A batch of shorthand exam papers that went missing in the post has been found.

As a result, ten students who were due to retake the tests on Friday have now had their original papers marked.

It had been feared that they had been destroyed by Royal Mail after being addressed incorrectly.

Cornwall College had sent them to the National Council for the Training of Journalists for marking, but had used its old address in Harlow rather than sending them to Newport, Essex, where the NCTJ moved last summer.

The college has said the exam papers contained the old address.

It is understood that the package of papers, sent by recorded delivery, was sent to the Royal Mail’s return letter centre in Belfast as there had been no forwarding address or return address on them.

After an investigation, a team there were able to trace the sender and return them to the college.

A spokesman for Royal Mail said: “The letter was not lost in the post and was delivered correctly, but the address on the envelope was out of date.

“In normal circumstances, we would return the letter to the sender, however as there was no return address on the envelope we were unable to do this.

“In such circumstances the letter would either be sent to our centre in Belfast for non-addressed mail or, under guidelines for franked mail, would be destroyed as we would be unable to trace either the sender or recipient with the information provided.

“However, in this case, we are delighted we were able to return the item to the sender.”

Following the incident the college has changed its procedures and will now use special delivery, which is tracked by Royal Mail, rather than recorded delivery, which is not.

A return address will also be used and copies of the papers will be produced.

Joanne Aitchison, senior examinations controller at the NCTJ, has also reminded all exam centres of their responsibilities of ensuring secure delivery to the correct address.

John Latham, principal of Cornwall College said: “We are absolutely delighted that the Royal Mail has delivered the original exam papers to the NCTJ offices. This means that our students will not have to retake the shorthand exam.

“It was such an unfortunate turn of events and we have been extremely concerned that our students should not be disadvantaged.

“It’s reassuring to know that our exams department did follow College procedures and returned the papers to where the NCTJ instructed.”

A spokesperson for the NCTJ said: “Cornwall College informed the NCTJ that a batch of shorthand exam scripts had been lost in the post. They eventually arrived at the NCTJ’s offices in Newport, Saffron Walden, more than two months after the examination took place.

“The NCTJ verified the scripts were the originals and had been despatched on the day of the exam. Under the circumstances, the chief examiner decided to accept them for marking and the results were posted on the website within 24 hours.

“The college didn’t use the replacement administration documents that were issued in June 2006 when the NCTJ relocated. These documents were re-issued in September 2006.

“There have been no other problems with the secure delivery of exam scripts from any of our exam centres, including Cornwall College.” Do you have a story about the regional press? Ring 0116 227 3122/3121, or e-mail [email protected]