In my latest monthly column for the Times and Citizen newspaper, I took the opportunity to say a big 'well done' to our local schools for the truly remarkable run of Ofsted school inspection outcomes they have achieved in this academic year.
This week saw the announcement that elite international cycle race The 2014 Women's Tour will be coming to the streets of Bedford Borough next May. The announcement confirmed that the second day of racing will conclude in Bedford. This is an elite level race, having recently been awarded the highest possible status by the international Cycling authority the UCI, meaning that the very best international cyclists are likely to feature.
Mayor Dave Hodgson has praised the work of local schools in driving up and maintaining high standards, following Ofsted's ranking of the Bedford Borough local authority area as the second best place in the country for a child to attend lower or primary school. Since the figures were compiled, a further school has moved into Ofsted's good or outstanding categories, meaning Bedford Borough would rank joint first in the national table, based on the proportion of children attending a good or outstanding school. Currently, an extraordinary 97% of children attend a good or outstanding primary or lower school.
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.
Bedford Borough households will once again see their Borough Council tax frozen after the Mayor's budget won unanimous support...
The inaugural Women's Tour Cycle race is coming to Bedford Borough in just over a week's time, and Mayor Dave Hodgson has predicted that it will provide a 'stunning, free spectacle of world class sport.'
