News

Fighting for Fairness Alongside GCSE Students in the High Court

You may have seen some of the coverage in the national press about the GCSE English grading fiasco overseen by national regulator Ofqual and exam boards AQA and Edexcel. Thousands of students suffered at the hands of a drastic shifting of the grade boundaries for GCSE English between papers sat in January and then in the summer, in spite of the fact that there was no corresponding increase in the standard of the papers sat.

21 Dec 2012
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Mayor Dave Hodgson with Etienne Stott and his Parents at the Ceremony Marking the Award of the Honour of Honorary Freeman of Bedford Borough

Richly Deserved Recognition for Bedford Borough’s Own Olympic Role Model

Earlier this week I had the honour of presenting Bedford's very own London 2012 Olympic Gold medallist Etienne Stott with the Honorary Freedom of the Borough. This is the highest honour that can be bestowed by the Council, and it is richly deserved recognition for Etienne. Not only did he thrill us all with his performance at the Olympics with Tim Baillie in the C2 Canoe Slalom, which stood out even amongst a long list of memorable sporting moments in 2012, but he has also shown himself to be a fantastic ambassador for Bedford Borough and a genuine role model.

14 Dec 2012
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Dave Hodgson with Town Bridge behind

Riverside North Update

I have just come from a meeting of the Council's Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which had invited me to talk about the Riverside North development and answer the Committee's questions on the scheme.

6 Dec 2012
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Portas Pilot Bedford's 'A Very Bedford Christmas' Logo. Design by Sideshow Design

Enjoy Christmas in Bedford

Two weeks ago the festive season in Bedford Town centre was kicked off in customary, spectacular style with the Christmas Lights switch-on and firework display along the Embankment. Even better, this year, we were honoured to be joined by a true hero of 2012 and a great Bedfordian, our very own Olympic Gold Medallist Etienne Stott. Etienne once again gave his time selflessly in support of a great community event, as families and people of all ages enjoyed the fun. The lights are looking great, and with late night shopping on Wednesdays and every day in the week prior to Christmas, not to mention events and festivities coming thick and fast, there are so many reasons to come into Bedford for your Christmas shopping. The array of excellent independent shops have something for everyone, and just as the Portas Pilot Bedford Town Team's postcards (see right) have it, if we all enjoy a Very Bedford Christmas this year and shop locally, the better it is for our economy and for our community as a whole.

5 Dec 2012
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Mayor Dave Hodgson Using his Orange-Lidded Recycling Bin

Bin Bonus! £3.1 million Reward for our Commitment to Weekly Collections

This week we received the very welcome confirmation of the award of £3.1 million from the national weekly collection support fund. The grant award is in recognition of our commitment as one of the minority of councils to have protected weekly black bin collections and our plans to increase recycling and reduce waste even further.

30 Nov 2012
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