Year 6 results in Bedford Borough are up 9 points since 2022, against 4 nationally, the third biggest rise in England. GCSE grades slipped this summer.
Primary school results in Bedford Borough have risen faster than almost anywhere else in England. In 2026, 59% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That is 9 percentage points higher than in 2021/22. Across England the rise was 4 points.
The council says that places the borough third most improved of all local authorities in England over that period. The figures are in a report to the council’s Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which meets on Monday 9 November. Some 2025/26 figures are provisional.
The same report shows the other end of the school system going the wrong way. GCSE results fell this summer on all three headline measures, and the borough dropped down the national rankings.
Primary: the gap is closing
Bedford’s primary results are still below the national average. The difference is that the gap has more than halved, from 9 points in 2021/22 to 4 points now: 59% against 63% nationally.
The borough’s national ranking for the combined measure has moved from 147th of 151 councils in 2021/22 to 130th. It was 136th last year. The report calls this “its strongest position in the past decade”.
Every subject has risen faster than the national figure since 2021/22:
- writing up 8 points (England 3)
- maths up 6 points (England 3)
- reading up 3 points (England unchanged)
Younger children are improving too. In the Year 1 phonics check, 80.6% of pupils met the expected standard in 2026, up from 72.0% in 2021/22 and 76.6% last year. That matches the latest national figure of 80%, which is for 2024/25.
Early years: a record, but England moved faster
In 2026, 71.1% of Bedford children reached a “good level of development” by the end of Reception. That is the borough’s highest figure in a decade, up from 63.8% in 2021/22.
But the national figure jumped to 72.3% this year. Bedford is now 1.2 points below England and ranked 97th of 153 councils, down from 71st in 2024/25. The gap between girls and boys, 11.6 points, is narrower than the national gap of 12.3.
GCSEs: down on every headline measure
The report says secondary results “require stronger collective action”. The 2026 figures, with last year in brackets:
| GCSE measure | Bedford 2026 | Bedford 2025 | England 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 44.1 | 44.4 | 46.2 |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 62.0% | 64.6% | 64.8% |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 41.7% | 43.7% | 46.3% |
The rankings fell further than the scores. For grade 5 or above, Bedford is now 115th of 152 councils, down from 87th. For grade 4 or above it is joint 107th, down from 77th. Just 9.0% of pupils got grade 7 or above in both English and maths, against 14.2% nationally.
Sixth-form results were stronger. In 2026, 97.9% of A level students achieved at least two A* to E grades and 92.0% achieved at least three.
Why the council thinks primaries improved
The council launched a ten-year education strategy, “Every Bedford Borough Child Can”, in September 2024, after work with schools began in 2022/23. The report is careful to say the results “cannot be attributed solely” to the strategy.
It points to schools working more closely together. According to the report:
- 83% of primary schools have taken part in a leadership programme or the peer review network, involving 71 school leaders
- 67% of primaries are in the current peer review network, where heads visit and review each other’s schools
- a shared, borough-wide definition of a “fluent reader” has been written, with local video examples for teachers
- 71% of the actions in the 2024 to 2026 plan were completed, and the rest carried over
The new plan for 2026 to 2028 puts writing, disadvantaged pupils, attendance and inclusion at the top of the list.
What it means for you
- If your child is in a Bedford primary, the borough’s results are now much closer to the national average than they were four years ago. Your own school’s figures are on the government’s compare school performance service.
- If your child is choosing a secondary, look at each school’s own GCSE record rather than the borough average. Applications for September 2027 places closed on 31 October; late applications go through the council’s school admissions pages.
- If you have a teenager deciding what to do after school, the report says a borough-wide Post-16 Opportunities Festival, “Future Pathways”, is planned for Saturday 7 November at the University of Bedfordshire’s Gateway building.
- The committee meets on Monday 9 November at 6.30pm. Agendas and papers are on the council’s committee site. A fuller report on results, using validated data, is due in January.
See our Bedford school term dates for the rest of this school year.
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