Leading Article: Timely warning

Ken Boston, the head of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, was right to call for schools to clamp down on the number of pupils being given extra time in exams. Nearly 70,000 received extra help last year, a 22 per cent rise on the previous summer.

The concern is that teachers are exploiting rules designed to help dyslexic pupils. Teachers are under enormous pressure to achieve the best results for their students.

But they must resist any impulse to award extra time to those who don't really need it. Extra time is vital for students with real problems but the system will be undermined if schools abuse it.