A-levels 'deflated'

Britain's top independent schools are threatening to launch a legal challenge to this year's A-level results which they believe were deliberately deflated by examiners dismayed at the high number of top grades that emerged from the preliminary assessment.

Britain's top independent schools are threatening to launch a legal challenge to this year's A-level results which they believe were deliberately deflated by examiners dismayed at the high number of top grades that emerged from the preliminary assessment.

The Headmasters' Conference, representing Britain's top public schools, has given ministers and exam bosses until the end of the week to explain inconsistent marking of A-level exams.

Schools believe pupils were "marked down" to avoid claims that exams had become easier because there were too many A grades. It is claimed erratic results have affected some of Britain's most exclusive schools, such as Eton and Harrow, and have led to students missing out on university places.

The Oxford, Cambridge and RSA (OCR) board is investigating results in English, Politics, French, Geography, History and Psychology.

If erratic results are not explained, the Headmasters' Conference says it will support legal action by schools or pupils against the OCR, The Observer reported.