AS the Government’s exam watchdog faced another week in the dock, there was an evening of respite for some of its staff as the quango celebrated the “success” of its world-class tests.
The high spot of a Qualifications and Curriculum Authority-organised conference on the tests was a cocktail reception and dinner in the gilded surroundings of Dartmouth House, in London’s Mayfair. QCA chief executive Ken Boston was scheduled to attend the two-day international seminar but, understandably, had other things to do. Education ministers, though invited, declined.
Delegates however, some of whom had flown half way across the world to attend, made full use of the magnificent listed building, home of the English Speaking Union, listening to speeches and lunching on smoked salmon.
The seminar opened on the day that Mike Tomlinson exposed the QCA’s failings yet again, but its new head of assessment Linda O’Sullivan appeared unbowed. Standing in for Mr Boston, she claimed that the quango was the “international benchmark” for exam regulators around the world.
