For our patients, education is provided from ages 4 to 19 at the Maudsley and Bethlem Hospital School focusing on maintaining continuity in education and supporting a return to learning beyond a period of illness.

Following the opening of the Pears Maudsley Centre for Children and Young People, the school has now relocated into the new building, while provision at the Bethlem site continues.

Pupils are now attending lessons in the purpose‑designed environment, allowing education to take place alongside inpatient care in a dedicated learning space. 

How does the Centre create a learning environment that feels different from a ward?

In many hospital settings, education has traditionally taken place in spaces closely aligned with clinical environments, making it difficult to distinguish between treatment and learning.

At the Pears Maudsley Centre, learning spaces are separate from clinical areas and reflect familiar classroom environments. The design includes calm, non‑clinical interiors and personalised teaching areas that respond to pupils’ individual needs. The Maudsley and Bethlem Hospital School is an Ofsted-rated Outstanding  academy within The Goldfinch Trust which helps pupils engage in familiar education settings.  

How do children and young people stay connected to nature and activity during care? 

The Centre includes two dedicated outdoor learning spaces including the Education terrace and Rooftop terrace, providing over 600 square meters of outdoor space for learning, movement and relexation. 

In addition, the Centre includes a double height gym, allowing pupils to take part in structured physical education. Activities include team sports, dance, yoga and tennis sessions, supported in part through partnerships such as the Tim Henman Foundation. 

As Maarten Crommelin, Headteacher of Maudsley and Bethlem Hospital School and CEO of The Goldfinch Trust, explains:

The new school spaces within the Pears Maudsley Centre send a clear message to our young people that their education matters. From the science laboratory and teaching kitchen to the art studio, music room and rooftop terraces, each space has been designed to support learning, curiosity and recovery. The emphasis on natural light, outdoor space and views of nature helps create a calm setting that supports engagement with education and confidence in returning to learning.

How does the Centre support transitions and long-term outcomes?

For many young people, admission to inpatient care follows a period of disruption to their education. Some may have been out of school for extended periods due to the severity of their mental health needs.

Teaching at the Maudsley and Bethlem Hospital School is structured to support continuity in learning, with clear pathways towards returning to education, training or employment after discharge.

As Headteacher Maarten Crommelin explains:

The Pears Maudsley Centre enables us to maintain a strong focus on educational outcomes and future destinations. As a recognised examinations centre, we support students to continue working towards GCSEs and A Levels, often sitting examinations shortly after admission. At the same time, we work closely with mainstream schools and colleges to ensure continuity of learning and successful reintegration. The new facilities provide an environment where young people can continue to see themselves as students first and foremost.

This approach reflects a shared commitment across the King’s Maudsley Partnership and its partners to support children and young people to continue their education, maintain progress and plan for what comes next. 

On the evening of June 9th I had the privilege of standing with our partners in the King’s Maudsley Partnership for Children and Young People to officially open the doors of its flagship Pears Maudsley Centre. The opening represents the culmination of a dream shared across the partnership when then Maudsley Charity CEO Rebecca Gray stood shoulder to shoulder with our partners to break ground on this site five years ago this month.   

We made our largest ever single donation to date of £10m to the building of the Centre and have committed ourselves to ongoing support of the King’s Maudsley Partnership because we so strongly believe in its vision – bringing together some of the best clinical and research minds in the country to better understand and treat the mental health challenges being increasingly faced by our children and young people.  

It could not have come at a better time. One in five children and young people aged eight to 25 is dealing with a probable mental health condition.1  And as highlighted by the recent Milburn review, of the 957,000 16- to 24-year-olds classified by the government as NEET (not in education, employment or training), 76% say their mental wellbeing directly affects their ability to look for work.2 

A joined-up approach is the only way to address this growing demand. Along with our support for this unique collaboration, we are also funding partnerships between South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, researchers and trusted community organisations in South London through our Building Brighter Futures programme. They are delivering early, evidence-based interventions that keep children from becoming really unwell.  

And we will continually share evidence generated by all our work with children and young people to ensure that the most effective solutions are implemented, not just in South London, but across the country.   

These are reasons for genuine optimism.  

I’ve already seen hope etched on the faces of the first set of families visiting the Centre. A few weeks ago, I encountered a mother in our café at Ortus, the charity’s headquarters, fresh from her first appointment next door. After a lengthy spell on the NHS waiting list, she had nothing but praise for how she and her child were dealt with by the clinicians and researchers she saw there.  

She also remarked that she had never been in a setting like it on an NHS site and that the building itself made her feel cared for. This is a testament to the investment of time in consulting young people and families on both the design of the building and in the commissioning of the artwork still being installed into and around it.  

We want families like hers to feel reassured that with the work to come from the committed teams at the King’s Maudsley Partnership, a happy and healthy future for their children remains within reach.   

Learn more about the Pears Maudsley Centre.