Half of all A-level and GCSE exams ‘will be on screen within a decade’

Children could be taking half their GCSES and A-levels on screen within a decade, the head of the UK’s biggest exam board has said.

- Rachel Sylvester Political Editor

Colin Hughes, chief executive of the AQA, said replacing some pen and paper exams with digital assessments would make the system “more secure”, “more resilient” and “fairer”, especially for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (Send).

“We're not advocating this because we're digital maniacs we're advocating it because we genuinely believe that the system will be greatly improved,” he said.

Exams are turning into a political battleground. Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, has said the government is determined to use technology “to spread opportunity and modernise our education system”.

The Conservatives, meanwhile, have tabled amendments to the children’s wellbeing and schools bill that would protect paper exams and give parents the right to opt out of screen-based homework.

In December, Ofqual, the exam regulator, launched a 12-week consultation on the introduction of onscreen exams. Under the proposals, the four exam boards delivering GCSEs, AS and A-levels in England would be allowed to create two onscreen specifications each. The most popular subjects — those with more than 100,000 entries - would be banned, however.