GCSE Success- Best Improvement in the Eastern Region

National figures published by the government last week have confirmed the remarkable increase in GCSE attainment achieved by Bedford Borough Schools. In a year when the national 5 A* - C (including English and Maths) figure actually went down 0.2%, Bedford Borough's went up by a massive 6.3% from 53.4% to 59.7%.

The rise not only sharply contrasted with the national picture of lower attainment, it also represented by far the biggest improvement across the Eastern region. With 59.7% of students achieving 5 A* - C (including English and Maths), Bedford Borough schools' GCSE performance is now higher than the national average.

Lib Dem Cllr Henry Vann, Portfolio Holder for Education at Bedford Borough Council, said: "This is great news for young people in Bedford Borough. In the face of a national decline in GCSE attainment, they have achieved outstanding progress, with a 6.3 percentage point increase in pupils achieving 5 A*-C (including English and Maths). Congratulations to all pupils, teachers, governors and school communities on their achievements. As a Council, we have not, and will not, walk away from our responsibilities and will continue to work with all schools across the Borough to help drive up standards even further."

Confirmation of the stunning improvement in GCSE attainment by students in Bedford Borough is the latest in a series of extremely positive developments in education locally. These include the news that more children are attending Good or Outstanding lower or primary schools in Bedford Borough than anywhere else across England, according to latest Ofsted Inspection data. In addition, at a time of increasingly rigorous Ofsted inspections, 92.5% of all schools in Bedford Borough are Good or Outstanding.