A SCHOOL has come under fire after admitting a teaching error may affect sixth form students’ overall grades.

A relative of a student affected at The Nobel School in Stevenage told the Comet AS English literature students were informed some of the syllabus had not been covered just a few hours before sitting the exam.

The relative, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “The fact students found out a few hours before the exam is ridiculous and many people are outraged.

“I just found it disappointing as it’s not something that should happen and it’s to the detriment of the students.”

Following the exam a fortnight ago, a letter was sent out last week to affected students by executive headteacher Cathy Tooze – who has taken over leadership of the school from Alistair Craig on a temporary basis.

In the letter, Mrs Tooze, who will be replaced by incoming head Martyn Henson in September, said: “We are aware that an error has been made in connection with the teaching of one of the texts for this summer’s AS English literature examination and that not all the Rosetti poems on the syllabus were taught in sufficient detail. As a result, students were unable to access all questions on the exam paper fully, which may affect their overall grade.

“I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to you for the immediate distress that the school’s error has caused and explain the measures we will be taking to address the situation.”

Mrs Tooze said she has written to the exam board to explain what has happened and request that this error does not disadvantage the students.

She said: “Upon publication of the results in the summer we will analyse the uniform mark scale to assess whether the overall grade was affected by the score for this paper and whether the paper should be re-sat in June 2014. Any re-sit (cost) will, of course, be met by the school.

“There will also be a full internal investigation into how this situation arose, and appropriate actions will be taken.”

The concerned relative said: “I hope there will be a positive outcome from this. I think the school shouldn’t look to blame students or teachers, but they should put effort into reassuring parents, students and teachers that the initial problem has been dealt with and it won’t happen again.”