STUDENTS have seen weeks of revision wasted after an examination board lost their papers.

Eighty-four AS-level business students arrived at York College to collect their results, but were told the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) had mislaid their exams.

They must now decide whether to re-sit the examination alongside two other modules in the summer, or to accept an estimated grade based on results from examinations they are still to take.

Hugh Carruthers, 17, and Dan Robinson, 16, both of Poppleton, were angry when college staff broke the news.

Dan said: "We had problems when we were taking our GCSEs at Bootham School. A different exam board sent us the wrong papers and we only found out an hour into the exam."

Hugh said: "We revised all over Christmas for this exam. We are not very pleased."

Fellow student Craig Thompson, 17, of Holgate, hopes to study business at university. He said he was devastated to discover his paper had been lost. He said: "I said after the exam that it was the best one I had ever done.

"I tried to ring the exam board, but I found them horrifically unhelpful."

College assistant principal Margaret Price said: "We are gravely concerned that this has happened and we have expressed this to the board."

She said staff had seen each student to discuss options and asked the AQA to write to them.

Claire Ellis, of the AQA, said a number of papers had been lost, but that it was a rare mishap.

She said: "We do sympathise very much with the students and understand that it is disappointing and frustrating to turn up and not have anything to show for their hard work."

Ms Ellis said if the papers were found, they would be marked.

The Government's examinations watchdog has requested a full report from the AQA.