EDUCATION chiefs have hit back at claims that schools are passing back increasing numbers of exam papers for re-marking.

The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, (QCA) the body responsible for Standard Assessment Tests, saaid fewer papers were re-submitted for maths and science examinations this year.

But the number of Key Stage Two English test re-marks has risen from 4,974 to 5,473.

A QCA spokesman said: "The figures we have so far, indicate that review requests are down this year.

"We don't know the outcomes yet, but reviews of marking that result in changes of level are always a tiny proportion of the total cohort who sit the tests."

It will be some weeks before the authority reveals how many re-submitted papers were given a new grade after being re-marked.

The Northern Echo reported earlier this year that Durham Johnston School was forced to return 230 Key Stage Three English scripts because teachers believed marks were too low.

Of those, 28 were increased by at least one grade.

Hurworth Primary School sent back four Key Stage Two papers. They all returned with a better mark.

Trevor Drury, headteacher at Hurworth Primary, said: "We were a bit disappointed that the children's levels, which were expected to be a little bit higher, came back quite low."

Incorrect marking can have a profound effect on a child's future in education. For Key Stage Two pupils, it provides the benchmark for which class youngsters are placed in when they reach senior school.