GCSE exams will not be re-graded rules judge

Thousands of students whose GCSE exams were downgraded last summer will not have their papers re-graded, said a high court judge, after a court action supported by Haggerston School was dismissed on February 13.

Lord Justice Elias said that while there had been unfairness in the structure of the qualification, the examining bodies and the regulator Ofqual had acted properly.

“This is a very disappointing outcome,” said Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers. “It is very clear to the NUT and the other organisations that brought this action that a great injustice has been done.”

The court action had been brought by an alliance of groups including Haggerston School after the grade boundaries for GCSE English were changed last June.

The coalition said that schools relied on January’s grade boundaries when preparing for the June exams, and that no warning was given for the boundary change, leaving students with lower grades than they were expecting.

Lord Justice Elias wrote: “I am satisfied that it was the structure of the qualification itself which is the source of such unfairness as has been demonstrated in this case, and not any unlawful action by either Ofqual or the awarding organisations.”

The coalition described this as a frustrating outcome.

“We are pleased the judge said we were right to bring the case, but nevertheless it is very sad not to be able to conclude the legal challenge with good news,” said Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers.

“As the judge acknowledged, the system was so flawed that the regulator had no choice but to be unfair to some group of students.

“Let’s have an end to political meddling in exams from any part of the political spectrum, meddling which only sets up these failures.”

Ms Blower added: “An estimated 10,000 students who took their English GCSE exam in June 2012 missed out on a C grade as a result of the decisions by the examination boards. These students had achieved exactly the same standard as their classmates who were awarded a C grade just a few months earlier.

“Parents, pupils and teachers will feel very let down.”

In October, four Hackney schools and over 100 others across the country called for the re-grading of the June exams using the January grade boundaries. Of the four, only Haggerston School supported the legal action that followed.