She said there had been many "significant unknowns" in changes to modules of the GCSE Englishexam, which had to be resolved inthe final awarding of grades.
Barry Houlihan, an archivist at the university, said they date back to the mid 1950s when Tolkien set exam papers inEnglish Literature for the Galway students.
King Edward VI secondary school in Bury St Edmunds, where the AQA Englishexam is taken, said 53% of its pupils got the five GCSE A-C grades, compared to 64% last year.