OUR YEAR IN NUMBERS

We're extremely proud at what we have achieved this year. Our first full post-pandemic year saw us launch our new strategy, Together for Bedford, participate in exciting new collaborative community programmes and deliver some amazing results in education. Bedford Giving, the new collaborative initiative uniting businesses, charities and other partners to help create a brighter future for our next generation, took flight this year. The immediate and generous response of people and organisations in Bedford supported Bedford Giving’s core belief that everyone has something to give – whether it is time, skills, funds, knowledge or opportunities.

Our Accelerator Programme went from strength to strength with projects in seven local primary schools aiming to accelerate the attainment of children from low-income families. As the year ended, we were engaging a number of new schools to support even more children next year.

Our schools had an outstanding year. Pilgrims was rated ‘Outstanding’ and ‘Excellent’ in all areas by ISI; Bedford School was rated amongst Fortune’s ‘World’s Leading Boarding Schools’; all three senior schools celebrated strong GCSE and A-Level results despite a return to pre-pandemic grading standards. As the year ended, a governance review was nearing completion, to simplify decision making and help the Board to manage strategic financial risks.