Teachers angry at GCSE results meet exam regulator

Student taking exam Credit: PA

Teachers' leaders are meeting the exam regulator Ofqual at itsCoventry offices today as the row continues over the marking of lastweek's English GCSEs.There was widespread anger among schools and headteachers on Thursdaywhen many students were awarded lower than predicted grades. They haveaccused exam boards of marking the exams too harshly, and some arethreatening possible legal action.

The English marks dragged down GCSE results in many schools. It meantthat some failed to reach the Government's benchmark of 40 per cent ofpupils gaining five A* to C grades, including English and Maths.The Samworth Enterprise Academy in Leicester was one of thoseaffected. The school is now filing an official complaint and may takeaction in the courts.Today, the Leicester-based Association of School and College Leaders(ASCL) is meeting Ofqual to discuss its concerns. It has begun asurvey of schools concerned about the marking process and has alreadyreceived evidence from more than 600 secondary schools (close to 20per cent).