Hundreds of GCSE, AS and A-level results have been regraded after errors were made in exam marking.

The OCR exam board apologised "unreservedly" for the mistakes, which were made by examiners, adding action had been taken.

In total, 98 GCSE, 285 AS-level and 50 A-level results, were revised upwards after being re-marked.

The mistakes came to light in the autumn and were due to "human and process errors", the board said.

Schools and colleges with affected students have been told, OCR said, and they will pass on the results to their pupils.

It is not known if any students' university places were affected by the errors.

'Incorrect code'

OCR chief executive Mark Dawe said: "On behalf of OCR, I apologise unreservedly to the students, parents and teachers affected. I would like to reassure students taking their exams with OCR this summer that due to the rigorous new measures we now have in place, these issues cannot occur again.

"We have conducted extensive investigations into what went wrong. With the help of our most senior examiners, we reviewed all the relevant papers from last summer's exams and increased marks on a tiny percentage of papers as a result.

"Although these changes represent less than 0.03% of the results we issued, we are continually improving our processes to drive down the incidence of marking mistakes."

OCR said in a statement that the regrades were necessary to correct mistakes identified by the board in the marking of four A-level history and English units, and the use of an "incorrect code" on a limited number of papers.

"These were the result of human and process error by a minority of examiners during the transition to online marking," the board said, adding that "the examiners involved will no longer work for OCR".

"New and enhanced marker monitoring is one of the improvements OCR has introduced for the summer 2014 exams and additional analysis will be undertaken at the end of the marking process.

"OCR is reviewing and strengthening its processes for standardising examiners and clearing them to mark, and remains vigilant to the concerns of schools on this key issue."

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Education Secretary Michael Gove is to write to schools in England to ask them to help protect girls from female genital mutilation (FGM).

Schools will receive guidance before Easter, aimed at stopping "this very serious form of child abuse".

FGM, sometimes called female circumcision, involves the cutting or cutting away of external female genital organs.

It is common in some African, Asian and Middle Eastern communities.

Official figures put the number of victims of FGM in the UK at about 66,000, but this is thought to be an underestimate.

Mr Gove made the announcement after meeting campaigners on Tuesday.

They included Bristol student Fahma Mohamed, who started a petition backed by the Guardian newspaper, asking for Mr Gove to send guidance to schools before the summer, when many girls are taken away to be cut.

The petition, signed by 234,000 people, states that 24,000 girls in the UK are currently at risk of FGM.

In a statement released last night, Mr Gove said: "I was very pleased to meet Fahma Mohamed today.

"She has been running an inspirational campaign. Fahma and her supporters have done fantastic work in raising awareness of female genital mutilation.

"It is a truly horrific crime. We must do everything we can to end it."

This will include signs to look out for that a child may have been a victim of FGM, as well as facts about the practice and a guidance that the legal safeguarding duties teachers and school staff have to children include protection from FGM.

Mr Gove added: "I thank Fahma - and other courageous public campaigners against female genital mutilation - for their efforts.

"We all want to see this very serious form of child abuse consigned to history."

FGM has been a criminal offence in the UK since 1985, but no-one in Britain has been prosecuted.

It is often carried out without anaesthetic and victims are usually aged between four and 10. Some are babies.

The children are cut for cultural, not medical, reasons and campaigners say it is a way of oppressing and controlling women and a practice that can leave life-long physical and mental scars.

MPs have suggested "staggering" school term dates and giving teachers more discretion on absences during a debate on the cost of holidays.

The debate was sparked by a petition which calls for price caps to stop holiday firms "cashing in" on the school holidays.

No MP backed price regulation during the Westminster Hall debate, and the government also rejected the idea.

But term staggering and more power for schools received widespread support.

Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming, who requested the debate, said the issue was a "considerable concern" to many people.

He said price capping was not a "practical solution", and a plan to suspend Airport Passenger Duty in the school summer holidays was "not a flyer".

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Almost 500 children who are at risk of falling behind in education are to benefit from extra help in new school facilities known as nurture units.

Twenty new units have been launched in primary schools in a joint project by the Department for Social Development and Department of Education.

The units are fitted out with kitchens, sofas, and some have "quiet rooms".

The pupils will be given extra attention in a bid to improve their social skills and school performance.

The project was started by the Department for Social Development, which initially funded 10 nurture units under a neighbourhood renewal scheme.

In a statement, the department said the units were "a valuable resource which aim to support the social, emotional and behavioural development of our young children and provide an opportunity to challenge some of the barriers that contribute to low educational attainment".

The official launch of a further 20 units was marked by both the social development minister and the education minister on Thursday.

Eleven of the new units are in Belfast primary schools.

The investment is costing £3m.

