Students have been voicing their worries after part of an A-level maths paper turned leaked online.
Sections of the A-degree Maths Paper 3 exam were shared online ahead of students sitting the exam on Friday.
Those affected have counseled it became leaked “around 12 hours before the exam on numerous social media forums”.
The Edexcel examination board has launched research.
Students have been speaking to the BBC approximately their frustration and disappointment over the leak.
Harry, 18, Oxfordshire
“I am an A-level student, hoping to visit the University of Bath to do laptop technological know-how in September, a direction that requires an A in maths to qualify. Sadly I experience that, after this week, those hopes were crushed.
“The leak on any such wide-scale; there is no way you could show who has been advantaged or deprived.
“For a person like me, who struggles with Statistics and Mechanics, I felt so happy popping out of that examination – questioning I had nailed 70-75%, which is an excellent mark compared to ones I became getting previously. Then I checked my Twitter and noticed that the exam had leaked. My heart sank.
“I cried within the car at the manner domestic because I knew that my difficult work and attempt – staying up until 1 is revising for this examination – is now nugatory, as some idiots have skewed the grade obstacles for all of us.
“This becomes incompetence from Edexcel, and they may be looking to guard themselves against any blame, saying it turned into the number of the [exam] centers’ fault. It may be genuine, but they’re failing to grasp the leak’s value and maintain to deflect blame far away from themselves.
“This year has been a shambles from Edexcel. The first two papers have been a long way too difficult – however, the leak is just a step too a long way. We want retribution for those past due nights and all those hard paintings we installed because we should not be disadvantaged if we’re honest human beings.
“I feel that the only way we can solve this is to provide predicted grades to each student who took the examination, as there’s no manner you may prove who is responsible and who is not.”
Scarlett, 18, Nottinghamshire
“Many folks who sat the examination most effective later determined that the entire exam script had been leaked beforehand.
“Edexcel was made privy to this earlier than the exam happened, but did no longer issue the contingency paper and alternatively allowed us to take a seat the exams.
“I came out of the examination at 3 pm and appeared on Twitter to see what different humans concept approximately the examination. Then I noticed it had leaked. I spoke to the pinnacle of my sixth form, but she failed to know what will take place.
“I became mortified, and I nevertheless am. Like myself, many college students who’ve revised for two years for those exams now experience betrayal and could suffer as a result of Edexcel’s failings. Those who’ve cheated will reason the grade barriers to rise, leading to similarly injustice.
“The exam board have advised that the exposure of the leaked script was ‘very restrained.’ There isn’t any manner that Edexcel can recognize this because of the very nature of social media.
“There is, in fact, purpose to believe pretty the opposite: that the papers were leaked to lots of students.
“I think it’s unfair. I want Edexcel to accept the scenario’s gravity and renowned that this has passed off for 3 years running.
“In the intervening time, we anxiously watch for their actions, if you want to, in the long run, dictate our destiny.”
Ben, 18, Wiltshire
“I am extremely annoyed through the state of affairs. The entire examination season from Edexcel has been genuinely negative, with questions requiring content material now not at the syllabus, a beyond examination question from 2014 copied and pasted into Paper 2, and the whole of Paper three being leaked earlier than the exam.
“Edexcel’s statement offers no reassurance to college students that the scenario will be resolved. They declare it turned into leaked in a “very restrained manner, rapidly before the examination.” However, the paper was leaked around 12 hours before the examination on several social media forums.
“With the potential to ship the paper to masses of people inside mins, the scale of this leak should doubtlessly be massive, and it’s far nearly not possible to tune.
“As nicely as this, 12 hours is plenty of time for students to do the paper and examine answers.
“Edexcel have stated they’ve ‘processes’ in place and yet deliver us no indication as to what they may be. As college students, we have the proper to understand how they desire to make the paper fair, particularly if they can’t pick out who had to get entry to it in advance.
““They have said that they will hold the man or woman leaker accountable for their movements. However, scape-goating one person or one center does not solve the trouble [given] that such a lot of human beings have had to get right of entry to to the paper.
“In terms of solutions, I can’t foresee one to be able to keep all people glad. By lowering the grade obstacles, you give the cheaters what they wanted besides; by way of discounting the paper, you drawback folks who had been counting on it to bump up their grade; using giving human beings their target grades, you take away from individuals who have labored extraordinarily difficult to get a higher grade than their target.
“I believe this has been very poorly handled, and the reality that the paper has been leaked for the 0.33 12 months in a row is disgraceful.
“For an exam board, definitely their number one goals have to be to give their college students a truthful and sincere representation of the route and to keep the paper from being leaked. This yr, Edexcel has failed drastically on each front.”