Exam marking error sees 13 student miss first choice university

Over 3,000 A-level and GCSE students were awarded the wrong marks in 2010 in one of the biggest exam mistakes for almost a decade.

13 A-level candidates missed out on their first-choice university or course as a result. In total 3,350 candidates were given the wrong marks, of which 622 were awarded lower grades than they actually achieved.

An enquiry blamed a new online marking system introduced by the UK's largest exam body, the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA).

Isabel Nesbit, chief executive of Ofqual, the exams watchdog, said the failings by the AQA were "very disappointing".

AQA chief executive, Andrew Hall, "I deeply regret this failure and the impact it had on students, including the 13 who missed out on their first choice for course or university last summer. I want to reassure the public that all the affected students were notified and issued correct grades in October last year."

This is the biggest exercise since the introduction of a new A-level syllabus saw 90,000 A-level scripts being re-checked after it emerged markers were unclear of the new marking system.

As a result 24 people changed courses or gained new university places and 170 were awarded higher grades.

However, none of the 13 students most affected by the error changed universities. The mistake was only spotted after the deadline for the university clearing and placement process had expired.