It is not the fault of ministers if examination coursework gets lost in the post, says Natasha Gilbert. But the unfortunate experience of Colchester County high school, which today blamed the examination board, Edexcel, for the disappearance of the work of 79 of its pupils, points towards a growing level of incompetence and chaos in the examination marking system. And this is something ministers should be taking responsibility for.
Worryingly the Colchester school said this is not the first time the examination board has slipped up. The school's spokeswoman says this is the second year in a row that Edexcel has given schools the wrong address to send examination work to, resulting in work getting lost in the post. In 2007 music coursework completed by 24 pupils also went missing.
How is your school finding things this year? Is it getting worse? We would be interested to hear your experiences.
6.00pm update. The school and the exam board have now resolved the row - and the coursework is on its way to where it should be.
