Solicitors are told to be wary as they tackle A-level crisis

Leading education practitioners this week urged solicitors to be cautious in starting court action on behalf of students caught up in the A-levels fiasco, after an Oxford-based sole practitioner commenced the first claim of the crisis.

John Mackenzie acted after 'devastated' 19-year-old family friend Tom Hill missed out on the three A-grades needed to get into Oxford University, ending up with one A and two Bs.

He alleges that the Oxford, Cambridge and RSA (OCR) examining board breached its contract and duty of care because it did not mark his exams 'honestly or competently'.

The OCR said last week that it would be reviewing grades awarded to around 90,000 students.

An inquiry into the A-level crisis has been set up under Mike Tomlinson, the former chief inspector of schools.

Mr Mackenzie said he moved quickly because his client must apply to the university before 15 October.

'If they consider his application on the basis that he got two Bs and an A he has no chance of success, but if he got three As he would have every chance,' he explained.

But Jack Rabinowicz, chairman of the Education Law Association and a partner at London firm Teacher Stern Selby, said that although students may have valid claims if they could prove they suffered loss through being forced to take a gap year or attend an inferior university, it was 'premature' to start proceedings before Mr Tomlinson had reported.

'Once the dust has settled and the students know where they are, that is the time to consider taking legal action, either as individuals or as a class action,' he argued.

Jaswinder Gill, principal at London-based niche education firm Gills, said the situation could generate a vast number of claims, but it was important to look at the individual circumstances of each case.

He added: 'Litigation is a last resort; you have got to explore all avenues to see if it can be settled out of court first.'

An OCR spokeswoman would only say the matter was in the hands of its legal advisers.

Paula Rohan