In the year 2000 at the time of the College’s 150th anniversary, pupil numbers were around 570 and Peter Smith was the Headmaster. In his anniversary address he talked about widening the College’s horizons and he noted 3 key features of Bradfield at that time:

Firstly, ‘that Bradfield was almost completely co-educational at Sixth Form level’ and has since became a fully co-educational school since September 2005.

Secondly, ‘that Bradfield was an international community increasing the proportion of foreign students in the 1990s from 8-15% at a time when the international outlook of business was growing’.

Finally, ‘that Bradfield’s extra-curricular programme was more diverse and more focused upon specific skill outcomes’ such as the ability to work as a team, a concern for other people, communications skills including IT and leadership ability.

To commemorate the 150th anniversary there were a number of investments in the fabric of the college. A new stained-glass window was installed in Chapel designed alongside the Chaplain at the time Denis Mulliner. Created by Stewart Bowman of Haddenham, Buckinghamshire, the new window completed a series of Centenary windows on the south side of the nave, commemorating Old Bradfieldian bishops. Beneath the dates 1850 and 2000, the window is divided into three lancets as shown below.

The middle one contains the ecclesiastical coats-of-arms of the two English provinces of Canterbury (above) and York (below) representing the entire Church of England; beneath these stands the text of Thomas Stevens, the Founder’s purpose in founding the school: For the education of loving children of the Church of England and for the encouragement of religious and useful learning and the art of choral music. The wording of this has been adapted to take into account the arrival of girls in the school, from text found in Dining Hall.

The left-hand lancet shows the coat of arms of the united dioceses of St Andrew’s, Dunkeld and Dunblane in the Scottish Episcopal Church, beneath which appears the name of Bradfieldian Michael Hare-Duke (B 39-44), the retired Bishop of the three dioceses. Above his name, a rebus of his surname is depicted with a hare and a duck.

The right-hand part of the window contains the coat-of-arms of the diocese of Winchester, which together with London and Durham ranks senior to all other English dioceses after the metropolitan sees of Canterbury and York. The name of the Bishop of Winchester at that time was Michael Scott-Joynt (D 56-61).

The planned 150th Anniversary Gates were also commissioned by the Old Bradfieldian Society to be positioned at the entrance to Faulkner’s. They were constructed of hand-forged mild steel by Capricorn Architectural Ironwork in London. A more contemporary design than the gates under College Gateway, the new gates incorporated naturalistic ‘sunflowers’, repeating vertical motifs with straight horizontal rails. Echoing the geometric feel of the modern buildings behind them, although the gates were never planned to be closed, they create a more formal entrance with the numbers 1850 and 2000 incorporated into the brick piers (see image above).

Back in 2000, Peter Smith also perceptively noted that the “yardstick for measuring the qualities of a school must be derived from the future, not from the past”. This is as true today as it was then. Twenty-five years on, as we now approach the college’s 175th anniversary in 2025, pupil numbers at Bradfield are around 840 (up 32% from the year 2000). The focus on ‘Education for Life’ has broadened the curriculum even further and the College enjoys continued success in academic standards, sporting reputation and in drama and music under the current Headmaster Christopher Stevens.

We look forward to sharing our plans for Bradfield 175 in 2025 shortly and hope that you will come to Bradfield and share in our celebrations.