By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Cambridge International Education on Thursday formally canceled an AS-level mathematics exam after its question paper was shared prematurely in violation of strict security rules, announcing that all affected students would sit a new version of the test on June 9.
The decision affects candidates in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Pakistan and South Asia who were scheduled to take Mathematics paper 9709/12 during the current May-June examination series. The paper surfaced online hours before the exam was due to begin in Pakistan, prompting the UK-based examination board to confirm on April 30 that it had been distributed in breach of its regulations.
In a detailed statement issued on Thursday, Cambridge International said its senior assessment experts had concluded that the extent of the sharing made it impossible to use the original paper to award final results or to generate grades through any form of calculated assessment. “A replacement paper will ensure fair outcomes for students and deliver grades that are trusted by universities and other stakeholders,” the organization said.
The new exam, also coded 9709/12, will be administered on Tuesday, June 9, as part of the existing June series timetable. Cambridge International emphasised that the change had been made only after consultation with school leaders and that “this approach aligns with the views of many school leaders we have consulted.” No additional fees will be charged to students or schools. The release date for Cambridge International AS and A-level results — August 11, 2026 — remains unchanged.
The board said it would send schools detailed instructions by May 15 on how and when the replacement question papers would be distributed, the precise procedures for conducting the exam, and answers to frequently asked questions. That information will also cover the process for withdrawals from the June 2026 series and entries for the November 2026 series.
Cambridge International acknowledged the disruption’s human cost. “Students work incredibly hard to prepare for and take exams, and we value the trust placed in us to deliver fair results at the end of the exam process,” the statement said. It described the episode as “frustrating and disappointing” for students and their families and pledged to make the replacement process “as straightforward as possible.”
The board said it is conducting an active investigation into the leak and is working with law enforcement agencies and other partners to identify those responsible. Anyone found to have shared or misused confidential exam materials faces permanent disqualification from all Cambridge qualifications and exams, the organization warned.
Cambridge International noted that it routinely monitors social media and other online platforms for offers to sell or share question papers and works with those platforms to remove such content. Its legal and compliance teams investigate every credible report and pursue “robust legal action” against those involved, it said. The board added that while it regularly receives reports of leaks, “the majority of them are false,” and that its policy is not to comment publicly on individual cases but to update schools directly. “Our priority is to ensure that students are not disadvantaged by the wilful malpractice of a few,” the statement concluded, urging candidates to concentrate on their remaining examinations.
The incident is the latest in a series of security challenges facing international exam boards that administer high-stakes tests across dozens of time zones and thousands of schools. For students in the affected regions, many of whom rely on Cambridge qualifications for university admissions in Britain, the United States and elsewhere, the cancellation and rescheduling represent both an inconvenience and a safeguard intended to protect the integrity of their grades. Cambridge International said it would provide further updates directly to schools as the investigation proceeds.
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