The restored Main School Building was opened on 10 September 1981. In the interim the school functioned in twenty-two temporary huts and by using the Howard and Craig buildings on the school estate. In 2005, Bedford School was one of fifty of the country's leading independent schools which were accused of running a price-fixing cartel which had allowed them to push up school fees. Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling £3 million into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared. The school estate has seen many developments over the past century, most recently the erection of two new buildings: the new Library in 2004, and the new Music School in 2006. Work on the construction of a new school theatre is currently proceeding apace. Buildings and grounds Main School Building The Main School Building, originally built in 1891, is a Gothic Revival Grade II listed building. On the night of 3–4 March 1979, much of the building was gutted by fire as a result of arson. The internal structure of the building was destroyed and thirty classrooms were lost. Almost all pupil records were saved but books, furniture and the large collection of portraits of former headmasters were lost. Nevertheless, the school was in full operation on Monday 5 March. The integral structure of the walls was not affected by the fire, and under the indefatigable leadership of the headmaster, Ian Jones, and two Chairmen of the Harpur Trust, John Howard and Anthony Abrahams, the building was restored within two years. The architect, Philip Dowson, made a number of alterations to the building during the restoration process: the most important was the raising of the central Great Hall to first floor level in order to provide more classroom and administrative space on the ground floor below. Chapel Bedford School Chapel was completed in 1908 and is a Grade II* listed building. It is significant as the last architectural accomplishment of George Frederick Bodley, a prominent Victorian architect who worked in the Gothic Revival style. Other notable buildings by Bodley include the chapels of Marlborough College and Queens' College, Cambridge. In 2005, various refurbishment projects took place within the chapel. Most significantly, the ceiling was restored to its former Bodlian watercolour design, the original