Over 90,000 Exam Grades Changed

More than 90,000 GCSE and A-level results were changed following a series of complaints from students and head teachers.

17:38 14 December 2015

Exam regulator Ofqual has received more than 572,000 queries over grades that were awarded this summer. Based on official figures, the number of exam papers sent for re-marking have increased by 27per cent this year. Of this number, more than 90,000 GCSE and A-level results were changed.

 

Brian Lightman, the leader of the ASCL head teachers' union, said these exam results are of "critical importance to the future of young people".

 

"We have warned for some time that the marking system is under huge pressure and fear that the increase in re-grades strongly suggests it is creaking under the strain."

 

"Every child sitting an exam deserves to trust that their paper will be marked accurately. So it is very disappointing to see yet another huge upsurge in false GCSE and A level grades," said Chris King, chair of the Headmasters and Headmistresses

 

Conference group of independent schools.

"The implications for pupils are grave - for some it has meant they have wrongly missed out on a place at their preferred sixth form, further education college or university of choice."

 

Meanwhile, the Joint Council for Qualifications said that when compared to the total number of individual scripts, only 1.1per cent of the grades needed changing.

 

"As data published today by Ofqual shows, each year over 8 million GCSE and A level grades are awarded to a high level of accuracy. Although the number of enquiries about results increased in 2015, the proportion of all grades changed was 1.1%," said the JCQ's director general Michael Turner.