More than a million pupils sitting GCSE and A-level exams this summer face a new threat: a hidden earpiece, a pair of smart glasses, or even a pen with a built-in screen could be used to cheat – and the head of England's exams regulator warns the consequences are "future-altering".
Sir Ian Bauckham, the chief regulator of Ofqual, told the BBC's Today programme that invigilators are being trained to spot covert equipment after schools reported attempts to use increasingly sophisticated devices to gain an unfair advantage. "We're hearing stories – and I hear this directly from schools as I go up and down the country – of devices like supposedly hidden earpieces, smart glasses that play text covertly on the inside of the glasses that only the wearer can see, and even biros that have got apparently invisible mini video screens built into them," he said.
“Ofqual chief warns high-tech cheating devices risk undermining GCSE and A-level grades.”
Data from Ofqual shows that mobile phones and smart devices have been the most common form of exam malpractice in every summer exam series since 2018. Last year, they accounted for 44% of all student malpractice cases – 2,225 cases associated with GCSE, AS and A-levels, according to the regulator. "Obviously, if you gain help unfairly on a mobile phone or a smartwatch or any other kind of device, you are potentially getting marks in the exam that you don't deserve," Bauckham said in an Ofqual podcast.
The rise of wearable technology threatens to make the problem worse. Bauckham warned that the regulator had to act "really fast because technology is changing fast. We are all familiar with mobile phones but there are smartwatches that we are increasingly seeing on young people that are fully internet connected and so present many of the same challenges as mobile phones." He added: "I understand that in the pipeline there are things like smartglasses that will play text across the inside of the lens that only students can see … so we are going to have to keep on top of this."
Bauckham said some devices were being "marketed openly on the internet specifically as aids to cheating". The long-term danger, he explained, is that cheating produces "grades for qualifications that are no longer reliable, no longer trustworthy". He warned pupils that the probability of getting caught is high: "In the worst cases, they could lose all their A-level grades. That's future-altering."
The regulator also revealed that GCSE and A-level coursework is being scrutinised over potential AI use, after teachers said they were struggling to detect it. "Our qualification system is a real national asset and we have to keep on top of this to stop this national asset being undermined, because that is not in anyone's interests," Bauckham said.
Despite the warnings, Bauckham stressed that the "vast majority" of students "wouldn't dream of cheating". "But there is this small minority – and it is a small minority – who have always set about trying to subvert the system and cheat," he added.
That small minority now has more tools than ever – and the regulator is racing to keep up.