The Student Room Group

Past Papers illegal?

Is it legal for sites to put up exam papers from past exams? I was just wondering, coz most sites don't tell you where they are from and don't seem to have statements saying they have got permission from the examining board, even though most books have one. But then again, most papers don't have copyright things on the front, so are they really copyrighted? And schools usually photocopy them for students anyway.

What do you think? Maybe somebody studying law can tell us what's right
Reply 1
ahgo
Is it legal for sites to put up exam papers from past exams? I was just wondering, coz most sites don't tell you where they are from and don't seem to have statements saying they have got permission from the examining board, even though most books have one. But then again, most papers don't have copyright things on the front, so are they really copyrighted? And schools usually photocopy them for students anyway.

What do you think? Maybe somebody studying law can tell us what's right


its not illegal because they available on the examining boards sites, and they are the people who made them

i dont think it shouldnt be illegal either, no reason for it to be
Reply 2
Well it is illegal for random sites putting up the papers, without prior permission from the board. Especially if it is for public access.
Reply 3
it cant be made illegal otherwise how wud students develop exam technique which is wot %75 of qualifications are about lol.
btw are there any sites that have past papers with actual student answers on them so that the marking can be seen
Reply 4
Baron
its not illegal because they available on the examining boards sites, and they are the people who made them

i dont think it shouldnt be illegal either, no reason for it to be


not all of them are availabe, only some boards such as aqa provides some for free, so it is illegal in most cases
Reply 5
alio
it cant be made illegal otherwise how wud students develop exam technique which is wot %75 of qualifications are about lol.
btw are there any sites that have past papers with actual student answers on them so that the marking can be seen


youll have to order it or teachers should give them to you
Reply 6
It is generally illegal for sites to put up past papers. The exam boards write the papers and so they are the copyright holder, this generally means you can't copy entire papers anything from the paper (except under fair use policy). However as people need past papers to revise, the exam boards copyright policy allows schools and educational institutions to make as many copies for their students.

It's not totally clear whether putting papers up on the internet is acceptable or not. Sites like Mr hughes put up papers protected by a password designed to only allow people access from his school, but as everyone knows the password this dosn't work. I am not a laywer, so can't give you a proper answer.

However sites which let anyone access papers and arn't controlled by an educational institution are definatly illegal.

On another notes copying answer papers in any form is illegal, teachers can make their own answers available, but the exam boards dont allow thier answers to be copied.
Reply 7
loftx

On another notes copying answer papers in any form is illegal, teachers can make their own answers available, but the exam boards dont allow thier answers to be copied.

Recent changes in the AQA has allowed Past paper mark schemes to be allowed to be copied in the school.
Reply 8
But if you get past papers, but your teacher is useless and takes a lesson to go through one question, it means you'll never know if your answers are correct...