AMID the widespread celebrations among students over this year's best-ever A-level results, we award Burnley and Nelson and Colne colleges a distinction in Utter Claptrap.

They are the only sixth-form centres in the area refusing to publish students' A-level grades.

They are, they say, confidential and they do not want to upset students who have not done well.

And they add that the Data Protection Act says they cannot release the grades.

This is disingenuous piffle.

The act in this case is one in which cowardly college lecturers have connived to protect themselves from scrutiny of their own performance.

But, surely, they are public servants and should be accountable to the community. Other schools and colleges are not so shy.

And as for the supposed sensitivity of students, this newspaper has never been inundated with complaints by those embarrassed by publication of the results. Indeed, what we do get is phone calls from them asking when we are printing their schools' results.

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