AN East Lancashire headmaster who was at the centre of the A-level marking row today blasted the inquiry into the fiasco and said: "It's a whitewash."

Dr David Hempsall, head of Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn, added: "I am extremely disappointed at the outcome."

Only 1,089 A-level students' results have been amended nationally after re-grading following the controversy, the Universities and Admissions Service said yesterday.

And UCAS figures showed that just 168 students missed out on their first-choice university.

Dr Hempsall is treasurer of the Headmasters' Conference organisation, which first raised doubts about this year's results, and he appeared on the platform at a national news conference in London when the controversy was at its height.

His comments came as QEGS was told that just one subject grade, in history, for one pupil was to be changed from a grade C to a B.

The paper was one set by the Oxford and Cambridge and RSA board which has been at the centre of the row.

Dr Hempsall said: "I am afraid this is a whitewash.0

"The original grade awards have not received rigorous scrutiny, as schools and students had been promised.

"The major issues surrounding the legacy of the previous A-level exam structure and the marking of coursework have not been addressed.

"Our students and those at other schools around the country are entitled to something better than this fudge."

Simon Jones, divisional secretary of the Blackburn with Darwen branch of the National Union of Teachers, said today: "The main task now is for the Secretary of State to ensure that next year's examinees do not suffer the trauma that has beset this year's students."