YORK College bosses and fire chiefs today defended new rules which would see exam students staying at their desks should fire alarms go off.

While students would remain seated, staff would check whether there really was a fire.

A tutor at the college wrote to The Press to voice concern at a revamped fire safety policy which asks students taking exams to stay in their seats if an alarm sounds.

But the policy has been defended by both the college and North Yorkshire Fire And Rescue Service, who say no one is being put at risk.

Under the policy, candidates have been instructed to stop writing in the event of an alarm sounding and draw a line across their page writing "fire alarm."

They must then sit still while invigilators are told of the cause of the alarm and its likely duration.

This process should take no longer than a couple of minutes and then, if there is a fire, an immediate evacuation would take place.

In a letter to The Press the tutor and parent, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "I wonder at the anxiety caused to both examinees and invigilators under this new policy.

"To hear the alarm going and see others evacuating when they are instructed to remain seated is not going to put them in the frame of mind needed to resume an examination should that be possible."

The new £60 million York College opened its doors to about 10,000 students in September.

There have been a spate of false alarms due to the sensitivity of the new hi-tech system, and the college says the new measures have been put in place in answer to students concerns about exams being disrupted. Phil Chilton, York Fire Safety Officer with North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue, said: "I have been consulted over this system and the college have good practises in place.

"They have dedicated people maintaining this state- of-the-art system and they are putting no one at risk."

David Jackson, health, safety and welfare advisor at York College, said: "We have a procedure in place whereby we can investigate and inform any examination areas within a short period of time, should a fire alarm be activated.

"I would reassure learners and parents that the college is built to very high standards of fire protection and that there are always two areas of escape."

Robert Grierson, quality and assurance manager at the college, said: "In response to some learners expressing concerns to their tutors about the frequency of fire drills at York College last term, we have put these procedures in place.

"Examination boards do not allow learners to leave an examination room and then come into contact with other learners, as examinations then become null and void.

"By putting this plan in place, the college is minimising this happening without putting learners at risk."