England’s largest exam board has secured a High Court injunction to try and clamp down on leaks with those in breach facing a fine or prison.
AQA can now use a “newcomer injunction” to pursue contempt of court action against anyone – even anonymous accounts – from obtaining or selling genuine or fake exam papers online.
The board used other court orders this summer to target accounts claiming to have papers, but chose not to go ahead with prosecution as most were current or recent school pupils.
It follows a cyber attack on AQA in 2023 in which a hacker is thought to have posed as a school to obtain exam papers – before selling them online.
Accounts also pop up every year claiming to be selling specific exam papers to help pupils cheat.
This summer AQA used a “quia timet injunction” – a preventive injunction – against multiple people, mainly on the messaging service Telegram, who claimed to have accessed exam papers.
This included an order that required the people behind the accounts to identify themselves or be in contempt of court. Punishment included up to two years in prison, a fine or the seizure of assets.
The accounts closed when the injunction was served. AQA said it decided not to pursue contempt action as most were current or recent school pupils.
The board said its main goal was to “disrupt and deter attempts to obtain our papers and to protect public confidence in the exam system”.
But lawyer Nathan Capone from the firm Fieldfisher, which worked on the case, said it faced a “whack-a-mole” situation where a new social media account would “pop up” requiring a further application to court.
So this year the board secured a “newcomer injunction”, which allows it to pursue contempt action against anyone in breach of the order.
Fieldfisher believes it’s the first time this kind of injunction has been invoked to protect confidential information and online activity. It is usually used to prevent land trespass by traveller communities.
The injunction also applies to people claiming to sell exam papers, even if they turn out to be fake.
AQA said it was also able to apply to the High Court for disclosure orders, which require social media platforms to provide the personal details of perpetrators.
A spokesperson said: “AQA has a dedicated team of investigators, many of whom have a background in law enforcement. They monitor social media to identify those who try to undermine confidence in exams.
“With this injunction, AQA is taking proactive enforcement against those who try to undermine confidence in exams and target students. It’s aimed, for example, at those who post images of exam papers online, whether they are genuine or fake.”
The injunction is in force until January 2026.
Schools Week asked major exam boards OCR and Pearson Edexcel whether they had used these legal routes, but they did not respond.
Exams regulator Ofqual asked boards to introduce new security measures following last summer’s cyber attacks at all three boards.
Police investigating the AQA incident took no further action against two people arrested in connection with the alleged breach.
It said earlier this year there were “no further positive lines of enquiry”.
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