27th October 2010 9:00
By Blue Tutors
A school in Lancashire has recently said that it will pay £5,000 to any student who fails an A-level exam. Blackburn College says that it is so confident that each student studying there will pass all of their A-levels, that they are prepared to offer this incentive, and the college claims that it is being done to encourage students to attend.
The offer relies on students attending classes and completing A-level coursework, but the college says that it does not envisage paying out anything to students. Blackburn College has roughly 15,000 students, and they say that the £5,000 offer is a way to boost the confidence of students considering whether or not to study A-levels. A spokeswoman said that it’s a way of telling potential students that if they study hard they will be able to get good A-level results and a good job or university place. It was also stressed that, if there were payouts, the money would come from the school’s commercial endeavours, and not the taxpayer.
This is another example of rewarding students with cash for their performance at school. Last week Marlowe Academy in Thanet offered £150 to GCSE students who meet the school’s attendance target, and pass a minimum of five GCSE exams.