Revealed: The 10,000 A-level pupils hidden from school league tables

 

 

A-level students celebrate earlier in the summer

 

 

 

Schools are 'hiding' the A-level results of weaker pupils by forcing them to pay the exam fees themselves - so their grades do not show up in academic rankings.

Figures released last night show that the results of 10,000 candidates were not included in this year's school league tables because pupils were encouraged to enter as "private candidates".

Last night, experts said that the pressure to do well in the league tables was encouraging schools to the "cheat like footballers".

The scam emerged after the father of an 18-year-old girl told The Mail on Sunday he had been forced to enrol his daughter for her A-levels himself - and pay the £80 fee for each exam - because teachers at her private school claimed she was "weak academically" and that her results could damage their league-table position.

The father, who does not want to be identified because he has another child at the school, says his daughter felt vindicated when she was awarded A grades in this month's results.

Edexcel, one of three English exam boards, disclosed that 3,146 candidates were entered privately for A-levels this year - one quarter of them from private schools. The AQA exam board said it had been used by more than 4,000 private candidates. The third board, OCR, refused to reveal its figures, although sources say they are in line with the two other boards.

Ralph Lucas, editor of the Good Schools Guide, said he had heard rumours of schools "off-loading" pupils who might drag down their rankings - but it was the first time there had been official evidence from the boards confirming the scale of the problem.

"It is about trying to gull parents into thinking their results are better than they are," he said. "Good schools aren't afraid to encourage so-called weaker candidates to sit A-levels - it is the less confident institutions that worry about their ranking.

"I know the boards used to have a problem with schools in states such as Kuwait doing that with their international qualifications, but I didn't realise it was such a problem here. I am surprised by how high the proportion is."

Alan Smithers, Professor of Education at Buckingham University and a Government adviser, said that pressure to do well in the tables was forcing schools to play games to maximise their advantage. "It is like the footballers who keep the ball at the corner flag to waste time, or who fall down in the box at the slightest touch," he said. "They are stretching the rules.

"For the same reason, the number of appeals against grades has risen by 24 per cent in the past two years, with an average of three grades being upgraded in every school."

Parents have also complained that schools are making it harder for pupils to move into school sixth forms if they don't have a strong academic record. Last year, the father of 16-year-old Rhys Gray started legal action against Marlborough College in Wiltshire over its decision not to allow his son into the sixth form, which he believes was due to his average academic record. The school said the decision was based on the boy's behaviour.

An Edexcel spokeswoman said that it costs between £70 and £130 to take an A-level. She said she "couldn't possibly comment" on the reasons for the private entries.

The league table system should be placed in the bin.

 

Get schools and colleges teaching proper subjects, less Media and those soft subjects, and more real-life subjects.

 

Get schools and colleges teaching proper subjects, less Media and those soft subjects, and more real-life subjects.

 

try teaching then to read, write & add up then start on the real-life subjects

They are the real-life subjects Jen ;)

 

Reading, Writing and Core Maths, with options for advanced maths if they are going into an area of work which needs advanced maths

:P fair enough. :D although, I'd have thought that whatever they call home ec & stuff these days would be a real-life subject.

 

it makes me sad every time I hear a parent in our shop say things like "what do you want another book for?"

:P fair enough. :D although, I'd have thought that whatever they call home ec & stuff these days would be a real-life subject.

 

it makes me sad every time I hear a parent in our shop say things like "what do you want another book for?"

 

You should be grateful the parent knows what a book is!!:P

You should be grateful the parent knows what a book is!!:P

 

i don't get to meet any of them, they're the ones heading down the retail park to Argos/JJB/ice cream van

i don't get to meet any of them' date=' they're the ones heading down the retail park to Argos/JJB/ice cream van[/quote']

 

So how do you come in contact with them??:confused:

the people who don't know what a book is.

 

The others are the ones who can usually be found in Starbucks, trying to ignore the kids, who want a book

So what do you do there?

depends which month it is!! I've changed job descriptions 3 times in the last 6 months, and is hopefully changing again in the next month!!!

depends which month it is!! I've changed job descriptions 3 times in the last 6 months' date=' and is hopefully changing again in the next month!!![/quote']

 

Chav relations??:rolleyes:

Chav relations??:rolleyes:

 

no, thank god!!! don't think I could cope with another Christmas if that were the case

no' date=' thank god!!! don't think I could cope with another Christmas if that were the case[/quote']

 

Do they all converge on the Chavvord Centre??:thinking:

Do they all converge on the Chavvord Centre??:thinking:

 

 

the Traffic Centre? depends what time of day you go. if you're in as soon as it opens, then no