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Exam board apologises over GCSE test paper blunder

Pupils were asked to sit a GCSE test paper with missing questions, it emerged today, prompting fresh criticism over the exams system.

Pupils sitting a maths exam this week were presented with a test paper that had the first seven questions missing.
Pupils sitting a maths exam this week were presented with a test paper that had the first seven questions missing. Credit: Photo: SALLY AND RICHARD GREENHILL / ALAMY

The higher-tier maths script was delivered to schools minus the first seven questions because of a printing error, it was revealed.

At the same time, some other questions in the exam were repeated.

David Boddy, chairman of the Society of Heads and headmaster of fee-paying St James Senior Boys School, Ashford, said some of his pupils had been affected by the blunder.

The disclosure follows controversy over a series of errors – including printing mistakes and the use of “impossible” questions – that dogged exams taken across the UK two years ago.

Ministers threatened to hit examiners with heavy fines and even strip them of the power to run assessments for any significant repeat.

But Edexcel, the exam board owned by the publishers Pearson, which was behind the latest error, insisted it was a small-scale problem.

It said it had been made aware of only 13 schools – and 88 pupils – that had been affected by the issue but insisted the mistake was being investigated.

A spokesman said: "We are aware of a specific printing issue with a small number of our Maths GCSE papers.

"We regret and fully understand any distress this has caused and are working closely with the affected schools to ensure pupils sitting the paper will not be disadvantaged in any way.

"Ofqual are being kept informed and we will undertake a thorough review to establish how this printing issue occurred."

Examiners are usually forced to take these mistakes into consideration when marking test papers containing errors to make sure pupils are not disadvantaged.

The mistake – which occurred on Tuesday – came on the day that Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, unveiled a major overhaul of GCSE exams.

Mr Boddy said: “It is sadly ironic that on the day the Secretary of State announces changes to GCSE to improve their credibility, such basic mistakes in management should occur again, undermining the system and causing deep distress to the young people who have worked so hard for success.

“It is all well and good trying to plant new flowers, but without weeding out the brambles first no new system is going to work.”