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Caught cheating but note fault

I borrowed a sci calc, I went in the maths exam, put the calc on the table and sat down,

However a teach came and removed the lid and notes fell out, I was shocked as I had no clue about them,

He gave it to the head of maths who was in the room, she read them and put them in her pocket,

She did not say anything, and I was allowed to continue the exam, my paper was collected in normally

They found the notes before the exam paper was handed out,

Can I be disqualified?

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Reply 1
Thank you in advance
Reply 2
It doesn't matter that the notes where not yours or if you never knew about or even intended to use them.

They will assume it was yours and you intended to use them.
Reply 3
You can be, probably best to ask the head of maths what is happening and explain the situation.
Reply 4
But it was found before the paper was handed out

But I was still allowed to take the exam
Reply 5
Will I be disqualified from all my edexcel exams
Reply 6
They never said anything during the exam
Reply 7
If the notes related to the exam then I doubt your teachers would buy into your story that you didn't know about them, and nor would I. You may have got lucky in that they might just decide to ignore it, so as not to fail one of their students.
Reply 8
They were maths exam notes, I got a glance,
But nothing was done, and they did not stop me leaving or rip my paper
Chill out about it, don't make this make you lose focus on any other exams, because if it was found before the exam and handed in before the exam and you did complete it and it was handed in it does seem fine, but my advice is to still go to your teacher, exam office whatever and explain, stick to your story... hopefully you'll be fine

p.s whoever gave you that calculator, make sure you kiiiiiiiiiiill them :tongue:
Original post by pollypix123
Chill out about it, don't make this make you lose focus on any other exams, because if it was found before the exam and handed in before the exam and you did complete it and it was handed in it does seem fine, but my advice is to still go to your teacher, exam office whatever and explain, stick to your story... hopefully you'll be fine

p.s whoever gave you that calculator, make sure you kiiiiiiiiiiill them :tongue:


At my school we are read an essay on what we are/are not allowed, and then told to raise our hand to hand in anything that we have on that list. I've handed in an iPod that I found in my pocket when they said "check your pockets" and just got back at the end of the exam.
Reply 11
Original post by pollypix123
Chill out about it, don't make this make you lose focus on any other exams, because if it was found before the exam and handed in before the exam and you did complete it and it was handed in it does seem fine, but my advice is to still go to your teacher, exam office whatever and explain, stick to your story... hopefully you'll be fine

p.s whoever gave you that calculator, make sure you kiiiiiiiiiiill them :tongue:


Well I'm at home now, should I go in tomorrow or wait till they ask about it
Prepare for some serious brown nosing the head of the maths department...

I'm sure that if it was before the exam you won't be disqualified though. :smile:

Go and speak to the teacher tomorrow and explain the situation.
Original post by freedom
Well I'm at home now, should I go in tomorrow or wait till they ask about it


go in today if possible, you need to do it as quick as possible to maintain your innocence
Did this happen during the exam, or before it?

I have read from other threads on here that candidates, after being caught in a similar situation, have been asked to write and sign an 'official' statement for their teacher outlining what happened iirc. I don't know if that was a unique school-discipline thing or an exam board regulation though for that kind of situation. So maybe you got off? Although it is odd that they haven't talked to you. But obviously they still let you sit the paper, they wouldn't want to cause a scene by "ripping it up" and kicking you out just as everyone else is about to start i dont think.
Reply 15
No, you can't be done for cheating. What you have done is akin to reading your notes up to the minute before the exam, nothing more, nothing less. They are not legally allowed to make the assumption that you were going to cheat, and even if they did make that assumption it's not the same thing as actually cheating - and hence you didn't actually cheat.

Don't worry about it, they'd have a very hard time doing anything about this, even if they wanted to.
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 16
Original post by earthisearthis
Did this happen during the exam, or before it?

I have read from other threads on here that candidates, after being caught in a similar situation, have been asked to write and sign an 'official' statement for their teacher outlining what happened iirc. I don't know if that was a unique school-discipline thing or an exam board regulation though for that kind of situation. So maybe you got off? Although it is odd that they haven't talked to you. But obviously they still let you sit the paper, they wouldn't want to cause a scene by "ripping it up" and kicking you out just as everyone else is about to start i dont think.


Before the exam paper was even handed out
Reply 17
Original post by Tycho
No, you can't be done for cheating. What you have done is akin to reading your notes up to the minute before the exam, nothing more, nothing less. They are not legally allowed to make the assumption that you were going to cheat, and even if they did make that assumption it's not the same thing as actually cheating - and hence you didn't actually cheat.

Don't worry about it, they'd have a very hard time doing anything about this, even if they wanted to.


They are not my notes,
But thanks for that reply
Reply 18
Original post by freedom
They are not my notes,
But thanks for that reply


I know, hence my addition of the word "akin". This only serves to strengthen your argument, should you need one. The definition of cheating in this context is: "accessing notes during an examination" [my emphasis]. The exam hadn't started so you haven't breached this rule. :cool:
Original post by Tycho
No, you can't be done for cheating. What you have done is akin to reading your notes up to the minute before the exam, nothing more, nothing less. They are not legally allowed to make the assumption that you were going to cheat, and even if they did make that assumption it's not the same thing as actually cheating - and hence you didn't actually cheat.

Don't worry about it, they'd have a very hard time doing anything about this, even if they wanted to.


This. If the exam hadnt started then you could have handed them in still. Did an invigilator see too because the maths department won't want to disqualify their own candidate?

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