R (Lewisham LBC and Ors) v Assessment and Qualifications Alliance and ors [2013] EWHC 211 (Admin) (Elias LJ, Sharp J): The claimants are a number of schools, teachers, students and local authorities. They applied for judicial review of the decisions of the defendants in respect of the way GCSE English qualifications were awarded. Their claim was that too rigorous a stand had been adopted to the new exams, causing conspicuous unfairness depending on whether a pupil sat the exam prior to the changes or after. They sought to have either the June papers (the new exam module) assessed in accordance with the January boundaries (the old exam module) or to have the June results declared invalid. Their claim failed. Click here for judgment.
Eric Burger v Office of the Independent Adjuciator of Higher Education [2013] EWHC 172 (Admin) (Mostyn J): This is a claim arising from the independent adjudicator rejecting a complaint brought by a student in respect of the examination process at the London School of Economics. Complaints were made of the marking scheme and the non-disclosure of the assessment criteria. Complaints were made of the adjudicator's erroneous findings of fact which it was said rendered her conclusion flawed. The Court held that even though the decision of the adjudicator was amenable to judicial review, the adjudicator was entitled to come to the conclusion that the complaint should be dismissed. The Court also stated that the court would generally be very slow to interfere with decisions of the independent adjudicator and where an inferior tribunal made an error of fact, relief by way of judicial review would only be granted if the error was material. Click here for judgment.
