Ofqual

Ofqual fines Pearson more than £2m over exam rule breaches

Ofqual has fined exam board Pearson more than £2m for serious regulatory breaches across three separate cases between 2019 and 2023, affecting tens of thousands of students. The regulator issued two fines of £750k and a further penalty of £505k, among the highest imposed by Ofqual, after concluding that Pearson…

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Ofqual opens consultation on proposed rules for on-screen exams

Ofqual has launched a 12-week consultation on plans to regulate the introduction of on-screen exams in GCSEs, AS and A levels.  The move sets out a controlled framework intended to support limited digital innovation while protecting standards across England’s qualifications system. The consultation builds on joint research by Ofqual and…

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More than a fifth of students hit top GCSE grades

More than 6.5 million GCSE results have been issued to students in England today, with overall results similar to 2024, as 21.9% of students passed at grade 7 or above.  This was slightly higher than the 21.8% reported in 2024, though grades at 4 and above fell slightly to 67.4%,…

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CEER raises concerns over creeping A-level grade inflation

The proportion of A-level entries awarded top grades this summer is likely to stay above pre-pandemic levels, according to a new study from the Centre for Education and Employment Research (CEER). Alan Smithers, director of the CEER at the University of Buckingham, said the percentage of UK A-level entries gaining…

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Ofqual fines WJEC £350k after thousands of exam paper errors

Ofqual has fined WJEC £350k after it was found that exactly 1,527 GCSE students were given incorrect results due to an error by the awarding body.  The exam regulator revealed that pupils who sat WJEC’s Eduqas GCSE food preparation and nutrition in summer 2024 received the wrong grade on results…

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Ofqual withdraws flawed exam access arrangements data

Ofqual has withdrawn its official statistics on access arrangements for exams after uncovering errors in how the data was collected and reported. According to the non-ministerial government department, there was no issue with the access arrangements system itself, stressing that no students had been or would be affected.  Access arrangements,…

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