99% of Bedford Borough Pupils Get The School of Their Choice

Bedford Borough Council has made sure that over 99% of parents have secured a place for their child at a school of their choice.

Lib Dem Cllr David Sawyer, Portfolio Holder for Education at Bedford Borough Council, said: "This is an outstanding achievement. We are really delighted that almost all of our pupils have been able to choose the school they would like to attend. The figures also reflect our class sizes are not under stress in terms of their overall capacity. We have a responsibility to provide school places, and we work with our schools to ensure we are in tune with what they need, in terms of their smooth operation and serving pupils efficiently."

Whereas the national picture reported by the National Audit Office shows signs of real strain, with new places still needed by 2014/15, Bedford Borough Council will be spending £38 million, over the next 4 years, on new school buildings to ensure that they have the capacity going forward, so that no 'stress on school places' continues to be a feature in Bedford Borough. Over 99% of parents have been offered a place for their child at the upper/secondary school of their choice for 2013/14. 92% were offered their first choice, this is over 6% higher than the national average figure.

Bedford Borough Council is consistently in the top group of local authorities for securing 'first preference' figures.