Teachers in marking row

Husband and wife teachers at a Cannock primary school allegedly altered exam papers and "marked leniently" to meet performance targets, a conduct committee heard.

Ann and Michael Gunn face a General Teaching Council allegation of unacceptable professional conduct over claims they changed Sats exam papers to produce better results at Moorhill Primary School.

At the hearing in Birmingham yesterday, the GTC committee heard how Mrs Gunn administered optional papers for pupils in Years 3, 4 and 5 in the summer of 2005.

But assessment co-ordinators found the Year 4 results were above what they would have expected given their ability in Key Stage 1 exams.

When Mrs Gunn suggested re-testing the children to headteacher Sandra Peck, new test marks gave Sats scores much lower than Mrs Gunn had originally marked them.

The committee also heard Mrs Gunn allegedly added full stops and capital letters to the Pye Green Road school pupils' literacy exam papers to give them better scores.

Presenting officer Miss Sheleen McCormack said: "She colluded with Mr Gunn in intentionally changing the original papers. There is a responsibility and a duty placed on teachers in a position of trust to perform their position with honesty and probity – Ann and Michael Gunn did not do that."

The altered papers resulted in pupils at Moorhill Primary having to redo the exams, with their scores falling as a result of Mr and Mrs Gunn's alleged actions.

Ann Gunn joined the school in September 1993. Her husband had been at the school since 1990. The pair both resigned in October 2005 following a school disciplinary investigation.

The hearing continues.