East Renfrewshire school investigated after allegedly giving pupils too much help with Highers

An East Renfrewshire school is under investigation after claims they gave pupils too much help with their highers.

The complaint against Means Castle in Newton Mearns is now being looked at by the SQA.

It is alleged students were given an unfair amount of feedback on geography, history and modern studies projects before final drafts were submitted for the exam body for marking.

A letter sent to the parents of students in February by the principal teacher of social studies at the school said candidates should hand in drafts before they wrote up the final version under exam conditions.

The letter suggested students could "make the appropriate changes to their work based on feedback received from their teacher and seek additional support if necessary".

Both the school and East Renfrewshire Council have strongly denied any wrongdoing and there is no suggestion pupils may have their grades changed as a result

An SQA spokesman said: “We have been made aware of a potential issue relating to conditions of assessment for Higher assignment work.

“SQA’s criteria on assessment conditions and the assistance which teachers and lecturers can give to candidates are clearly published on our website and in course materials.

“As in all cases where potentially serious matters are raised with SQA, we will now investigate what has happened.

“SQA takes very seriously its obligation to ensure fairness and equity for all candidates in all qualifications through consistent application of assessment conditions.

An East Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: “Our staff are well aware of the guidelines set out by the SQA in relation to Higher Assignments and these are followed rigorously across the authority. At no stage was any pupils’ Higher Assignment marked.

"This letter, which unfortunately was poorly worded, was simply issued to stress the importance of these assignments to parents.

"Staff provided support and advice to pupils in preparation for completing their assignments under exam conditions, as is permitted by the SQA, which is what this letter is referring to.

"It is important to stress that the wording of this letter does not accurately reflect the role staff at this school play in supporting pupils with their Higher Assignments, and this has already been amended for the forthcoming session.”