SCHOOL headteachers are warning that gridlock at Handy Cross roundabout could wreck exam schedules.

Three schools' heads told the Bucks Free Press of their fears as GCSE and A-level exams got under way. End-of-year and City and Guilds exams were delayed for up to half an hour when traffic lights failed at the notorious roundabout last Tuesday.

Tina Moson, headteacher at St Bernard's Roman Catholic School, Daws Hill Lane, said: "These delays cause problems for the students in terms of panic, and we have to arrange to have extra staff to cover time added on to the exams for the students who arrive late."

Students and staff travelling from Maidenhead on the Marlow bypass arrived late as a result of the traffic problems.

Miss Moson added: "The traffic light system at Handy Cross needs to be replaced with something more reliable."

Andrew MacTavish, head teacher at John Hampden Grammar School, off Marlow Hill, said: "When the problems are particularly bad it is common for us to lose at least half an hour of the school day because up to half the staff and pupils are late."

Muriel Pilkington, head teacher of Wycombe High School, said: "Exams which start late have a knock-on effect on the rest of the schedule."

Chiltern Vale police are compiling a dossier on the problems, to submit to local authorities and the Government, later this year.

High Wycombe-based Insp Robin Hamilton said: "We know Handy Cross is an ongoing problem - we advise people wishing to avoid delays to set out earlier, to seek alternative routes, and to listen to local radio for details of delays."

A Highways Agency spokesman said: "We've had discussions with Wycombe District Council and Buckinghamshire County Council about what form localised improvements might take. It's too soon to know what priority Handy Cross could be given in any programme of studies in which the agency would be involved."

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