The AQA exam board is under fire from teachers, students, and schools after it emerged that an undercover newspaper investigation had discovered widespread malpractice in an exam centre.
Teachers have claimed that the scandal involving a GCSE English language exam could be wider spread than just one centre. The investigation by the Daily Telegraph uncovered evidence of cheating on the part of both pupils and staff in multiple centres across England last year.
Evidence included invigilators helping pupils to cheat during exams, allowing them to take photographs inside exam rooms and even telling students which answers were correct before they had even started taking the test paper.
The AQA board initially responded to the revelations with a statement denying any knowledge of what had taken place at its examination centre, claiming that it would not tolerate cheating on their papers. They also stated that they would investigate any claims made against them and deal with any wrongdoers swiftly.
However, following a round of media coverage showing scores of parents expressing concern over what was happening their children's schools, as well as footage obtained by Channel 4 News showing invigilator's telling students how to cheat during exams, AQA has issued another statement saying that it will now be re-marking every student who sat their GCSE English last summer - some 120,000 candidates in total. This marks a dramatic U-turn for the examination board who previously said there was "no evidence" of widespread malpractice when approached by reporters from The Telegraph more than two weeks ago.