The head teacher of a primary school in Berkshire has resigned amid allegations of cheating in national tests.

David Hopkins left his post at the Whiteknights Primary School in Wokingham after the exams regulator annulled the school's results in two of the three national curriculum test subjects.

The watchdog - the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) - quashed the maths and science scores in the SATs tests taken by 10 and 11 year olds at the school.

Although the QCA and the local education authority are not giving details, the allegations are understood to be that pupils were told they could change their answers after the tests were supposed to have ended.

'No disruption'

Wokingham's director of education, Andy Roberts, said: "We expect high standards of probity from all who work in public service - regrettably, those standards have not been maintained on this occasion.

"We are working very closely together with the governors and staff at the school to ensure that there is no disruption to the pupils' education.

"We are contacting all of the secondary schools the Year 6 pupils will be moving to and will be making sure that they are not affected by the missing test scores."

It is understood problems in test papers were uncovered by an inspector from the education authority.

He reported the matter to the QCA.

The pupils' English results were not affected and neither were the test scores for seven year olds at the school.

Pressures

A spokesman for the exams watchdog said: "QCA has completed an investigation into alleged irregularities in the administration of Key Stage 2 tests at White Knight school.

"As a result of this investigation the school's maths and science results have been annulled."

The general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), David Hart, said: "This is clearly a personal tragedy for the head teacher.

"And, whilst NAHT does not under any circumstances condone malpractice, it is yet another example of why we desperately need to reduce pressures on our members, which are created by the current outrageous target-setting agenda and by the way league tables are constructed."

League table place

The school's deputy head is taking over as acting head until the end of term.

The effect of the results being annulled will be to slash the school's showing in this year's league tables, no matter how good its English result.

Last year, Whiteknights was ranked 32nd out of the area's 37 schools, with test scores a little below the national average and which had been on the slide since 1999.

In its most recent Ofsted report in January 1999, inspectors said the school's strengths outweighed its weaknesses, which it was well placed to tackle.

The school, on the outskirts of Reading, serves an area of mostly private housing in Lower Earley, where unemployment is below average.

Relatively few of the pupils are poor enough to be entitled to free school meals.

"Parents have high expectations and provide good support," inspectors said.