10:13am Thursday 14th August 2008
By Fran Bardsley
SOME of Oxford's top A-level students were given the wrong marks which could have cost them their preferred university places.
Thirteen pupils at Magdalen College School had parts of their coursework marked zero by exam board Edexcel - despite high marks being sent off to the marking board for moderation.
The school's master Tim Hands said: "Ten per cent of the A-Level grades at this school were going to be incorrect.
"There has been no sign of an apology from anyone at the exam board at all."
The error was spotted by Brian Macdonald, the school's exam officer, on Wednesday as he checked the results before they were given to pupils yesterday.
He then contacted Edexcel to query the marks and new provisional marks have been sent through.
One pupil, who was taking French, German and Spanish A Levels, had been given grades of B, B, C, which have new been provisionally upgraded to straight As.
Religious studies AS levels were also affected - and the school said the exam board had yet to rectify the mistake.
A spokesman for Edexcel said: "Students will get the right results on the right day. Schools get access to the data a day early in order to clarify anomalies.
"In this instance, missing coursework marks have now been applied so the students will get the right results on the right day."
Elsewhere in the county, thousands of students were celebrating - and commiserating - with each other as they found out whether or not two years of hard work had paid off.
Matthew Arnold School, in Botley, was celebrating its best ever A-Level results.
A total of 98 per cent of pupils at the school scored A to E grades, with three-quarters getting A to Cs.
Giles Marshall, senior deputy headteacher, said: "Students work very hard and very much deserve their examination successes.
"Every student who sat examinations achieved at least one exam pass and we are delighted with some exceptionally good individual performances."
Llewellyn Kinch scored four A grades and will be going on to study Natural Sciences at Jesus College, Cambridge. There were also four further students who got three As, including Emma Jackson, 18, from Kennington, who will be taking a gap year before seeking a place to study veterinary medicine.
She said: "It was awesome. It was really shocking and kind of surreal."
Andrew Furniss, 18, from Kennington, got two As and a B which have secured him a place at Birmingham University, where he will read economics.
He said: "I was quite nervous but when I saw the results I was ecstatic."
Students at Cheney School, Headington, have also registered their school's best ever performance.
A total of 81 per cent of pupils achieved A to C grades, and five have won places at Oxford and Cambridge.
Headteacher Jolie Kirby said: "The excellent results are the winning combination of hard working and committed students, the dedication and skill of staff, and supportive parents."
Abingdon School, in Park Road, had some of the highest scoring chemistry students in the country, with five pupils at the independent school scoring in the top ten in the country out of nearly 6,500 candidates.
For one of them, Howard Loh, who was receiving his results from his home in Hong Kong, his chemistry A was one of seven - making him one of the highest performing students in the country.
Headteacher Mark Turner said: "We are delighted with this year's A-level results.
"They are just reward for all the hard work from the boys and staff and the tremendous support received from families.
Pupils at Oxford High School also had much to smile about - with 14 gaining four or more A-levels at the highest level.
A total of 98.4 per cent of pupils achieved A to C grades, with all students passing the exams with an A to E.
Chloe Brown, from Jericho, and Hannah Huang, from North Oxford, both achieved five As, and Naomi Miller, from Summertown, scored in the top ten of more than 4,000 music students across the country.
Headteacher Felicity Lusk said: "We congratulate all our students on these wonderful results which will guarantee their places at the top universities."
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