Britain's academy school teachers 'pressured' to inflate grades

A significant number of teachers at academy schools contacted a confidential helpline to claim they are being pressured to artificially inflate pupils' grades by school authorities, Britain's biggest whistle-blowing charity has claimed.

Public Concern at Work (PCW) has seen an 80 per cent increase in the number of complaints from the education sector during the past 12 months, boosted by a noticeable increase in calls from teachers at academy schools.

Many say they have been asked to ensure that marks for coursework and exams remain high, even if the marks are not deserved. Charity managers believe they are being contacted by academy teachers because of the removal of oversight by local authorities.

The disclosure comes as schools prepare for their A-level results, released recently. Union officials say there is concern that intense competition between schools is forcing managers to put staff under undue pressure to boost grades.

It follows previous complaints that some academies are enforcing a culture of unwarranted sackings, "unethical" sickness policies and heads who "rule through fear".

Francesca West, PCW's policy director, said there had been a noticeable increase in calls from academy staff who said they were under pressure to inflate their students' marks.

"Many concerns have come from teachers within schools with new academy status that are under pressure to maintain high results," West says.