The units provide a comfortable setting where the children can chat, learn to mix with others and express themselves. Some have aromatherapy and soft lighting.

Social Development Minister Nelson McCausland said: "Investing in our children from an early stage in their young lives is paramount if, we, as a community, are to provide the necessary support and environment to enable them to thrive and develop.

"I have visited a number of piloted nurture units in the past so, to announce £3m of funding today giving financial support to a further 20 units is testament to the hard work and dedication of the teachers and staff who have worked tirelessly and made these nurture units a success.

"I have seen at first hand how the personal time spent with our most vulnerable and young children in these units can not only have an impact on the social development of some of the children but can also have beneficial impact on their parents."

Education Minister John O'Dowd said: "All our schools have a responsibility for the emotional health and wellbeing of our children - to help build self-esteem and confidence in their own abilities, and to build levels of resilience that will help them cope with situations they may find difficult, not just in school but in later life.

"Nurture units can play a key role in tackling under-achievement early in a child's life by providing targeted support to where it is most needed.

"The units will bridge the gap between home and school and will play a key role in my longer term aim of closing the gap in educational attainment evident in our system," Mr O'Dowd added.

Almost 500 children who are at risk of falling behind in education are to benefit from extra help in new school facilities known as nurture units.

Twenty new units have been launched in primary schools in a joint project by the Department for Social Development and Department of Education.

The units are fitted out with kitchens, sofas, and some have "quiet rooms".

The pupils will be given extra attention in a bid to improve their social skills and school performance.

The project was started by the Department for Social Development, which initially funded 10 nurture units under a neighbourhood renewal scheme.

In a statement, the department said the units were "a valuable resource which aim to support the social, emotional and behavioural development of our young children and provide an opportunity to challenge some of the barriers that contribute to low educational attainment".

The official launch of a further 20 units was marked by both the social development minister and the education minister on Thursday.

Eleven of the new units are in Belfast primary schools.

The investment is costing £3m.

The units provide a comfortable setting where the children can chat, learn to mix with others and express themselves. Some have aromatherapy and soft lighting.

Social Development Minister Nelson McCausland said: "Investing in our children from an early stage in their young lives is paramount if, we, as a community, are to provide the necessary support and environment to enable them to thrive and develop.

"I have visited a number of piloted nurture units in the past so, to announce £3m of funding today giving financial support to a further 20 units is testament to the hard work and dedication of the teachers and staff who have worked tirelessly and made these nurture units a success.

"I have seen at first hand how the personal time spent with our most vulnerable and young children in these units can not only have an impact on the social development of some of the children but can also have beneficial impact on their parents."

Education Minister John O'Dowd said: "All our schools have a responsibility for the emotional health and wellbeing of our children - to help build self-esteem and confidence in their own abilities, and to build levels of resilience that will help them cope with situations they may find difficult, not just in school but in later life.

"Nurture units can play a key role in tackling under-achievement early in a child's life by providing targeted support to where it is most needed.

"The units will bridge the gap between home and school and will play a key role in my longer term aim of closing the gap in educational attainment evident in our system," Mr O'Dowd added.

Almost 500 children who are at risk of falling behind in education are to benefit from extra help in new school facilities known as nurture units.

Twenty new units have been launched in primary schools in a joint project by the Department for Social Development and Department of Education.

The units are fitted out with kitchens, sofas, and some have "quiet rooms".

The pupils will be given extra attention in a bid to improve their social skills and school performance.

The project was started by the Department for Social Development, which initially funded 10 nurture units under a neighbourhood renewal scheme.

In a statement, the department said the units were "a valuable resource which aim to support the social, emotional and behavioural development of our young children and provide an opportunity to challenge some of the barriers that contribute to low educational attainment".

The official launch of a further 20 units was marked by both the social development minister and the education minister on Thursday.

Eleven of the new units are in Belfast primary schools.

The investment is costing £3m.

The units provide a comfortable setting where the children can chat, learn to mix with others and express themselves. Some have aromatherapy and soft lighting.

Social Development Minister Nelson McCausland said: "Investing in our children from an early stage in their young lives is paramount if, we, as a community, are to provide the necessary support and environment to enable them to thrive and develop.

"I have visited a number of piloted nurture units in the past so, to announce £3m of funding today giving financial support to a further 20 units is testament to the hard work and dedication of the teachers and staff who have worked tirelessly and made these nurture units a success.

"I have seen at first hand how the personal time spent with our most vulnerable and young children in these units can not only have an impact on the social development of some of the children but can also have beneficial impact on their parents."

Education Minister John O'Dowd said: "All our schools have a responsibility for the emotional health and wellbeing of our children - to help build self-esteem and confidence in their own abilities, and to build levels of resilience that will help them cope with situations they may find difficult, not just in school but in later life.

