Exam board faces parents’ legal action after re-marking blunder

THE UK’S largest exam board could face a group legal action from parents following revelations that exams subject to appeal were being re-marked by the same examiners.

It emerged this week that Ofqual ordered AQA to pay more than £1million in fines and compensation after it admitted failing to ensure re-marked examination papers were dealt with by a separate invigilator.

Ofqual said that while AQA had accepted its ruling and will not appeal, it was still possible that third parties could come forward with a claim for compensation. Shimon Goldwater, a senior solicitor at Asserson – the law firm which represented university students who launched legal action against last year’s lecturer strikes – said a group action might be possible against the examination board.

Mr Goldwater said: “If there is actual money that you’ve had to lay out because of it... then possibly those expenses you could claim.”

Dr Tony Breslin, former chief examiner, said AQA’S blunder represented a “systematic failure”. He said: “If I were a parent I would be furious. I would imagine an enterprising law firm could launch a class action on behalf of a group of parents.” But any parents or schools that decide to take action and challenge either Ofqual or AQA would need “very deep pockets”, he added.

From 2016 to 2018, AQA failed to ensure examiners who re-marked papers following an appeal were different to those who marked them first time round.

The exam board said the error was a “past technical issue” which had been fixed and “did not affect the outcome of anyone’s review”.

Mark Bedlow, AQA’S interim chief executive, said at the time: “Reviews should always be carried out by a fresh pair of eyes and we’re sorry that, for a small proportion in the past, this wasn’t the case.”