Swindon primary has SATs results annulled

Year six pupils started secondary school this September without knowing their results, which have now been annulled

A Swindon primary school has had its SAT exam results annulled after an investigation by an education watchdog.

Mountford Manor was accused of "maladministration" over the results of its key stage 2 English reading and Maths exams held in June.

The Standards and Test Agency (STA) said some pupils were helped with their answers ahead of this year's tests.

The school said it was disappointed but accepted the decision of the STA and was launching its own investigation.

'Completely unacceptable'

"Teachers and parents must have confidence in the integrity of the assessment system, which is why we take allegations such as this very seriously.

"Any instances of maladministration are completely unacceptable," a DfE spokesman said.

Results are usually released in July, which means pupils will have started secondary school without knowing what grades they achieved in the two subjects.

The Department for Education (DfE) said in a statement that no pupils would be "adversely" affected as the school could provide teaching assessment data to show children's progress in English and Maths.

In a statement, the principal at Mountford Manor Primary School, Rachel Skates, said the school was taking steps to avoid any repeat of the situation.

She added: "In our Ofsted Inspection last February, the inspector looked at the children's work and remarked that the new ways maths is taught ensured that our year six pupils' progress is much higher than what they had seen nationally over the last two years.

"They also said our spelling, punctuation, and grammar is the strength of the school."

She added that the year six pupils had "successfully transitioned" to their new schools.