International Development.
Bedford School has a distinguished history stretching back nearly 500 years. After detailed consideration, the school’s Governors have decided to open a new chapter of the school’s story with the development of a family of international schools.
This is an exceptional opportunity to become the first Bedford School Director of International Development. The Governors have decided to seek an appropriately-experienced Director to give leadership to the international strategy from the outset. The first Director will therefore have the opportunity to shape the school’s international development strategy and organisational structures, while identifying opportunities and partners for the first Bedford International Schools, leading the process of establishing those schools and designing the relationship between Bedford School and its international schools.
The International Development Director is likely already to be working in a similar role, to have experience of establishing international schools, and to be familiar with the challenges and opportunities for British independent schools setting up overseas.
Bedford School today combines a respect for its history and traditions with a progressive and forward-looking approach to the education of boys and young men – currently with 400 boys in the Prep School and 700 in the Senior School – and with students in the Sixth Form choosing between A-levels and the IB Diploma. In 2021, Bedford School won the Independent Boys’ School of the Year award for its holistic education experience, tailored to the needs of its students and in line with its motto “that they be good men.” The school, which is a part of the Harpur Trust, is a day and boarding school, but with its overall approach shaped by the boarding community. Recent developments on the school’s 50-acre campus have included state-of-the-art, new facilities for arts, music and sport, as well as academic facilities such as a new library, upgraded science facilities and a planetarium and observatory.
The Governors’ decision to embark on an international development strategy reflects a wish to strengthen Bedford School’s international reputation and the international understanding and awareness of its students, as well as to generate further income to extend further its bursary provision. The intention is to develop a family of schools globally that will authentically reflect Bedford School’s mission and approach.
The starting date will depend on the circumstances of the preferred candidate, but the school is eager to embark on its international development strategy as soon as practicable. An early start is therefore preferred.
RSAcademics is supporting Bedford School with this appointment process. For a preliminary, confidential conversation about the role with Jean Sullivan, Head of International Search or Keith Clark, Head of International Leadership Appointments, please contact jeansullivan@rsacademics.com.
Attached documents
About Bedford School
Awarded five stars in Fortune’s World’s Leading Boarding Schools in 2023 and named ‘Independent Boys School of the Year 2021’, Bedford School is lauded for “its holistic school experience, tailored to the specific needs of the all-boys community, designed to ensure that students’ individual qualities are nurtured without inhibition and lived without awkwardness, so that they be good men.”
Bedford School class sizes are small and we operate vertical tutor groups, giving boys the chance to mentor and lead those younger, learn from those older and simply ‘be’ together without peer pressure. Bedford is a boarding school, first and foremost, with boarders and day boys alike benefitting from the strong boarding ethos. With 250 boys and around 40 staff living full-time on-site, the boarding community gives a heartbeat to the school in a way that nothing else can.
Our curriculum is broad, offering GCSE, IGCSE, A-Level and IB alongside a bespoke curriculum including Theory of Knowledge in Year 10 and an internal research project in Year 12. Every boy finds his individual path, with strong Sixth Form uptake across the sciences, humanities, creative arts and languages – there is no ‘typical’ Bedford student.
Academic results and destinations speak for themselves with 91% of our boys going onto their first or second choice university, including several to Oxbridge each year, and international universities. Many students are successful in gaining places at medical schools.
Facilities are first-class - two simulators (golf and flight), an observatory and planetarium are standout features. Our recently built Music School and Theatre house dynamic creative departments and excellent student performances.
Every boy makes a meaningful local contribution via our Community Partnership Programme, working in mutually beneficial partnerships with individuals from varied backgrounds, and we have run the Ivy House Leadership Award since its inception. We regularly top the schools' leader board in fundraising for Movember.
Sport is a forte: 96% of boys represent the school annually, and our major sports teams regularly make national finals, with many pupils playing at county or national level and at least one leaver almost every year going into professional sport. We work with Northampton Saints, Northants CCC and Woburn Golf Club. But we have a philosophy of ‘sport for all’ and we regularly field E and F teams.
We aim for our boys to be balanced, outward-looking, forward-thinking, kind and sociable young men who are comfortable in their own skins. We invite you to explore our school through the news stories we regularly publish on our website and on social media; these provide an insight into our boys, their stories and successes, and a strong sense of the enviable community that is Bedford School.
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