A 3-day trial in Coombs v ICO and The Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools begins today in the First Tier Tribunal. This is a rehearing of the Appellant’s appeal in relation to his Freedom of Information request of October 2019. The case has previously been heard in the First Tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal.
In 2019, the 11+ exam for Buckinghamshire County contained a number of errors. A statistical solution was devised by GL Assessment, the developer of the tests, to enable the tests to be scored fairly. As a result of this, Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools wrote a letter to parents explaining the position and informing them that detailed statistical analysis had been carried out to ensure that the statistical solution was robust. The Appellant, Mr Coombs, made a Freedom of Information Request in October 2019 to Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools to release the details of this statistical solution. Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools withheld the requested information relying on the exemptions at s.41 (confidentiality) and s.43 (commercial interests) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The Tribunal will have to decide whether these exemptions apply to the information requested.
Felicity McMahon and Hannah Gilliland act for the Second Respondents, Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools, instructed by Veale Wasbrough Vizards LLP.