New Figures Confirm Bedford Borough Students Bucked National GCSE Trend in Stunning Fashion

Mayor Dave Hodgson has repeated his congratulations to students and school staff after national figures published by the Department for Education confirmed the dramatic rise in 2013 in attainment at GCSE level across Bedford Borough Schools. In a year which saw the proportion of young people achieving five A* - C grades falling nationally, here in Bedford Borough this figure rose by a massive 6.3%, from 53.4% to 59.7%. This was by far the biggest improvement in performance across the Eastern region, and places Bedford Borough schools' GCSE performance above the national average.

"The rise in attainment in Bedford Borough schools is a testament to the hard work and commitment of students, teachers and all school staff. For the main GCSE attainment measure to rise by over 6% at a time of a national fall is truly remarkable, and a credit to the work going on in local schools."

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.

Liberal Democrat Cllr Henry Vann, Portfolio Holder for Education at Bedford Borough Council, added: "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."