Overview
- Ofqual issued a £270,000 penalty to exam board Cambridge OCR after finding serious flaws in its 2025 physics A-level and AS-level assessments.
- Investigators identified 12 mistakes in papers and mark schemes, including wrong data in a table and spreadsheet figures that did not match graphs, which led to grading errors.
- Two mistakes surfaced only after results day, prompting one-grade increases for 37 students, while earlier errors were handled through school notices or by awarding full marks on affected questions.
- The regulator said OCR failed to ensure papers were fit for purpose and did not set clear ways for schools to request mark adjustments when errors occurred.
- OCR accepted the decision and apologized, citing a root-cause review and process changes, as Ofqual also opened a consultation to let some GCSE and A-level exams move to on-screen formats by 2030, excluding very large-entry subjects and A-level maths and allowing each board to propose two digital specifications.