The whole bag issue smacks of punishing the grade school class because of two punks.

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And while all of the big emerging markets, the so-called BRIC nations of Brazil, Russia, India and China, are investment grade, as are many of their companies that issue bonds, none of their debt is as safe as US Treasury bonds.

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Speaking to the BBC after his meeting with the watchdog, Brian Lightman, general secretary of ASCL, said the issue was not re-marking papers, but altering grade boundaries and "putting right what's happened".

BBC: Heads call for regrading of English GCSEs

The group argues the issue is particularly acute because of the critical importance of achieving a C grade in GCSE English for future educational and professional opportunities.

BBC: Education & Family

Nevertheless, in the medium term the firm will probably have to issue more long-term debt to finance itself (it hopes to gain an investment-grade credit rating this year) and raise more equity, perhaps by listing.

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"The external markers grade the exams (as opposed to the controlled assessments graded by teachers) and that's where the issue has arisen, " she said.

BBC: GCSE English: How is it marked?