Education Secretary Estelle Morris has bowed to pressure and announced there is to be an independent inquiry into claims that exam boards fixed grades.

She made the announcement at a news conference in an attempt to restore confidence in the exams system following allegations of grade-fixing.

The inquiry is to be carried out by Mike Tomlinson, the former chief inspector of schools in England.

There has been no political interference at all

Estelle Morris

He will look at claims that three main exam boards marked down results after pressure from the government's exams watchdog, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA).

And he will also investigate persistent claims that exams are getting easier.

Earlier this week, the government said there was to be an in-house inquiry into the claims that exam boards had fixed grades, but this did not satisfy head teachers at both independent and state schools, who demanded an independent review.

Even the QCA joined calls for an independent inquiry.

It was angered by claims that it had bowed to political pressure to lower exam grades to prevent damaging claims that exams were getting easier.

Take education right out of the political arena

Derek Blyth, UK

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Ms Morris said the government had to act to conserve the integrity of the exam system.

"The A-level is the gold standard of our qualification system and if there is any doubt about it, we have to act," she said.

Ms Morris insisted there had been "no political interference whatsoever" in the setting of A-level grades.

"There was no political interference at all in the working of the QCA but it is my responsibility to make sure the exam system works fairly and in the interests of our pupils," she said.

Responsibility

She said that of the three examining boards 8,700 enquiries had been made to the AQA board - slightly up on last year's 7,400.

Edexcel has received a lower number of complaints than last year. But OCR figures were up from 1,618 to more than 4,000.

The education secretary said she wanted preliminary findings from Mike Tomlinson within a week.

Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said he welcomed the inquiry, but said whoever was found responsible "should pay with their own future".

Thousands of disputed A-level papers are already being re-marked and pupils are anxiously waiting to see if their grades are increased.

Many pupils e-mailing BBC News Online this week have complained they may have lost out on university places because of unfair marking.

Ms Morris: A-levels are our gold standard

Ms Morris attempted to reassure those pupils.

She announced that if investigations revealed that students had lost out on a university place, the student would be offered a place at that institution in the next academic year.

She went further, saying the government would try to help universities to offer a place for this academic year where possible, meeting the funding of that place if necessary.

The head teachers of independent schools, which first raised concerns about A-level grades, have said they welcome the news of an independent inquiry.

Young people have been let down

Doug McAvoy, NUT

Doug McAvoy, the general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: "Whatever that inquiry reveals, there can be no doubt that some young people have been let down seriously by unacceptable intervention in the assessment process.

"Such intervention damages the future prospects of young people as well as the credibility of the examination system."

The former Chief Inspector of Schools, Chris Woodhead, has said he does not believe the Education Secretary could have been unaware that the QCA was putting pressure on exam boards.

Culpable

He said: "Every important issue is discussed between officers of the QCA and the Department for Education and Skills.

"She must have known what was going on and if she didn't she is cuplable."

John Dunford, the general secretary of the Secondary Heads Association said part of the problem was due to poor communication between the exam boards and schools.

Tomlinson inquiry into:

Claims of grade-fixing Role of exams watchdog, QCA Claims of political interference Claims of falling standards in exams

He said the exam boards should have made the grade boundaries clear to schools months before the exams, not after, and that schools had been unclear about what level the exams were pitched at.

"It has left some very experienced teachers feeling disillusioned about A-levels," he said.

"Of all the many things that have been brought into question in education in recent years, that is the most damaging - to question A-level standards."

The QCA is due to report the findings of its investigation into the allegations of grade fixing to the education secretary on Friday.

Its chairman Sir William Stubbs has denied allegations by headteachers that his organisation had intervened in A-level exam marking and had brought an inappropriate pressure to bear on awarding bodies.