Pupils offered £300 to pass exams

Pupils are being offered cash payments of up to £300 by their own school if they pass exams.

The scheme was today defended by their head teacher as a justifiable incentive, no different from school prizes which have been awarded for generations.

But a teachers' leader condemned it as a "bribe," warning that the education system could degenerate into a " Dutch auction", with schools outbidding each other to attract the brightest pupils.

The payments are being offered by St George's Community College, Bristol, a comprehensive which regularly features at the bottom of local exam league tables.

Each pupil taking GCSEs this summer has been set target grades in up to 10 subjects and for each they achieve they will receive a £10 reward, with a £50 bonus if they hit them all. Pupils will also get a £150 grant if they decide to go into the school's sixth form.

Head teacher Ray Priest said: "We are not trying to bribe kids to stay in school but to fulfil their aims," he said.