A-level maths exam marking to be watched closely by regulator after students 'overwhelmed'

More than 20,000 people have signed a petition calling for a review of an A‑level maths paper that they say was significantly more challenging than any past exam.

Wednesday's Pearson Edexcel paper one exam has left students feeling "overwhelmed" and "uncertain" by questions that required "multiple layers of reasoning" and "extended algebraic manipulation".

Ofqual, England's exam regulator, says it is now "closely monitoring" the marking of the paper.

A spokesperson for Pearson says the exam board is committed to ensuring a fair exam experience for every candidate.

The petition, published on the day of the exam, argues that grade boundaries should reflect the difficulty of the paper.

"Many candidates who had demonstrated strong mathematical ability throughout their studies found themselves unable to complete substantial sections of the paper within the allotted time", says the petition.

"These students deserve confidence that their grades will reflect their mathematical ability rather than the unusual difficulty of a single examination paper," it continues.

One parent says she believes "students were set up to fail".

On the petition website, Corinne wrote: "If Edexcel's intention was to create a sense of underachievement and destroy young people's confidence, they have succeeded.

"I am deeply upset and angry on behalf of every student, teacher, school and tutor who has dedicated two years of hard work to preparing for this exam, only to be let down so badly by the exam board."

Leyla, one student who sat the maths paper on Wednesday, says no revision could have prepared her for the exam.

"It was nothing like any of the questions I'd seen before," she wrote, "my offer at uni is slipping away as I'm writing this".

Another student described the exam as "far more difficult" and "time intensive" than any maths past papers.

"Up until now questions have followed patterns but this paper tended to have a few more irregularities", wrote Caltuma.

Ofqual told the Press Association that their priority is "students and ensuring their grades are a reliable indication of what they know, understand and can do".

Caroline Darrington, a spokesperson for Pearson, said: "If a paper is found to be more difficult than previous years, grade boundaries will be set to reflect that.

"When setting grade boundaries, we review a range of evidence, including statistical data and expert judgment.

"This process ensures students receive results that fairly reflect their performance and are comparable across exam series."