Distraught school pupils liken A-level maths paper to a 'war crime' as more than 19,000 sign petition stating it was too hard

Published: 00:51, 5 June 2026 | Updated: 00:52, 5 June 2026 Distraught pupils have likened an A-level maths paper to a 'war crime', as over 19,000 people sign a petition demanding a review due to its difficulty. Pearson Edexcel's Maths 1 paper, sat on Wednesday, was met with criticism after pupils claimed it was significantly harder than past papers and previous exams, leaving them feeling 'overwhelmed' and 'uncertain.' A petition, launched in the days following the paper, has now reached over 19,000 signatures and demands grade boundaries be adjusted accordingly to ensure fairness when marking. The petition, addressed to the examination body, said there is 'widespread concern among students, teachers, tutors and schools' that the test 'exceeded what many candidates reasonably anticipated based on the specification and past examination series.' It said: 'While it is normal for students to find examinations challenging, the scale and consistency of these concerns appears significant. 'Reports from candidates suggest that difficulty was not confined to a handful of demanding questions at the end of the paper, but was instead present throughout large portions of the assessment.' The petition emphasised it was not created to 'avoid accountability for performance,' nor was it an assertion that 'examinations should be made easier.' Rather, it said: 'It is a request that Pearson Edexcel examine whether the level of challenge presented by this paper was proportionate and whether grade boundaries should be adjusted accordingly to ensure fairness for all candidates.' Pupils have likened a Pearson Edexcel A-level maths paper to a 'war crime' It added that according to pupils, the test 'required multiple layers of reasoning, extended algebraic manipulation, and unfamiliar approaches' that were beyond expectations based on previous exams. According to reports, questions included trigonometric identities, solving a circular segment using the Newton-Raphson method, harmonic form and complex integrals. In comments on the petition, pupils expressed their indignation at the intense difficulty of the paper. One commenter described the exam as 'not accessible' while another labelled it as 'atrocious.' Another said: 'Walking out that exam hall, I couldn't feel any of my senses, couldn't see properly because of the tears rolling down my face, couldn't hear properly because of the trauma warping my hearing. 'All I could feel was sadness and rage.' One lady, Karen, said: 'My son has studied so hard for this exam and came home so deflated by the content and difficulty in the exam. This will have an impact on Uni offers.' Ofqual - who oversee regulating examinations in England - said it was made aware of the concerns and that it will 'closely' monitor Pearson's approach to marking the exam. A petition demanding grade boundaries be adjusted accordingly to ensure fairness when marking has been signed by over 19,000 people A spokesperson said: 'Our priority is students and ensuring their grades are a reliable indication of what they know, understand and can do.' Caroline Darrington, a spokeswoman for Pearson, said pupils will 'receive results that fairly reflect their performance.' She said: 'Every paper is developed with input from experienced senior examiners and rigorously checked to ensure it reflects the course and meets required standards,' she said. 'If a paper is found to be more difficult than previous years, grade boundaries will be set to reflect that. When setting grade boundaries, we review a range of evidence, including statistical data and expert judgment. 'This process ensures students receive results that fairly reflect their performance and are comparable across exam series.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.