Cheating in exams could be magnified by the new generation of wearable hi-tech devices such as smartglasses or invisible earpieces, according to England’s qualifications watchdog.

Ian Bauckham, the head of the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual), also revealed that GCSEs and A-level courses in England were being scrutinised over potential AI use in students’ coursework, after teachers said they were struggling to detect it.

Speaking on an Ofqual podcast, Bauckham warned that recent increases in cheating enabled by smartphones may be made worse by the next wave of wearable devices, undermining England’s school qualifications system.

Bauckham said that the regulator had to act “really fast because technology is changing fast. We are all familiar with mobile phones but there are smartwatches that we are increasingly seeing on young people that are fully internet connected and so present many of the same challenges as mobile phones.

“I understand that in the pipeline there are things like smartglasses that will play text across the inside of the lens that only students can see … so we are going to have to keep on top of this.

“Our qualification system is a real national asset and we have to keep on top of this to stop this national asset being undermined, because that is not in anyone’s interests.”

Ofqual said internet-enabled gadgets “including invisible earpieces and smartglasses” were already being advertised, while the number of students penalised for having mobile phones and other connected devices such as smartwatches in exam halls had continued to rise.

Last summer Ofqual recorded 2,225 cases of mobile phone and smart device cheating associated with GCSE, AS and A-levels, which has been the largest category of exam cheating every year since 2018.

“Obviously, if you gain help unfairly on a mobile phone or a smartwatch or any other kind of device, you are potentially getting marks in the exam that you don’t deserve,” Bauckham said.

“The long-term consequences is that the grade you get at the end might not accurately describe the extent to which you have learned and mastered and demonstrated the content that’s being assessed. So you end up with grades for qualifications that are no longer reliable, no longer trustworthy.”

Bauckham hinted that stronger checks were likely to be introduced to guard against students using AI in coursework submitted for A-levels and GCSEs, after being repeatedly told by teachers that AI-generated content was “getting harder and harder” for them to detect.

“We’re looking very hard at that question now. GCSEs and A-levels are in the process of being refreshed or reformed, one of things we are asking … is, if there still to be coursework as part of this qualification, what do we need to put in place to make sure that the authenticity of that coursework can be guaranteed, in other words it really is the student’s own work,” he said.

Aside from a “nuclear option” of dropping coursework altogether, Bauckham said teachers could be required to more frequently check with students about their work before signing off on it.

“The other thing we can do is increase what we expect by way of referencing and sources, so that you actually explain where you have done your reading, where you have got the material that you are using. But what you haven’t done is just open ChatGPT and say: ‘Write me 10,000 words on Henry VIII’s foreign policy, please,’ because that is absolutely not acceptable.”