PUPILS were today still waiting the results of a GCSE exam -- more than a week after they should have received them.

(Click on our GCSE RESULTS file on the left link for all the local results)

An administration error led to a delay in issuing the results of maths to more than 200 pupils at two Bolton schools and one college.

Exam officers at the schools were demanding answers from Edexcel, the exam board at the centre of the row.

At Smithills High School, 180 pupils have been affected, with 20 at Canon Slade still waiting.

Geoff Webster, exam officer at Smithills, said the results started to come through yesterday but not in a form that pupils could pick up.

He said: "We have been faxed a copy of the results but we do not have the ticket pupils take away with them.

"Some pupils have come in and we have given them their mark verbally but the majority are probably still in the dark.

"We have been asking the exam board for our results for eight days now and we have not had an explanation as to why they have been delayed."

Pupils at Bolton Sixth Form College did not have the marks for coursework marks included in the final tally, which prompted the college to brand the results "unreliable". Mr Webster said he would be making the college aware of the results.

He said: "We are not happy with the way the results have been handled.

"I am in the process of writing to the chief executive of Edexcel to ask for an proper explanation."

Stephen Brierley, exam officer at Canon Slade School, said: "The results started to come through on Tuesday but we are still waiting for final confirmation for about a dozen pupils.

"We raised the matter with Edexcel as soon as we realised there was a delay but we have heard very little from them.

"We have had an apology from the exam board, albeit a belated one, but we have had no explanation as to why this has happened.

"I am extremely unhappy at the way we have been treated and the school will be taking the matter further with the exam board.

"Quite frankly, 16-year-old pupils do not deserve to be kept waiting without an explanation."

A spokesman for Edexcel said the board was looking into the issue, with an audit and investigation under way.

He said: "We had some administrative checks and balances to complete before we sent the marks out.

"We have to be sure that the marks we send are accurate and we are dependent on the individual centres or schools for this information.

"The schools are demanding explanations and we will be in a better position to say where the problem arose once the audit has been completed.

"Thankfully the issue has been resolved and most importantly pupils should be receiving the grades that reflect their exam performance."

For examination results -- including those from Canon Slade School -- see page 63.