HUNDREDS of school pupils across Hampshire and Southampton were today at the centre of a GCSE exam grades controversy.
It comes after schools discovered that their English GCSE grades were lower than expected.
Several schools have revealed their shock and anger at finding results in the core subject are significantly lower than expected, despite predictions in other courses proving accurate.
Fears have been raised that many pupils have fallen foul of a bid to stop the seemingly inexorable rise in pass rates, as the Government attempts to toughen up the qualifications.
For students, lower grades could mean they are unable to follow their chosen path at college.
Many schools have refused to release their results, saying they have no confidence they are accurate, and are now planning to appeal after overall pass rates in English were up to 15 per cent down on forecasts.
For the first time since GCSEs were introduced in 1986, the proportion of pupils gaining A* to C grades in English has fallen nationally.
One Hampshire head teacher said pupils appeared to have suffered huge downgrades on their coursework, despite achieving well in exams .
It comes after exam boards were ordered by regulator Ofqual to end grade inflation, taking pass rates back to a 2010 level.
But with many of this year's school leavers having taken exams early, effectively banking their results, that has left fewer top grades available for the remaining pupils, apparently leaving some pupils with lower results in spite of good marks throughout.
As well as schools in Southampton and Hampshire, many more around the country have reported complaints about their results, arguing those who did not enter their pupils for early exams seem to have been unfairly penalised.
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