§ Mr. ByersTo ask the Secretary of State for Education when he was first aware that national newspapers were in possession of this summer's key stage 3 English test papers; if he will carry out an inquiry into the circumstances; and if he will now defer the tests or treat them as a pilot exercise.
§ Mr. ForthThe tests for English will go ahead as planned. In the light of the leak of the current question, my right hon. Friend has asked Lord Griffiths, chairman of the School Examinations and Assessment Council, to draw up new test papers, based on the successful model developed over the last two and a half years.
My right hon. Friend first learnt that the current tests for English had become public on 20 January. He fully expects SEAC to establish how the leak occurred, to ensure that it does not happen again.