Exams watchdog warns of rise in high-tech cheating

The growing use of smart technology could make cheating in exams harder to detect, the head of England's exams regulator has warned

Sir Ian Bauckham, the chief regulator of Ofqual, said invigilators are being trained to spot covert equipment, including smart glasses, hidden earpieces and pens with built-in screens.

Data from Ofqual shows that the use of mobile phones and smart devices has been the most common form of exam malpractice in every summer exam series since 2018. Last year, it accounted for 44% of all student malpractice cases.

More than a million pupils are sitting GCSE and A-level exams this summer.

Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, Sir Ian said schools were reporting 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 figures from last summer include:

"In the worst cases, they could lose all their A-level grades. That's future-altering," Sir Ian said.

"Some of these devices are being marketed openly on the internet specifically as aids to cheating," Sir Ian said.

He said 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.

Sir Ian said exam boards were providing training and guidance to invigilators and exams officers on how to identify suspicious devices and behaviour in exam halls.

The Ofqual chief warned pupils that the probability of getting caught cheating is high and can lead to "really severe sanctions".