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Mobile cheats on the up in schools
Exam watchdog reports "noticeable rise" in incidents...

By Reuters

Published: Monday 27 March 2006

The number of students penalised for cheating in school exams and coursework in England rose by more than a quarter last summer, the country's exam watchdog said. And candidates caught with mobile phones in exam halls accounted for around 25 per cent of the offences, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) said.

QCA chief executive Ken Boston said: "Over recent years we have seen a noticeable rise in the number of mobile-phone related incidents in examination halls across the country."

Students can be marked down or even failed for just having a mobile phone with them during exams, whether they use them to cheat or not.

Boston said he would be writing to all schools about the importance of students leaving their phones outside exam halls.

Just over 4,500 students were penalised during last summer's round of A-level and GCSE exams, a rise of 27 per cent over the previous year.

However, the overall number of candidates penalised remains low, with less than one incident for every 1,500 exams taken.