St Stephen's Junior School maths SATs declared invalid

Primary school children have had their maths SATs results declared invalid after an investigation by a testing agency.

Parents were told there were concerns over how St Stephen's Junior School near Bristol administered the test.

A council officer triggered an official review by the Standards and Testing Agency (STA), an arm of the Department for Education.

School bosses claimed the incident would not have a "negative impact".

South Gloucestershire Council said the allegations were "related to the amount of guidance provided to a very small number of children".

In a letter to parents of all children in year six, the chair of the governing body, Philip Webb, said a council observer had raised the alarm over their school's administering of the tests.

He said: "Based on their analysis of the findings of the reviews, there was significant doubt over some of the results."

Pupils will not now receive an overall maths result for their SATs tests. Instead, their achievements levels will be based on their teacher's assessment.

Mr Webb said: "On behalf of the school, I would like to apologise for any failure on our part, and ensure you that neither this school nor the school that your child is moving to will regard the decision by the STA as a reflection on your child."

He said the teaching staff were both "deeply saddened and disappointed" and did not agree with with the STA's decision, which the school will not be able to appeal against.

The school has begun its own investigation.