Teachers 'Tipped Off To Help Pupils Pass Exams'

An inquiry has been ordered into England's education system after reports of examiners giving teachers secret advice on how to improve pupils' results.

An undercover investigation by The Daily Telegraph found evidence of teachers paying £200-a-day to attend seminars with chief examiners.

Tutors were advised on future GCSE and A-level exam questions and the exact wording that pupils should use to obtain higher marks, the paper said.

According to the newspaper, the advice being given out appears to go far beyond the standard "guidance".

The revelations will prompt claims exam boards are undermining the purpose of exam syllabuses by encouraging 'teaching to the test'.

The paper said it recorded one chief examiner telling teachers which questions their pupils could expect in the next round of exams.

In footage provided by the Telegraph, a man says: "We're cheating. We're telling you the cycle (of the compulsory question). Probably the regulator will tell us off."

He then advises teachers that he was telling them how to "hammer exam technique" rather than the approach of "proper educationalists" to "teach the lot".

Education Secretary Michael Gove ordered an urgent inquiry from Ofqual, the exam regulator, and said: "Our exams system needs fundamental reform. Today's revelations confirm that the current system is discredited.

"We will take whatever action is necessary to restore faith in our exam system. Nothing is off the table."

Chris McGovern, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education and former head teacher, told the newspaper: "It is cheating... Sadly, for those in the profession, it won't come as a surprise.

"Behind closed doors, few doubt there has been a dumbing down of standards and that practices are corrupt."

Exam boards defended the probity of their exams but pledged to investigate if individual examiners had broken the rules.

Individuals working for boards including Welsh exam board, WJEC, and Edxcel were among those who allegedly conducted the seminars.

A spokesman for WJEC said advice given by one of its examiners during a session attended by a Telegraph reporter had long been universally available.

"The alleged use of the word 'cheating' therefore appears to have been injudicious, as well as inaccurate. We shall investigate this further," he said.

A spokesman for Edexcel said: "These sessions are designed to give useful feedback to teachers and are retrospective on the previous year's examinations.

"Examiners' contracts specifically state that no discussion of the content of future exam questions should ever take place. Any breach of this clear contractual obligation is something we would take extremely seriously and act on.

"All the individuals mentioned have many years' experience in teaching and examining. They are people of high integrity who work as we do, to help students reach their full potential and uphold standards."