End of a lesson at Bredon School

But now independent Bredon School has broken with tradition by abolishing the bells - a radical step that has brought peace and calm to the corridors.

Vice Principal Jon Smallwood said: “I was reflecting on our approach to education one day when I suddenly realised that there are only two places which are run by bells – schools and prisons!

“It immediately occurred to me that there would be a number of advantages if we stopped using bells for the start and finish of lessons. Firstly, teachers would become more conscious of time, rather than simply relying on a bell, which would help them plan their lessons to fit the time available. It’s about treating teachers as professionals: they have to take responsibility to make sure their watches and classroom clocks are right – just like you would have to in an office. Secondly, it would also put the teachers more in charge of lessons, because the children now have to wait for the teacher’s permission before they start packing up at the end, not simply take their cue from a bell.”

There are also benefits for pupils, Mr Smallwood added. “Bells are obviously not a feature of the normal workplace, yet school is supposed to be a place where young people are prepared for the world of work. So abolishing the bells has given our students more of a feel for a real work environment.”

For a visitor to the 230-pupil day and boarding school near Tewkesbury, the biggest change is perhaps to be seen and heard in the corridors at the change of lessons.

“Previously, when the bell rang, all the doors would burst open and everyone would rush into the corridor at the same moment. Now we have around a two-minute ‘window’ because people’s watches show slightly different times – we don’t expect the teachers all to synchronise their watches every morning! So you get a much more relaxed start and end to every lesson.”

Mr Smallwood said the idea had chimed with both pupils and staff. “We’ve tried it for a while and so far we haven’t had any requests from teachers to bring back the bells – and the children don’t mind at all.”

He added that there was even a potential safety benefit from abolishing the bells: “The only time that the bell now will ring in a classroom is if there is a fire alarm or fire drill, which means it’s also safer, because there’s no danger of people confusing end-of-lesson bells with fire alarms.”

Bredon School welcomes boys and girls aged 6-18 and is a mainstream school suitable for children of all abilities. It also has an internationally recognised Learning Support Unit and, for more than 30 years, it has specialised in helping children with Specific Learning Difficulties, such as dyslexia and dyspraxia.

ENDS
Issued on behalf of Bredon School by Edge Media

MEDIA CONTACTS: Mr David Keyte on 01684 293156 or Paul Herbert on 01453 544900