Linslade A-level student has grade corrected after exam board mix-up

A Linslade A-level student was finally awarded the grade he deserved after the exam board didn't mark one of his answer booklets.

Cedars Upper School pupil Matthew Simkins was set for a straight A in History, but was left disappointed on results day to only receive a B - barring him from all five university choices.

But on further investigation, it was discovered that one of his answer booklets hadn’t been marked by exam board AQA, meaning his results needed regrading.

Matthew, 18, is now thrilled to have achieved his desired 'A', while the exam board has apologised and is "looking into how it happened".

Matthew's father, Michael, told the LBO: "Understandably, we were shocked and appalled. My heart goes out to all these youngsters that genuinely didn't attain the grade they needed and have had their lives turned upside down, and the few that may have suffered from incompetence within the exam boards.

"I would urge any youngsters who are questioning their grades to ask for the scripts back. Matthew can't be the only isolated incident."

Matthew had taken A Levels in Music, Philosophy and Ethics, and History.

He had set his sights on studying History at university, with his preferred institutions either requiring three As or an A in his chosen subject.

Thanks to the new grade, he now has an A in all three subjects.

Michael said: "In the run up, he was quite anxious about his exams, especially with all that's happened in the last couple of years.

"On results day, he was really quite down about it. He'd put in so much work."

Luckily for Matthew, he had decided to defer his university place for a year, so he took time to investigate and requested the exam script – and the error was discovered.

Matthew said: "I am very happy with my result and the fact that the wait to receive it was worthwhile.

"I’d like to thank my family for insisting that the paper should be looked at, otherwise there’s a good chance that the grade would’ve stayed the same despite the missing answer.

"I’d also like to thank all the people at Cedars Upper who have supported and helped me through this process and throughout sixth form as a whole."

Matthew is now choosing which university he will attend, and hopes to begin his studies in September 2023.

An AQA spokesperson said: "We’re sorry we didn’t get this right first time and we’re looking into how it happened, but are happy to say it’s now resolved.

“We’ve updated the student with their new result, and we wish them every success in their future studies.”

A Cedars Upper School spokesman said: "Matthew was a fantastic student, and we shared his frustrations when we found his papers had been wrongly marked by the exam board. It undoubtedly causes a lot of unnecessary additional stress at an already anxious period.

"We always encourage our students to talk to us about their exam grades if they feel something isn’t right.

"We were pleased that we could help Matthew secure his right grade, and hope that he continues this success at university.”