Ofqual has warned schools that they must be confident that any work by students submitted to evidence their GCSE or A-level grades has been completed by the students themselves, without “inappropriate” levels of help from a private tutor.

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In its final guidance to schools on the submission of GCSE and A-level grades in 2021, the regulator said that schools “should be confident that work produced is the student’s own and that the student has not been given inappropriate levels of support to complete it, either in the [school], at home or with an external tutor”.

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“Exam boards will investigate instances where it appears that evidence is not authentic,” the regulator added.

Ofqual said that evidence of student work could include tasks devised by schools that reflect the specification, as well as past paper responses.

It says evidence can “include substantial class or homework (including those that took place during remote learning)”.

The regulator also warned that schools must protect staff from feeling pressured by parents to submit higher grades.

”[Schools] should be careful to avoid teachers being put under pressure from students, parents or carers to submit grades that are higher than the evidence supports,” Ofqual said.