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Paper gets illegal exam fee axed

A controversial exam deposits policy in Hampshire has been scrapped after an investigation by the Southampton Daily Echo revealed that it was illegal.

The newspaper sparked national headlines after the billing scheme came to light.

The headmaster of Wildern Comprehensive School, in Hedge End, Southampton, has now promised to stop asking parents for cheques of up to £153 before entering pupils for GCSEs.

Headmaster Jeffery Threlfall asked for a refundable deposit of £17 per subject to cover entry fees to spur pupils on to finish course work. The money was only to be forefeited if the teenager failed to sit the exam – and it was never necessary to carry out the threat at the 1,500-pupil school which is one of Hampshire’s most successful comprehensives.

An inquiry was launched by the Department of Education and Employment and it has ruled that the practice contravenes the Education Act 1996.

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