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UK exam watchdog frets over smart specs turning GCSEs into Google searches
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Ofqual says smart glasses, hidden earpieces, and AI tools are creating a new generation of cheating headaches.
Key facts
- According to Ofqual, mobile phones and other smart devices were involved in 2,225 malpractice cases during 2025 exams, accounting for 44.3 percent of all student malpractice incidents
- Ofqual says smart glasses, hidden earpieces, and AI tools are creating a new generation of cheating headaches
- The concerns arise as consumer technology companies continue to cram cameras, microphones, AI assistants, and internet connectivity into an ever-growing range of wearable devices
- England's exams watchdog is warning that the next generation of school cheating may arrive not in a student's pocket, but perched on their face
Summary
England's exams watchdog is warning that the next generation of school cheating may arrive not in a student's pocket, but perched on their face. In a new podcast, Ofqual chief regulator Sir Ian Bauckham said advances in consumer technology are creating fresh headaches for exam authorities, with smart glasses, hidden earpieces, and other connected gadgets raising the prospect of increasingly sophisticated cheating during exams. "We shouldn't underestimate the challenge involved here," Bauckham said, warning that regulators will need to move quickly as technology evolves. Students smuggling phones into exam halls is hardly a new phenomenon.