Again, summer’s arrival has been officially heralded by the media frenzy over education. With the news that biology A-level papers have been stolen and sold on the internet, the exam board Edexcel serves as a scapegoat for Britain’s educational ills.
Is it not obvious that it is the responsibility of schools, colleges and their examination officers to secure all exam papers? Besides teaching, I serve as a summer examiner and have only been met by Edexcel’s professionalism.
I have also had the dubious privilege of working in a private sixth-form institution not unlike the college that lost the papers. Perhaps attention would be better focused on the cut-throat world of private “crammers” sprouting across the South-east. Such institutions are habitually seeking to reduce outgoings: I suggest their exam offices and security procedures should be in the line of fire rather than Edexcel.
Dr Robert Carr American university in London Holloway Road, London N7
