Councillor wants action over 'depressing' grades

A politician has called for action to deal with poor exam performance in an area where GCSE results were the worst in the region.

Kathryn Woodfine, an independent Central Bedfordshire councillor, has described this year's results as "depressing and worrying".

Figures showed performance at GCSE in Central Bedfordshire was below the national average.

The council said average grades in eight key subjects were almost 2% higher than in 2025.

Figures from the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) showed 15.3% of this year's GCSE results in Central Bedfordshire were at grade seven or above.

That compares to an East of England average of 22% and a national average of 21.8%.

The authority declared an education emergency in May, amid concerns about the 8,000 surplus school places in the area.

At least 25 schools were projected to be in deficit for the 2026/27 financial year.

Some councillors said the three-tier education system in Bedfordshire was partly to blame for the poor performance of pupils, who change schools twice instead of once between the ages of four and sixteen.

Central Bedfordshire is moving towards a two-tier system, but there is no definite timetable for the transition.

Woodfine is concerned that, while exam results were usually considered by councillors in April, the discussion next year would be compromised by the local elections that were due to take place.

She has called for a Scrutiny Committee to discuss the issue before for the elections.

After this year's results were announced, the council said: "This year's Key Stage 4 results for Central Bedfordshire show encouraging improvements in several key measures.

"While the proportion of students achieving Grade 4 or above in English and mathematics decreased slightly to 63.3 per cent, overall results demonstrate continuing strengths across many areas."

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