New team appointed after GCSE concerns at Newport school
Bosses at a Newport school have appointed a new team to lead its GCSE computing lessons after an investigation was carried out over problems with coursework.
. It is thought that an information technology course was also affected.
Headteacher Christine Carter said: "The school has completed its review which was submitted to the AQA examination board and recommendations made have been implemented. A new team and new head of department have been appointed."
The school has not revealed details of the recommendations being made. The review was launched earlier this year following concerns from some parents.
One parent, who does not want to be named, claimed to have met senior staff to discuss her 16-year-old daughter's progress after discovering she had been entered for the ECDL test as an alternative, without the family's consent to changes in her study programme.
She claimed that parents had been kept in the dark about the situation and welcomed the investigation.
This year, 64 per cent of Year 11 pupils at the school achieved grade C passes in both English and maths.
The Department for Education said it was looking closely at GCSE-equivalent qualifications such as the ECDL, which can be taught in three days but is equivalent in the school league tables to a two-year GCSE such as history.
The number of qualifications awarded has risen from fewer than 2,000 in 2014 to more than 30,000 in 2015, according to the latest figures.
