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The growing problem of cheating in exams fuelled by high-tech smart devices must not be underestimated, Ofqual chief regulator Sir Ian Bauckham has warned.

Cheating through use of mobile phones and other smart devices has been the most common category of cheating in every summer exam series since 2018, according to Ofqual: it accounted for 44 per cent of all student malpractice last summer, the shows.

Earlier this year, Ofqual called on exam boards to do more to stop students from bringing mobile phones into exams or using AI to cheat in coursework.

New threat from smart watches and glasses

Now, with more than a million students sitting GCSEs and A levels this year, Sir Ian has raised fresh concerns about gadgets such as smart watches and glasses.

Speaking on Ofqual’s new podcast series, Can I Just Qualify That?, he stresses that mobile phones are not the only tech that students can use to cheat.

“There are, of course, other devices - there are smart watches and smart all sorts of things,” Sir Ian says. “There might be smart spectacles next…that will play text across the inside of the lens that only the student can see.”

He also says that Ofqual has had to “move really fast, because technology is moving fast”.

Asked about students’ attempts to avoid being caught sneaking devices into exams, Sir Ian says: “We shouldn’t underestimate the challenge involved here.”

‘Point of tension’

Sir Ian has expressed support for the government’s decision to seek statutory guidance that would make “mobile phone-free environments” the default position in schools.

“It is then much easier for invigilators to enforce that rule,” Sir Ian says. “While students are allowed to have mobile phones in school but not in the exam, you have a point of tension; a point of conflict.”

There were 2,225 cases of mobile-phone and smart-device cheating in the summer 2025 exams, Ofqual said. Of those, 545 resulted in students being disqualified from some or all of their qualifications, while 1,240 resulted in marks being deducted.

Students who take their phones or devices into exam halls risk disqualification, Sir Ian warns.

He also speaks in the podcast about assessment in the age of artificial intelligence, including the growing difficulties of detecting AI in coursework.

Writing for ����Vlog in January, Sir Ian explained why AI would not be taking over exam marking in the near future.