Ofqual’s lack of “corrective action” after an upheld complaint against an exam board risks undermining public confidence in the fairness of qualifications, a shadow minister has said.

In a letter to Ofqual’s chief regulator Sir Ian Bauckham, shadow education secretary Laura Trott says the watchdog’s commitment to securing “safe, fair and resilient delivery of qualifications and assessments” and its response to the case in question were “difficult to reconcile”.

Ms Trott has written to Sir Ian to ask why - beyond “future improvements to [Cambridge OCR] materials” - corrective action was deemed “unnecessary in this case”.

Risk of ‘disadvantage and inconsistency’

Earlier this year, Ofqual upheld a complaint against Cambridge OCR after finding that one of its 2025 GCSE maths papers “could result in teachers delivering incorrect information to students, creating disadvantage and inconsistency over time”.

The issues centred on marking schemes and question 6 on the 2025 paper. OCR apologised for ”inconsistencies in our past materials” and insisted there were “no errors” in the maths question, but a petition was started calling for papers to be re-marked.

Ms Trott notes in her letter to Sir Ian that Ofqual has “imposed substantial sanctions and required corrective measures” in response to previous “assessment failures” that had “undermined fairness and public confidence in qualifications”.

She finds it “difficult to understand” why the upheld complaint over the GCSE maths question “did not justify comparable regulatory intervention or candidate remediation”.

Ms Trott has also written this week to OCR managing director Myles McGinley and schools minister Georgia Gould.

In the letters seen by Tes, Ms Trott reiterates her concerns over confidence in the exams system. She would “welcome the opportunity” to meet Mr McGinley to “discuss what further restorative action” could take place.

The shadow education secretary tells OCR’s Mr McGinley that around 1,000 candidates are understood to have fallen one mark below a relevant grade boundary, which she was concerned could lead to “significant and ongoing” consequences, including unnecessary resits and the “potential loss of progression opportunities”.

Concerns over exams system

Ms Trott says in her letter to Ms Gould that the case raises “broader concerns regarding confidence in the examination system and the mechanisms available to address potential unfairness”.

She adds: “Given the importance of maintaining public trust in qualifications, I believe there is significant public interest in understanding both the government’s assessment of this matter and whether ministers remain satisfied that the present regulatory framework provides adequate protection for students in such circumstances.”

Tes has approached OCR, the Department for Education and Ofqual for comment.