All quiet re Edexcel Maths Higher paper leak

Despite the admission that Edexcel paper 1 Maths (Higher) was leaked there seems to be little out there re what is happening. I read elsewhere, that students were disqualified but how do Edexcel know the number of students who had this info forwarded to them by friends? I also heard it said that last question would just be cancelled but this is penalising those who may have got method marks or even those who did get the correct answer without cheating.What is the outcome from Edexcel? I am already annoyed that the last question on the AQA Higher Physics paper was cancelled, as I think I certainly got some marks for it! Now all that will happen is Grade boundaries pushed up.

You have a really good point. It does seem rather concerning that there has been relative radio silence from Edexcel after having addressed the issue on their Pearson website. What's also frustrating is that Edexcel have gotten away with misleading, if not outright wrong advance information for some of their Combined Science papers (and possibly even some Triple Science papers based on what I've been hearing from others).

For example, in Combined Science Higher Biology Paper 2 the advance information specifically stated that there would be two core practicals would come up on the paper; however, upon flicking through the entire paper it was clear that none of there core practicals were to be found in the paper whatsoever. It is rather shocking that Edexcel are able to get away with this just because they are not a common exam board for Combined Science. Though Edexcel seem to have covered themselves in Physics Paper 1 despite misleading advance information, they have clearly lied about whether or not core practicals were going to be assessed in Biology Paper 2.

Even more confusingly, the advance information provided for these Higher papers seemed to line up with the Foundation papers; this really raises questions about whether or not those responsible for making the exams have actually bothered to check that these papers are in line with the advance information ─ especially as they have had up to 4 months to write & prepare these exams. These mixups are simply not okay and are unacceptable no matter the exam board in question. A simple apology from these exam boards is not going to fix hours (and possibly days or even months) of wasted revision on topics that were supposed to come up but failed to materialise whatsoever, in their place being topics that were specifically crossed off the list of topics that could have come up in some of these papers.

Does anyone ever speak to the Department of Education re all this chaos? The Minister for Education stated that as this cohort had been disadvantaged due to COVID there were going to be various provisions put in place. Instead all that seems to have happened are leaked papers and incorrect advance information provided, which has merely ADDED to student stress! On top of all that the grades boundaries are going to be higher than last year when in fact our cohort has been the highest hit of any during the pandemic. It would appear that the exam boards merely issue an apology and then just mess up student's futures unchecked!

Is there no regulatory body covering all exam boards...

Adverse Effect
An act, omission, event, incident, or circumstance has an Adverse Effect if it –
(a) gives rise to prejudice to Learners or potential Learners, or
(b) adversely affects –
(i) the ability of the awarding organisation to undertake the development, delivery or award of qualifications in a way that complies with its Conditions of Recognition,
(ii) the standards of qualifications which the awarding organisation makes available or proposes to make available, or
(iii) public confidence in qualifications.

Condition A6 - Identification and management of risks

Identifying risks
A6.1 An awarding organisation must take all reasonable steps to identify the risk of the occurrence of any incident which could have an Adverse Effect.

Preventing incidents or mitigating their effect
A6.2 Where such a risk is identified, the awarding organisation must take all reasonable steps to –
(a) prevent the incident from occurring or, where it cannot be prevented, reduce the risk of that incident occurring as far as is possible, and
(b) prevent any Adverse Effect that the incident could have were it to occur or, where it cannot be prevented, mitigate that Adverse Effect as far as possible.

Contingency plan
A6.3 An awarding organisation must establish, maintain, and at all times comply with, an up to date written contingency plan.

A6.4 A contingency plan must be of sufficient detail and quality to allow the awarding organisation to mitigate, as far as possible, the Adverse Effect of any incident which has been identified by the awarding organisation as having a risk of occurring.

Condition A7 - Management of incidents

A7.1 Where any incident occurs which could have an Adverse Effect, an awarding organisation must (whether or not it has previously identified a risk of that incident occurring) promptly take all reasonable steps to –
(a) prevent the Adverse Effect and, where any Adverse Effect occurs, mitigate it as far as possible and correct it, and
(b) give priority to the provision of assessments which accurately differentiate between Learners on the basis of the level of attainment they have demonstrated and to the accurate and timely award of qualifications.

In England that body is the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual).

If you wish to make a complain about an awarding organisation (i.e. an exam board), you can do so here.

There are a series of definitions and rules which awarding organisations must follow within Ofqual Handbook: General Conditions of Recognition which could potentially apply to situations like this: