This year’s A-level and GCSE exams had a surge in the number of students penalised for potential cheating or disruptive behaviour, with possession of mobile phones and smartwatches the biggest single cause for sanctions.
Ofqual, the exam regulator for England, said more than 4,300 candidates were penalised for “malpractice” during the exams taken this spring. Although the total represents just 0.03% of all A-level and GCSE exams taken, it was a more than 40% increase compared with 2019, when 3,040 students were penalised.
The possession of mobile phones and similar devices such as tablets or smartwatches in an exam room accounted for 1,845 of the penalties issued, compared with 1,385 in 2019, the last year that formal exams were sat before the coronavirus pandemic.
Most students caught in possession of a mobile phone were sanctioned with marks deducted from their exam paper. Overall, just more than 2,000 candidates were given mark reductions for all causes, while about 1,500 students received warnings.
In the most severe cases, 800 candidates were penalised by having their exam voided, losing all marks. That figure was a 30% increase compared with 2019, when just over 600 students lost all their marks.
