Calls for exam board Pearson to investigate delays to BTec results

Further education and sixth form colleges ask why thousands of students have not received grades

Further education and sixth form colleges are calling for the exam board Pearson to investigate the reasons for delays to BTec results, which have left thousands of students in limbo.

Pearson said there were 5,700 students who didn't receive their grades for level two BTecs alongside GCSE results as scheduled on the morning of 25 August, plunging them into uncertainty over where they will be studying next year. This follows thousands of pupils failing to receive results for their level three BTecs from Pearson and Cambridge Technicals from the exam board OCR last week.

Pearson said the delays are due to problems with entries not meeting the qualification criteria", making them ineligible" for grading.

David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, urged Ofqual to launch a full, thorough and open investigation into what went wrong to make sure this never happens again".