Handwritten Exams Are the Purest, Says Watchdog
14th December 2025
Written examinations with a pen and paper “remain the purest test we have”, according to the head of the exams regulator Ofqual.
Sir Ian Bauckham said: “Pen and paper will always matter in the classroom and in exams. The written examination, sitting in an exam hall with a pen and paper, remains the purest test we have of a student’s command of their subject.”
He was speaking after Ofqual began a consultation into more typed assessments for GCSEs and A-levels on Thursday.
Sometimes the old ways are best.