Pupils at a school in Maastricht whose exam results were declared invalid because of ‘administrative errors’ have been given until January to catch up on course work so they can still graduate.

Education minister Arie Slob said on Wednesday that their results in the national school leaving exams would be kept on file until then, to allow the 354 16 and 17-year-olds time to complete the necessary classroom time.

‘This is not a guarantee of success but it does offer them the chance to get a school leaving certificate,’ Slob said. He met a delegation of the pupils earlier this week.

The mistakes came to light after a whistleblower tipped off education inspectors about problems with the internal exams and registration procedures at Stichting Limburgs Voortgezet Onderwijs (SLVO), which operates two secondary schools in the southern province.

The minister said the problems had been caused by more than just ‘administrative errors’ and that school inspectors were working hard to make sure the school is up to scratch.

Pupils had complained in the media of having few or no lessons in some subjects which were compulsory. The school leaving exams in the Netherlands consist of marks for course work and school exams plus nationwide tests which all pupils take.