"Nurture units can play a key role in tackling under-achievement early in a child's life by providing targeted support to where it is most needed.

"The units will bridge the gap between home and school and will play a key role in my longer term aim of closing the gap in educational attainment evident in our system," Mr O'Dowd added.

Almost 500 children who are at risk of falling behind in education are to benefit from extra help in new school facilities known as nurture units.

Twenty new units have been launched in primary schools in a joint project by the Department for Social Development and Department of Education.

The units are fitted out with kitchens, sofas, and some have "quiet rooms".

The pupils will be given extra attention in a bid to improve their social skills and school performance.

The project was started by the Department for Social Development, which initially funded 10 nurture units under a neighbourhood renewal scheme.

In a statement, the department said the units were "a valuable resource which aim to support the social, emotional and behavioural development of our young children and provide an opportunity to challenge some of the barriers that contribute to low educational attainment".

The official launch of a further 20 units was marked by both the social development minister and the education minister on Thursday.

Eleven of the new units are in Belfast primary schools.

The investment is costing £3m.

The units provide a comfortable setting where the children can chat, learn to mix with others and express themselves. Some have aromatherapy and soft lighting.

Social Development Minister Nelson McCausland said: "Investing in our children from an early stage in their young lives is paramount if, we, as a community, are to provide the necessary support and environment to enable them to thrive and develop.

"I have visited a number of piloted nurture units in the past so, to announce £3m of funding today giving financial support to a further 20 units is testament to the hard work and dedication of the teachers and staff who have worked tirelessly and made these nurture units a success.

"I have seen at first hand how the personal time spent with our most vulnerable and young children in these units can not only have an impact on the social development of some of the children but can also have beneficial impact on their parents."

Education Minister John O'Dowd said: "All our schools have a responsibility for the emotional health and wellbeing of our children - to help build self-esteem and confidence in their own abilities, and to build levels of resilience that will help them cope with situations they may find difficult, not just in school but in later life.

"Nurture units can play a key role in tackling under-achievement early in a child's life by providing targeted support to where it is most needed.

"The units will bridge the gap between home and school and will play a key role in my longer term aim of closing the gap in educational attainment evident in our system," Mr O'Dowd added.

'Back To The Future'-style self-lacing trainers are set to become a reality in 2015, according to a Nike designer.

Tinker Hatfield has said the company is working on power laces like those worn by time-travelling teenager Marty McFly in the classic film series.

He told trainer news website Sole Collector: "Are we gonna see power laces in 2015? To that, I say yes!"

Back To The Future II, set in 2015, includes a scene where McFly, played by Michael J Fox, slips on a pair of Nike High Tops that adjust automatically to his feet.

The company applied for a patent for "automatically lacing trainers" in 2010.

A year later Nike produced illuminating trainers based on those worn by McFly – the Nike Mag.

A total of 1,500 pairs were auctioned off to raise money for the Michael J Fox Foundation, raising £3.4m ($5.7m).

Fox has Parkinson’s and his organisation funds research into the disease.

Among those who bought the shoes were UK rapper Tinie Tempah - who spent £24,000 ($40,000) to own the first available pair - and fellow musicians Kanye West and Kid Cudi.

Developing your vocabulary by reading great works of literature can be so tiring. And constructing sentences that evoke the complex subtleties of human emotions is such a drag.

But all this agonising over language may now be a thing of the past. Soon, our creative writing exploits may boil down to nothing more than a jumble of so-called “emoticons”. To the dismay of English teachers, researchers have revealed that the human brain now reacts to keyboard-generated symbols such as :-) or ;-( in the same way as it does to the human face.

Using “advanced brain-scanning techniques”, Dr Owen Churches, a psychologist at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, determined that our brains have learned to decode the shortcuts, prompting a reaction similar to the neural response to real facial expressions.

Dr Churches described the findings as “amazing”. But while many a teacher would praise economy in their students’ writing, this revelation seems just a step too far.

The news is certain to provide yet another excuse for students not to consult their thesauruses and dictionaries in pursuit of a well-rounded sentence. So, emoticons, you’re fine for a bit of fun in chat rooms and the Twittersphere, but do not creep into the pages of Class 4B’s exercise books. Get thee to the naughty step :-Z (angry face).

Smoking has been banned in schools in China as part of a government-led drive to convince the public to quit its heavy tobacco addiction. The country is the largest consumer of cigarettes in the world, with smoking commonplace in schools and even hospitals. Under the new rules, schools will no longer be able to gain sponsorship from cigarette brands or put up tobacco advertisements on site. School leaders will be compelled to install smoke alarms and school canteens will no longer be permitted to sell tobacco.