Anger at pounds 250 `bribe' for A-level pupils

A college principal was yesterday attacked for offering students a pounds 250 reward for passing exams. George Bright has pledged the cash to any pupil atTrowbridge College, Wiltshire, who passes three A-levels and wins a place at university.

Nigel Gilhepsy, head of Matraver School in nearby Westbury, said: "This is nothing short of sleazy bribery." The education minister James Paice has written a letter voicing disapproval but said nothing could be done because the college had freedom under the Further Higher Education Act 1992.