A HEADTEACHER has warned parents not to expect a solution to the problem of easy A-grades in the near future.

Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School's Dr David Hempsall, said he had no faith that the current review of higher education would resolve the problem of too many pupils getting the top mark at A-level.

He also described Mike Tomlinson, who is set to publish his findings next month, as the "new Ron Dearing" -- the man who chaired the 1997 committee which brought in tuition fees.

And he warned parents that more pupils were getting better grades because teachers now knew how to work to prescriptive criteria.

This year 63 per cent of pupils gained the top two two grades, an increase on last year's 60 per cent.

Speaking at the school's annual prizegiving he said: "The former Chief Inspector of Schools, Mike Tomlinson, has for some unaccountable reason become the new Ron Dearing and is shortly to report to government on what is to be done to overcome the apparent lack of discrimination at grade A.

"It is expected that Tomlinson and his colleagues will recommend a subdivision of grade A into four levels, akin to degree classes. Simply put, the problem is that pass rates have improved because teachers have become adept at teaching candidates to work to the exam criteria.

"Hence, we have had the phenomenon of so-called grade inflation.

"The fact is that A-level grades cannot fulfil all the needs of each and every end user. I have no faith that Tomlinson will be able to resolve that conundrum.

"For as long as examination boards remain commercially driven, then grade inflation will continue. The candidates can only do their best in the papers which are set before them - ours did."

At the prize night at King George's Hall, Dr Hempsall also said there was a busy year ahead for the school after the rebuilding of the junior school library, funded by the Elizabethan Association, with an education watchdog inspection early next year. He also paid tribute to several teachers who had left the school and thanked them for their work.

He described the last year as a "corporate or team endeavour" and praised students for productions of Les Miserables, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and the performance of the 1st XI Soccer squad in winning the Boodle & Dunthorne sponsored ISFA Cup competition for the third time.