SWINDON'S pupils have been hit by the national A-level results crisis.

Education Secretary Estelle Morris has ordered an inquiry into A-level marking after claims exam boards lowered pupils' results because too many were set to get high grades.

And Peter Wells of Stratton's St Joseph's School, which has a sixth form, has said his school was planning to send papers for re-marking after suspicions were raised over some results.

Mr Wells says that such massaging of the results happens every year because there are no set grade boundaries.

He says exam boards usually award a certain percentage of pupils each grade with fewer getting the top grades. This means a pupil in a year where there are more high-achieving students than usual will find it harder to get a top grade.

The reason exam boards have been found out this year, says Mr Wells, is because of the new way A-levels are taken.

Students take AS-levels in the first year, equivalent to half an A-level, then upgrade to A2 or a full A-level the year after.

Pupils have the grades from their AS-levels ringfenced, so any lowering of grades has to be done to the second year's results. Questions started to be asked, Mr Wells claims, because the exam boards focused on lowering coursework marks, and high-achieving students suddenly found themselves with a low mark for their coursework.

Mr Wells said: "If more students are achieving the highest grades due to working harder or better teaching, nothing should stop them getting the grades.

"We have sent some papers back to be re-marked but I am not in a position to say whether this is related to the controversy."

Graham Taylor, principal of New College, said he was complaining about a block of A-level information and computing technology coursework marks.

He said: "My view about the current A-level furore is that powerful independent schools with tremendous PR clout have raised issues about coursework marking and statistical profiling which require answers from the examination boards."

Elizabeth Cooper, headteacher of the Ridgeway School and sixth form, said: "I concur with everything Mr Wells has said. The A-levels are still a gold standard but our pupils have worked very hard and many have gone to university.

"We are asking for a number of papers to be remarked but none more than in previous years."