A Bradford public school issued an apology today after A-Level pupils spent two years studying a Shakespeare play - only to find it did not feature in their exam papers.

English literature students at Bradford Grammar School studied King Lear and Othello as part of their A-Level course.

But when the 11 pupils went into their exam last Tuesday, the King Lear tragedy caused genuine upset when candidates realised there were no questions on the play.

Head teacher Stephen Davidson said today he had sent a written apology to the pupils affected by the mistake - which had been caused by their teacher telling them to study the wrong text.

He said: "One of the children brought the paper to the invigilator and we got straight on the phone to the examining board.

"They were naturally very upset. We were told they could carry on with the paper but the students would have less choice.

"This should not happen at Bradford Grammar. But we have to hold our hands up and admit we made a mistake."

The candidates were able to carry on with the paper by answering questions on Othello.

Mr Davidson said a member of the English department had mistakenly thought King Lear was a set text for the English syllabus but it had been dropped by the Oxford and Cambridge examining board for this year.

He added the school had been in contact with the examining board every day since the incident and markers had agreed to take the mistake into account.

"Some parents are angry at the mistake, as I would be as a parent myself," said Mr Davidson.

"But the students shouldn't suffer and the exam board has been very supportive."

Staff involved were said to be "devastated" by the mix-up.

And governors at the school in Frizinghall have asked for procedures to be changed to stop the mistake happening again.

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