A FORMER head teacher is due to appear before magistrates at Maidstone on Wednesday charged with doctoring SATs papers and 11-plus exams taken by his pupils at two Kent schools.

Alan Mercer, 45, of Prospect Way, Chatham, has been charged with 14 counts of forgery following a four-month investigation by the Kent Police Fraud Squad.

Ten of the charges relate to the Key Stage Two SATs (Standard Assessment Tasks) papers sat by year six pupils at South Borough Primary School, Maidstone, where he was head teacher until he resigned last October. Two further charges relate to 11-plus exams at the same school.

Mr Mercer also stands accused of interfering with two 2001 SATs papers at Eythorne Elvington Community Primary School in Dover, where he was head for seven years before moving to South Borough Primary in September 2001.

All of the South Borough Primary year six pupils' maths, English and science results for 2002 were declared void after concerns were raised by the Government's Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), which oversees the exams.