Exam papers head for bin after tip-offs for teachers are exposed

Exam papers could be ripped up and rewritten after claims that teachers were tipped off about GCSE and A-level questions that pupils would face.

The boards which set exams could be forced to scramble new questions after an education watchdog pledged to make it a "priority" not to delay tests scheduled for next month.

Education Secretary Michael Gove has ordered an inquiry into the exam system after a newspaper investigation found that teachers attending seminars were given advice on questions and the wording pupils should use to obtain higher marks.

At one session a chief examiner told teachers which questions pupils would face in their next exams, saying "we're cheating".

Glenys Stacey, chief executive of exams regulator Ofqual, said exam boards could be ordered to rewrite papers for next year if it is shown they have given improper advice to teachers. She is meeting exam boards today.

An Ofqual spokesman said: "The priority would be never to delay exams being sat by candidates. There are other papers in development that could be used. We are confident that if this happened it would not delay exams."

Teachers who have GCSE or A-level students are expected to attend training sessions on the qualifications.

Undercover reporters from the Daily Telegraph went to 13 of the training seminars, generally held in hotels at a cost of up to £230. They found that teachers were routinely given information about future questions and parts of the syllabus that would be assessed.

At a course run by exam board WJEC in London for GCSE history last month, Paul Evans, a chief examiner, was filmed telling teachers that they need only teach two periods within a history syllabus. He appeared to admit that he was "cheating" by telling them the next period to come up in the cycle.

At a GCSE geography course run by Edexcel in Birmingham, chief examiner Steph Warren was reported to say: "Okay, the first question talks about orientating photographs. I like this sort of question, I'm telling you it will keep coming up, okay."

Ms Stacey told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that it was "certainly not acceptable" for examining bodies to tell teachers about the "cycle" of question-setting. She said: "It is right that awarding bodies provide support and guidance to teachers. It is not right if they are selling privileged access to insider information."

Gareth Pierce, chief executive of the WJEC exam board, said the board had launched its own investigation to be completed within 48 hours.

A spokesman for Edexcel said: "Edexcel, like all awarding bodies, is expected to run feedback events by the regulator Ofqual, which has attended a number of these events this year.

These sessions are designed to give useful feedback to teachers and look retrospectively at the previous year's examinations."