The Student Room Group

Teacher training marking error shattered student's dreams

A student wrongly told she had failed part of her teacher training course has said her "dreams have been shattered".
Amy Mellors, from Nottinghamshire, lost her place on the PGCE course in 2015 when she failed the literacy test - and could not reapply for two years.

Ms Mellors said she was now "looking at legal options" after being told in June there was an error in the marking.

The Department for Education (DfE) said a review of the system in 2018 found nearly 700 students were affected.

Ms Mellors, 25, from Sutton-in-Ashfield, said she had been initially told she had failed the exam by one mark and was now "gutted" to find out she had actually passed.

Read more here.
How has it shattered her dream? At worst it has delayed her by two years.
You are now no longer restricted on resits, and news came out today that these tests will soon be scrapped.

She also hadn't failed part of her course, it was part of the entry criteria for the PGCE. She hadn't done the course or paid anything.

I'm pretty certain at the time she took the tests there were limited resit opportunities, so this missed result probably wasn't her first time sitting the exam anyway.
Original post by -Eirlys-
A student wrongly told she had failed part of her teacher training course has said her "dreams have been shattered".
Amy Mellors, from Nottinghamshire, lost her place on the PGCE course in 2015 when she failed the literacy test - and could not reapply for two years.

Ms Mellors said she was now "looking at legal options" after being told in June there was an error in the marking.

The Department for Education (DfE) said a review of the system in 2018 found nearly 700 students were affected.

Ms Mellors, 25, from Sutton-in-Ashfield, said she had been initially told she had failed the exam by one mark and was now "gutted" to find out she had actually passed.

Read more here.


In 2015, I believe you were already allowed 3 attempts at the test, so actually she failed/borderline passed on her 3rd attempt. She could have also reapplied in 2017- and although she says she couldn't afford this, that's sort of down to her own life choices, not the system.

If she's working in school as support staff, she could also potentially access the "assessment only" route into teaching or a salaried schools direct route.

Obviously this was unfair and the tests should be marked correctly, but to blame her inability to become a teacher 4 years later on this one error is really quite stupid.

ETA: As she's chosen not to reapply for an ITT course, I'm really not sure what sort of legal option would be open to her.

Quick Reply