The problem is most acute in the Advanced English course, where some students have complained of being forced to take the advanced course over the standard alternative despite being stronger in the science and maths fields. Private companies and individual tutors are offering assignments for sale. Credit:Tanya Lake One 2013, James Ruse graduate insisted that she did not endorse plagiarism but was prepared to sell digital copies of her essays that had scored in the highest range of marks for Advanced English and Modern History. The assignments are saved on a USB drive or transferred over the internet and are easily shared among groups of classmates. The Herald contacted several services ranging from sole traders to industrial operations. The ghost-writing services gave quotes that spanned amounts from $160 to $300 for a "guaranteed band six essay from a PhD student".

Among the largest producers is Melbourne-based service Assignment Masters, which operates across both school and tertiary levels. They guarantee bargain "Turnitin [plagiarism checker] proof" bespoke essays with a one-day turnaround for 1000 words at $125 a piece for the HSC. In Sydney, a company called Australia Copywriting Pro is taking on more than 20 writers in Chatswood, while another in Auburn claims it is hiring up to 50 staff. While major operations are springing up, freelance tutors are openly offering cheating services on classified sites, with many of them "booked out" for weeks ahead of time.

One Newtown-based tutor who claimed he was in "high demand" recommended that "if you decide to secure my services you spend some time making adjustments after delivery". "This way it is more in keeping with your writing style, as your teacher is likely to be very familiar with your writing and learning patterns." An example of the ads for essay writing services. He guaranteed a band-five (the second highest) answer to last year's HSC question with a delivery time of two days after a 50 per cent payment of $112.50 upfront.

The president of the NSW secondary principals council Lila Mularczyk said she has had teachers come and ask for advice in dealing with the situation. "If a teacher does suspect that there is an issue around plagiarism, or extenuating circumstances, there are support personnel in the school," she said. "It's important that the students seek support at their school if they feel that they are not coping with the subject or with the level of that subject." A spokesman for the Board of Studies said that it takes strong and decisive action against incidents of malpractice by HSC students. "If members of the community have evidence they should contact the Board of Studies," he said.

"Schools are required to investigate all concerns about cheating and place guilty students on the malpractice register." Students are using the services for everything from take-home essays to major works such as English Extension Two whereby assignments are worth more than 50 per cent of the mark. One student in last year's HSC had their entire English major work struck off for plagiarism, as revealed by the Board of Studies malpractice register in May. At the time the president of the Board of Studies, Tom Alegounarias, said he believed that "there was far more cheating going on prior to the HSC than during it", and that overall, "the HSC does not have a cheating problem". The malpractice register revealed that students were going to the extent of stuffing microphones into their shirts, notes into their underpants and smuggling smartphones into exam rooms.

But frustrated teachers have said that what is harder to detect are those students who are using the services to write the essays for them before rote learning them and regurgitating them in an exam. It is understood that the problem has become so bad that the principal at one of the state's top selective schools, Normanhurst Boys, confronted a group of eight students in one class after they all wrote identical paragraphs in an exam. A teacher at one selective school, who asked not to be named, said she was at her "wit's end" and that the Board of Studies register was only "the tip of the iceberg". "The level of cheating is endemic; despite being in the best position to identify it most of the time we cannot confront students without proof because they are unique essays." She said that a large portion of the problem stemmed from students who are strong in maths, chemistry and physics subjects but are forced to take advanced English.

North Shore tutor Matthew Teakle said he had been inundated with requests by students for him to write their essays for him. When he refused, they often took their business elsewhere. "It's big business and it makes me furious", he said. "There is enormous pressure on these kids to do well and it has these unintended consequences." The scale of the operations has multiplied since the principal of Sydney Boys High Kim Jaggar first raised concerns in 2011. At the time he said that "the level of unscrupulous behaviour was endemic" .

"You end up getting the best assessment product that money can buy," he told the ABC. "The idea of intellectual property itself is changing. It started with downloading music or whatever but people now see information as not being something so personal." Chris Bonnor, a former principal and leading public education advocate said the level of cheating was "hardly surprising". "The pressure on these students goes back many, many years. This starts when they are in primary school. Many parents see the stakes as being so high and groom the kids accordingly. "A lot of our schools have developed a reputation of being ATAR factories where parents can pay to ensure they do well in the HSC."

Professor Richard Teese, an expert in education policy from the University of Melbourne, said the phenomenon was fuelled by a fear of failure. "For students it's the drive for competitive advantage, anything that will give them the edge. That edge has become focused on killer strategies."