These results over time show historic performance for key exam results. We show pre-pandemic results as the fairest indicator of whether performance is up, down or stable
School Description
Come and see us and find out what makes Badminton different. Our Open events give you the chance to look around, meet staff and pupils and get a real feel for Badminton.
Our Sixth Form’s strength comes from its size and from our university-style teaching methods. The sheer range of subject combinations and interests that girls pursue makes the Sixth Form exciting and its size means that everyone knows each other well.
There is a good influx of new Sixth Formers into the Lower Sixth alongside those who have joined the School in earlier years, and this, together with a mix of Day Girls and Boarders (with flexi-boarding available too) mean that there is no one model of Sixth Former at Badminton.
From Anthropology to Filmmaking, Neuroscience to International Development, Aeronautical Engineering to Global Sustainable Development: Badminton girls go on to do anything and everything at some of the most prestigious universities in the world. We have a strong success rate for applications to Oxford and Cambridge. Read more here.
Bristol has its share of very good schools, and we know that choosing somewhere for your daughter isn’t easy.
So what’s different about Badminton?
Our history, our unusual ethos of teaching and learning and our careful balance of intellectual firepower with courtesy and support all set us apart. There is an important place in the world for strong female communities, and Badminton is one of these. We have excellent facilities and some of the best boarding and pastoral care provision of any school. Girls at Badminton come from all over the globe and know that they can try anything, study anything, do anything, and they do. No one here is judged on superficialities, and Badminton girls rightly learn that their future can be anything they want it to be.
At Badminton Junior School, girls develop a love of learning in a happy, safe and encouraging environment.
Highly motivated, inspirational teachers know our girls exceptionally well. Small class sizes, specialist teaching and excellent pastoral care ensure that every child reaches her true potential by exploring her talents and interests.
Bex Tear is currently in her ninth year as Head of Badminton School, Bristol. Previously, she spent several happy years at Wycombe Abbey, firstly as resident Head of Sixth Form and more latterly as Senior Deputy Head. Prior to that, she enjoyed seven years at St. George’s, Ascot, where she held several academic and pastoral responsibilities.
She read Chemistry at Exeter University, before undertaking a PGCE at The Institute of Education, London, where she also completed an MA in Educational Leadership. She also completed a Post-Graduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship at The Judge Business School, Cambridge University (2019).
Who/what inspired you to become a teacher?
From the first careers talk at school I knew that, very definitely, I should not be a teacher, as I did not want to follow in the footsteps of my mother and sister and various aunts and great aunts, but wanted to find my own niche and be my own person. However, as I spent summers on several internships in the fields of retail management or the law I increasingly questioned my ability to enjoy working in a very business orientated or corporate environment. Reflecting on what I did enjoy led to my time as an au pair and also as a volunteer supporting students struggling with science at a local secondary school to repeatedly pop to the front of my mind; eventually I succumbed to the calling and embarked on a PGCE! My experience in my main placement with a dynamic Head who was aspirational for her students and a cluster tutor who was so charismatic and passionate about consideration of the whole child (and who was in fact none other than the legendary educationalist Michael Marland) sealed the deal; I was hooked!
What achievement are you most proud of as Head?
There are so many different types of achievement and the thing is that rarely are they entirely your own- teams are just so vital in enabling a School community to thrive. However, there are a range of things that still make me smile or even maybe leave me still a little bit in awe. One very personal thing has been helping colleagues develop. It is a privilege to be asked to mentor others and equally when line managing to see colleagues develop their roles and grow their abilities. Sometimes that path isn’t easy and if the support given over time yields a breakthrough it is a joy to behold and an honor to have played a small part.
However, on the more tangible side, the developments that you enable your school to make are a source of joy too: be it a new building, like our Sports Centre which took years of planning consultation and also a step into unchartered territory, for me, of development funding or a change in a system yielding dividends. And I recall changing a pastoral structure to increase staff:pupil engagement over time, which was a knotty decision, but yielded significant and measurable positive pastoral feedback in a short time, to my huge relief!
What does a successful school look like to you?
A successful school has to be one where the happiness and confidence of all is tangible. It is one that is aware of the world and isn’t afraid to adapt to continue to meet the future needs of its pupils; this requires a culture of listening, reflection, evaluation and willingness to adjust. That being said, to be successful everyone needs to feel secure and confident and so strong systems and communication are vital; the way changes that are needed for evolution are well managed and not surprising or destabilizing so that trust is maintained. Equally, it has to have an ambitious approach in every aspect- staff, pupils, academic, pastoral and wider life skills. Successful schools are not all made in one image - different schools suit the different context in which they sit and different people in their community and that is why choosing a school, as a pupil or as a member of staff, is such an important process of cultural alignment.
What is the most important quality you want every child to have when they leave your school? And why?
It is so hard to pin down just one quality that every person should have…I am torn between self-confidence, as an empowering tool to enable people to go forward, share their views, seek new skills and make an active contribution and hence ultimately feel fulfilled, and respect, which is so important to enable constructive interaction with others, organizations and the planet more generally…….
I might therefore say I would like them all to be thinking people. If one is able to think then what is said and done is considered and when problems are encountered they can be reviewed and resolved. This skill is much needed in our changing and challenging world. Factual knowledge can be searched and with increasing use of data-bases and Artificial Intelligence the ability to add value by thinking creatively will have increasing agency. Hence, in conclusion, I opt for a propensity to engage in thought as my most valued skill as it will empower their future and make the world a better, less problematic and more creative place to be, which hopefully will enhance wellbeing and satisfaction at an individual level too.
Please give 5 words to describe the ethos of your school.
Authentic, innovative community…….I think I just I’ll just stick with those three!
This school is independently managed and its admission criteria may be selective. There is no set catchment area as pupils are admitted from a wide variety of postcodes and, in the case of boarding schools, from outside the UK. Contact the school directly or visit their website for more information on Admissions Policy and Procedures.
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