Eton caught cheating on Pre-U

[BossWitch]

Saw this on bbc's papers round up but can only find a full story link in the Fail, sorry.

www.google.co.uk/amp/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4824050/amp/Eton-deputy-head-quits-amid-claims-helped-pupils-cheat.html

Basically, a deputy head who was a senior examiner and involved in setting the exam leaked the exam materials to staff and students for one of the economics papers for the Cambridge Pre-U so all those marks have been disregarded. Deputy head has now left the school.

I'm quite shocked. What on earth was he thinking? And how much pressure must he have been under to ensure results that he thought this was a good idea?

Any Eton parents about on mumsnet today? What are your thoughts?

There are recent related threads about a Prep school cheating at exams in AIBU and the Staffroom...

It sounds as though it may be a bit more complicated than leaked questions - the BBC and Telegraph versions of the story refers to "practice questions". There seems no doubt that confidential information was leaked, and I don't know why practice questions would be confidential, but perhaps if it wasn't obvious to the recipients that what they were receiving was stuff they shouldn't have, that explains why it's only in the news now. If the boys sitting the Pre-U paper found they had literally seen the questions before, I doubt it would have been kept quiet till now.

More likely is that in the game of "I wonder which topics out of the whole syllabus will come up in the exam" the odds were shortened.

I have to admit it stinks from an ethical standpoint.

Certainly does, and presumably that's why the teacher has gone. FWIW, he is listed in this year's fixtures (i.e. the book that lists all teachers, that presumably went to press before this blew up), so it isn't that he was going anyway.

Do you know what I find the most shocking about this? That the deputy head of Eton is only on 37k according to the DM.

It's one teacher. He's sacked. Could happen anywhere. 2 state school HT in our city gave been sacked for cheating on sat this year, won't make national news. It happens.

No damage whatsoever to brand of Eton

Shocking is the sense I get of minimising this as "It happens. Let's just sweep this under the carpet and move on."

I mean from some people on this thread.

SoPass - that's the school fees, not the teacher's salary

Although my A level history result dates back to 1974, my history teacher had an astonishing track record on forecasting how questions would be asked. We had answered for practice very similar questions every week for two years. As far as I know, she was not an examiner, but we were superbly prepared for the exams. Where does the knife fall?

Experienced teachers of academic subjects, preparing pupils for important exams that will decide their futures, will have an insight into the topics that are likely to arise. Henry VII customs and taxation policy was a perennial.

It was often asked as "How did Henry VII establish the Tudor succession?" Different phrasing, same question.

2014newme
This is not about a cheating teacher
This is about the guy who writes the exam giving his pupils a grossly unfair advantage.
I'm mildly stunned that lead examiners are allowed to teach pupils for their own exams.
Its certainly not going to look good for the CIE brand
WinCol must be livid for example.

Win coll won't care.
It was one cheating teacher, he's sacked. Done and dusted.

My electronics lecturer at a good red brick University, used to slip us the questions before the exam, the solutions were available in the library, so you didn't even need to work out the answers for yourself - everyone used to do very well in his class!

In fact dh is aware of at least one case at Cambridge where a student was not only given the questions but he was given the answers too - he was good at a certain sport but not so good at the academics!

Frenchroast
University exams are an entirely different matter
EVERY pupil is taught by the exam setter.

In this instance, the man who writes the exam for thousands of kids at hundreds of schools helps his own pupils to game the system

2014newme
If you really think its done and dusted you show why so many Etonians have gross over self confidence.
Eton are not alone, but they got caught and have opened the can of worms ...

I know tip- I'm just saying I think cheating is pretty common in education.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/uk/2006/feb/14/schools.publicschools

Sorry - Meant to do clicky link to an older story

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/uk/2006/feb/14/schools.publicschools

I agree talkinpeace. There is an obvious conflict of interest inherent in using current teachers of a subject to set exam questions for the country as a whole. Duh

Perhaps university academics could make a bit of extra money by creating these exams?

I'm mildly stunned that lead examiners are allowed to teach pupils for their own exams.
To me it would seem evident that schools with lead examiners (or any senior teachers involved in setting questions for an exam board) should use a different exam board for that subject. That should be a condition from the exam board.
Otherwise there will always be suspicion.

Hardly shocking TBH.

Was he sacked for cheating or for being caught?

"It is not clear how the pupils became 'inadvertent recipients' of the questions, but Mr Tanweer is the only person implicated."

Ah, the old boys system at its best.

The pupils were inadvertent recipients, because they did not choose what practice exam questions they were given, and could not possibly know they were that year's actual exam questions (or as near as dammit they might have been).

He was found out at Eton the very first time they used pre-U (not A level) which suggests the school found out very quickly (either a candidate or another teacher must have raised it) and followed proper procedures in dealing with cheats.

The question that remains is, why did he choose to cheat for the first time when he arrived at Eton?