GCSE and AS-level papers go missing weeks before exams, forcing schools to get replacement papers

Teenager arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods

Hundreds of schools and colleges have been forced to get replacement exams after a batch of GCSE and AS-level question papers went missing. A teenager has been arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods.

A courier company was supposed to deliver a package of exam papers to a school in Milton Keynes but it never arrived.

Thames Valley Police said a 16-year-old had been arrested on suspicion of theft and handling stolen goods. He has been released under investigation.

Exam board AQA has decided to replace the papers for GCSE French reading and writing and AS-level sociology, some of which start next week, to maintain the integrity of affected exams.

It comes after Edexcel’s A-level papers were leaked two years in a row.

Police launched an investigation last summer after questions appeared for sale online the night before the exam.

Last month, Pearson, which owns Edexcel, announced plans to insert microchips into packs of A-level and GCSE exam questions this summer in an attempt to combat online leaks.

AQA found out that the exam papers had not arrived at a secondary school more than a week ago.

The exam board then informed the police and an investigation was launched.

Claire Thomson, the firm’s director of operations, said: “These exam papers were sent to a school but never arrived. The police and the courier company are both investigating and an arrest has been made. We’ve known about this issue for over a week so the process of sending new papers to schools to make sure no one has an unfair advantage is well underway.”

The incident comes as thousands of students begin their GCSE, AS and A-level exams from next week.

“Our message to students is that there’s nothing for them to worry about – they can carry on with their revision as if nothing’s happened and we’ll take care of it,” Ms Thomson said.