Massive scale of exam chaos

The full scale of the chaos facing South-East schools as a result of this year's A-level grade-fixing scandal is disclosed today.

An Evening Standard survey found several schools in the region had as many as 70 pupils who had their grades inexplicably marked down. The survey revealed that thousands of pupils are affected. Head teachers are furious over the silence from the exam boards as they desperately try to sort out the chaos.

At the London Oratory, an undisclosed number of pupils were affected but the school refused to discuss the individual case of Prime Minister Tony Blair's son Euan who is believed to have missed out on a place at Oxford. He is now due to go to Bristol University instead.

Today, the Government's exams watchdog, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, is due to announce the findings of its own inquiry into the conduct of the OCR board, where chief executive Dr Ron McLone is accused of ordering chief examiners to slash grades in final units of this year's A-levels in an effort to prevent the exams appearing too easy.

If the QCA inquiry, which has centred on complaints from 100 schools, upholds the allegations, Dr McLone's future must be in doubt.

Meanwhile, former chief schools inspector Mike Tomlinson is beginning his urgent inquiry into the affair, which could send this year's university admissions into chaos.

Pupils at schools across the South-East are now desperately waiting to hear whether their A-levels will be regraded in time to take up university places they thought they had lost.

Our snapshot survey found twothirds of schools contacted had pupils affected. Across the region - London alone has 400 state schools - hundreds will be involved.

Fifty pupils were affected at Epsom College in Surrey with 25 in danger of losing a university place. Seventy English and history pupils were affected at Latymer School, Edmonton, and at Eton College, 66 pupils lost grades.

At Emanuel School in Wandsworth where 25 pupils had their results downgraded and six lost a university place as a result, head Anne-Marie Sutcliffe, has heard nothing from the OCR board 10 days after discovering how grades were affected.

"We have had not so much as an email to say they are looking into things," she said.

Kevin Hoare, headmaster of Finchley Catholic High, north London, where seven pupils have been affected, said: "We haven't heard anything from OCR. My personal opinion is that they were just hoping the situation would go away.

"If the problems are not addressed, many schools such as ours will accelerate plans for the possible introduction of the International Baccalaureate as a replacement."

Ann Robinson, principal teacher of Woodhouse Sixth Form College, Finchley, said her school had heard nothing from the OCR for a week, despite submitting up to three appeals in each subject as "test cases".

Helen Kay, deputy headteacher of the City of London Girls School, said confidence in the exam system had been shattered.

Meanwhile, Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith called for an extension of next week's recall of Parliament to give Opposition MPs the opportunity to question Education Secretary Estelle Morris on the crisis.

Additional reporting by Hugh Dougherty, George Wright, Mark Wilkinson and John Bynorth