Online admissions tests for Oxford university have been described as “an absolute shambles” after they were hit by technical problems, The Times reports.
Sixth formers applying to Oxford said the online tests being used for the first time were plagued with issues, showing the wrong questions and repeatedly crashing or failing to record answers.
The apparent chaos led one school to say the tests were “an absolute shambles” with a “terrible platform and useless levels of support”.
One deputy head told The Times: “Many schools I know were affected and pupils were left unable to start tests with no helpline working and even mistakes in the papers.”
Dr David James, the deputy head of Lady Eleanor Holles School, described the exams as a disaster, with the platform crashing when people logged on. The helpline was the wrong number, live chat went down and there were mistakes on the English paper.
He said: “What schools experienced today was unacceptable. These tests are very important…the result was nothing short of chaos, and it showed very clearly that if assessments are to be taken online then resources need to be put into preparing schools for them, otherwise it will be pupils who suffer. Until awarding bodies, and universities can prove categorically that online exams are glitch free then pen and paper will remain the most reliable, cheapest, and secure, option.”
A spokesperson for the university said that it understood the “difficulty and disappointment some students have experienced through technical problems” but added that the tests were only one part of the admissions process.
They said it would use a range of information, including students’ individual circumstances, to help academics assess their potential for the courses.
They added: “We will be having further talks with the provider to understand better why these problems occurred with their systems and obtain assurances that there will be no repeat.”
The issues occurred just days after the exam board AQA announced GCSE papers in Italian and Polish would be conducted online in 2026, with plans to move at least one large-entry subject such as English to partial digital assessment by the end of the decade.
The announcement prompted scepticism from some teachers, who predicted the exercise would be difficult because of a lack of reliable IT resources.