STUDENTS will not be able to go to university this September as a result of a college blunder. This is according to concerned parent Dave Roney, whose daughter, Joanne, is studying at North Hertfordshire College s Stevenage campus. He said the 22 students

STUDENTS will not be able to go to university this September as a result of a college blunder.

This is according to concerned parent Dave Roney, whose daughter, Joanne, is studying at North Hertfordshire College's Stevenage campus.

He said the 22 students on a Childcare and Education course have discovered they have been studying the wrong module.

"The college is trying to put it right by sending a selection of work from throughout the year to the examining body to be marked," he said. "I think the idea is that they may disregard the last piece of work, which was the wrong piece of work."

But Mr Roney says it will not be marked until after university places have been allocated, meaning at least six students with their hearts set on university will lose their places.

Joanne is due to start a nursing degree at the University of Hertfordshire on September 21, but her place on the course is conditional on her passing the diploma.

"The college has said their director of further education is going to speak to the universities concerned, but it's still not a guarantee," said Mr Roney. "Students have worked hard for the last two years, only to be told they have failed because of a mistake by the college."

Joanne's mother, Tina, said: "There are students who got A grades for all the other modules and then failed this.

"Joanne had passed all other parts but, when it came to this, the whole class failed.

"It's really upsetting. My daughter is someone who has to have her future mapped out. It's all up in the air for her and it's a stressful time."

A spokesman for North Hertfordshire College said: "Whilst we cannot comment on individual students, we are aware of the situation with one piece of work for the Level 3 Diploma in Childcare and Education assessment."

She said the college is currently in negotiations with CACHE, the examining body, and the outcome of these discussions will be communicated to those involved as soon as possible.