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Apology for ‘anxiety’ over grammar school entrance exam errors

The errors appeared in an entrance exam for Buckinghamshire grammar schools.

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A group of grammar schools has apologised after errors appeared in an entrance exam

A number of errors on an entrance exam for a group of grammar schools have caused “anxiety” to parents of prospective pupils, according to Buckinghamshire County Council.

Inconsistencies between question and answer sheets meant that children sitting the 11+ exam were not able to answer some questions, a spokesman said.

The flawed questions appeared in the entrance exam for 13 schools in the county.

A parent of a child who sat the exam, who did not want to be named, said it “beggars belief that no-one proof read it”.

“It was impossible to answer and kids began raising their hands – which at the age of 10 under exam conditions takes some courage,” she added.

The problem was pointed out by children sitting the exam, according to a letter sent to parents by The Gerrards Cross CE School, which has been seen by the PA news agency.

The impossible questions made children “concerned” and “upset” and this may have affected their overall performance, it added.

A spokesman for the council said: “We recognise that this will cause anxiety for parents and we hope that this matter can be addressed as swiftly as possible.”

An “urgent” meeting has been scheduled between exam provider GL Assessment and the Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools group of schools, he added.

There were errors on two questions on a verbal reasoning paper and two questions on a practice section of an English test.

A letter sent to parents of the prospective pupils by the Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools, which has also been seen by PA, said that scores for the questions would be omitted from the final marks.

“As soon as the issue was identified, instructions were given to all test centres to tell candidates to not attempt to answer the two questions,” the letter added.

“We sincerely apologise for the anxiety this may have caused you.”

GL Assessment confirmed that the flawed exam was only sat by children in Buckinghamshire.

In a joint statement with The Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools, the two organisations apologised for the error and said they “would like to assure all parents and candidates that there will be a fair resolution within a very short period of time”.

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