Cheating in GCSE exams

[examworries2026]

Name changed for this. I wanted to explore the likelihood of this happening and see if anyone has experience of this, either from what their DC have said or if you’re a teacher or work in a school.

My DS16 is taking his GCSEs in a few weeks. He said that during their mocks they obviously aren’t allowed their phones (his school use those pouches anyway so technically they’re not supposed to have them during the day) but he said a few people have burner phones in their pockets.

During the exams they ask to go to the toilet and then spend a few minutes looking up answers etc.

I have no reason to doubt my DS but I can’t understand how this can be allowed to happen. Found it really shocking. Has anyone heard of this or similar? How common is this? Any invigilators on here who could shed some light on the likelihood of this happening?

Probably irrelevant but this is a highly rated traditional boys’ private school.

Not to mention getting them marked - we have more than 500,000 candidates for my exam in any given year. We simply couldn't mark double that number in the time

What’s all coursework degrees have to do with how exams were managed during Covid?

That’s not the case actually. There is a process in place for a student who has done some of the exams to be awarded a grade based on that if they miss through unavoidable illness.

And tough shit? Nice. So two entire cohorts should have been held back to take exams one or two years later? And what - universities would just take no first years in 2020 or 2021 and then a triple cohort in 2022? How on earth would that work? And why should YP have to put their lives on hold for two years?

ETA and I haven’t even considered GCSEs there, just A levels.

I guess you are just looking for an argument

No, studies show that state schools under-predict, but private ones over-predict. It leads to state school pupils not even aiming for the best universities they could get, whereas private school pupils can often be accepted even if they don’t get the required grades.

no doubt @BluebelllsRosesDaffodills would consider that more ‘tough shit’!

Yes, I think so.
started with cheating is the same as what happened to exams during covid and has progressed to graduates barely being able to speak English.

Same regulations apply to private schools and all exam centres are inspected during the summer.

Maybe I just won't bother to mark my allocation this year and just say "tough shit".

or my year 11 books this week

or my y13 essays

I invigilate in state and private schools. Regulations are exactly the same.

@catlady-we have rooms where we might have 20 different end times once different exams, extra time and rest breaks are taken into consideration. If we had to keep giving them time warnings it would be unmanageable. Anyway, it’s not allowed under the regulations so it doesn’t happen.
It’s enough of a pain with IB when there’s several different exams going on a room to do.

Absolutely not where I am ! We’ve not had invigilators for over a year

Invigilators or inspectors? Where are you? They are all subject to inspection over exam period. It might be that they weren’t physically inspected last year but all centres doing GCSEs and A Levels are governed by the same rules- makes no difference whether they are state or private , schools or sixth form colleges etc etc. At the private school I work at various inspectors came in about 4 times last summer.

public exams are being run without invigilators?

How are the exams being run with no invigilators?

How is that even possible? Surely the exams couldn’t run.

????? Reported

Why?

I’m an invigilator. We make several announcements as the pupils are going into the hall and hold out a bag for them to put belongings in. They are not allowed a watch of any kind, headphones, phones, smart rings, calculator covers, tissues or smart glasses. They are told to pat themselves down prior to the final announcement after which point, they will be disqualified if found to be in possession of anything they shouldn’t have. There is no excuse to make a mistake and accidentally keep something on you.

A friend’s DD told her that girls in her year were cheating with writing on their thighs, knowing full well they couldn’t be asked to lift their skirts.

but I think there was a worry for a while that they might be disqualified from all the exams on that board (school recognised that they never used the phone or attempted to cheat, but had it with them during the exam).

invigilators are independent of the school and make the decisions. It doesn’t matter what school thought (they have an interest in pupils doing well)

It’s very risky but possible, if you need the toilet you could possibly stash a phone in it.
Invigilators will be waiting outside.

Realistically very little time to get enough information to cheat in a way that will hugely change the outcome.
Smart glasses and hearing aids would be checked surely?

They aren’t independent. Many are employed on a contract or via an agency.

Independent of the school

There were rumours at DDs school of girls planning to write answers on sanitary pads. Not during their period. Honestly can’t imagine how it’s easier to leave for the loo than to memorise a few more lines of text instead.

You would think the time out of the exam in the toilet looking up one of the very few pieces of information you wrote a note about on your leg/in your pants but still didn’t remember, would result in the loss of more marks elsewhere in the paper.