World Cup sets test for examiners

Education chiefs warned today that GCSEs and A-levels could be disrupted by students watching World Cup matches on television.

Time differences between Britain and Japan mean games will be screened live at the same time the schoolchildren should be sitting the exams.

George Turnbull of the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance said: "My main worry would be that students getting up early to watch the match, then rushing to get to the examination hall on time, might not be in the best frame of mind to sit the paper."

The match expected to cause most problems is England's last first-round World Cup match against Nigeria on 12 June, which clashes with GCSE andA-level exams.

Kick-off is at 7.30am and the match is not scheduled to finish until 15 minutes after the start of morning papers in GCSE biology, A and AS-level business studies and A-level German.

If all goes well for the England team, students will face the same dilemma nine days later when the quarter-finals overlap with GCSE physics and A levels in economics and English literature.

Mr Turnbull said altering the exam timetable was not an option. "Major sporting events often take place in the exam season, and I am afraid there is no way around it," he said.

However, he said schools could use their discretion to delay exams by half an hour. David Hart of the National Association of Head Teachers said: "It would take a very brave school to hold out against the massed ranks of students wanting a half-hour's postponement so that they can watch the World Cup, once it becomes known that this discretion exists."

But John Dunford of the Secondary Heads Association said most schools would not take the extra half-hour as it would "compress" the day's exam schedule.

"My advice would be to watch the first half if you must, then see the rest on video later," he said.

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