Oldbury Academy under fire for GCSE cash offer to pupils

Claims of a scheme that could see pupils at Oldbury Academy given £200 to gain a C grade in English and maths instead of a D, have been sent to the Department for Education and Ofsted.

University of Birmingham teaching fellow Dr Christopher Hill has written a letter addressed to Education Secretary Michael Gove about the initiative which is 'targeted at a group of 49 pupils' due to sit their GCSEs.

In his letter, Dr Hill says: "In an attempt to get the members of this group to work harder in the hope that each pupil will achieve Cs in both (thus boosting the schools exam-performance statistics, five A*-C including English and Maths), each of these pupils has been offered a financial carrot of £200 on condition that grade Cs are secured for both subjects.

"While it is likely that the school's governing body has checked the legality of such a measure, there are certain questions which might be asked with regard to the morality of the practice and the wider implications for education."

He goes on to ask whether the incentive is unfair to pupils achieving results through their own efforts, and what messages it sends to pupils in the year below and their motivations for working hard. He also suggests the scheme could cost in the region of £10,000.

The school was unavailable for comment today but a statement under the heading of 'pupil premium' on the school's website said: "The Government allocate pupil premium money to enable schools to raise standards. Oldbury Academy is committed to ensuring that this pupil premium funding (in addition to main school funding), is used to narrow the achievement gap between identified and vulnerable groups of pupils.

"Good teaching can, and does, narrow gaps in attainment. In addition to a relentless focus on improving standards in the quality of teaching and learning, Oldbury Academy has developed a range of strategies to support this agenda."