Exam boss attacks 'meddling ministers' for damaging confidence in our qualifications

Simon Lebus, group chief executive of Cambridge Assessment, which is Europe's largest assessment agency, attacked political interference as 'counter-productive'.

He claimed that members of the public no longer trust politicians' annual claims that standards are being maintained in GCSEs and A-levels.

Simon Lebus claims the public no longer trust the claims that standards are being maintained in GCSE and A-levels

There is also widespread confusion abroad over the quality of the country's qualifications.

At the opening ceremony of an international education conference in Cambridge, Mr Lebus said he welcomed England's new qualifications regulator, Ofqual, which is independent of Government.

But he remains concerned that Ministers will still not relinquish their control over how qualifications are designed.

'One of the features of the English system is a lively debate each summer when A-level and GCSE results are published about what is happening to standards,' he said.

'I have no doubt that part of the reason for this is that it has been too easy for politicians here to get involved in how qualifications are designed.

'As a result we have seen the Government ordering the use of calculators in and out of exams seven times in the past decade, the introduction and removal of coursework, and political engagement at the level of Secretary of State in the highly technical question of how to set the grade boundary for the new A* at A-level being introduced this month.

'This interference is counterproductive.

'It harms public confidence and means that people do not believe politicians' annual protestations that things are getting better since the claim is almost impossible to verify with the education and qualifications system in a ferment of perpetual change.'

Mr Lebus said this was ' thoroughly unhelpful'.

His exam board was 'only too aware of the damage inflicted on the international standing of the UK's education system by this perception of drifting standards and political involvement'.

He believes this is one of the reasons for the growing demand for international qualifications such as the International Baccalaureate, the IGCSE and the new Cambridge Pre-U.

'This is also reflected in the bewilderment and confusion felt by our international friends and partners when they read the UK press each summer and makes it virtually impossible to have any sort of sensible discourse about the impact on standards of the universalisation of secondary education,' he said.

Cambridge Assessment delivers qualifications to 150 countries around the world.

It incorporates University of Cambridge International Examinations, University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations and OCR.

The attack by Mr Lebus is just the latest on the exams system.

Last month, a leading head claimed GCSEs were failing to teach children to think creatively.

Oliver Blond, from Henrietta Barnett School in Hampstead, North London, said pupils were quickly becoming 'bored' with lessons despite ever-improving exam results.

The marking of SATs for 11 and 14-year-olds was hit by fiasco this summer.

Thousands of exams were not marked in time, meaning pupils broke up for the summer without knowing their results.

The problems have left ministers considering whether to scrap the exams.