Inquiry after 200 exam papers are lost in post

An investigation was ordered yesterday after more than 200 national curriculum exam scripts were lost in the post. The test papers, sat by 13 and 14-year-olds at The Gilberd School, Colchester, vanished after being sent to a teacher for marking.

The blunder is the latest in a series of mishaps over this summer's national curriculum tests and GCSE, AS and A-level exams. Only a fortnight ago another exam board admitted that almost 300 AS-level sociology scripts had been destroyed by a householder when they were sent to his home for marking by mistake.

In the latest episode, George Turnbull, a spokesman for the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance, said the scripts had been sent to a marker at a school address.

"The delivery company say someone has signed for them but the person to whom they had been sent says they did not arrive," he said. "They have been lost in the post. It happens even though we take all precautions to ensure it does not. It would make no sense to steal them. They are not of any use to anyone."

In the case of national curriculum tests, the exam boards mark them for the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), the Government's exams watchdog. If papers are lost, marks are not awarded and an explanation is given in school league tables that the scripts went missing. The results of national curriculum test are not as crucial to the future of the individual student as, say, GCSE, AS or A-levels.

The QCA said it was "very concerned" about what had happened and was investigating the loss.

In the earlier case of the destroyed AS-level papers, the OCR examination board contacted all 16 schools affected and told them no student would be disadvantaged as a result of the blunder. Pupils are being assessed on the basis of the coursework they have done during the year.