We have seen evidence that the exam boards’ rules for non-exam assessment in GCSE computer science are being broken.

Students who will take their exams in the subject next summer were able to start their non-exam assessment from 1 September 2017. Shortly after that date we became aware that, contrary to the exam boards’ rules, the tasks and solutions to them were being discussed in on-line forums.

Our concerns have been heightened because of the degree of malpractice that was found among students who took GCSE computing in summer 2017.

We are also conscious of wider concerns about the burden being placed on teachers by the non-exam assessment, and how the nature of the non-exam assessment may be leading to an approach to problem solving that does not reflect real-world programming practices.

The proposals in this consultation, on which we are seeking views, are intended to address these concerns in the short term by: