What went wrong with this year’s A Level Physics exams – and why it matters for families
This month’s Physics World magazine (October 2025) reports on a worrying situation: mistakes and confusing wording in this summer’s A Level Physics exams in the UK.
The Institute of Physics (IOP) has warned that some students may not have achieved the grades they truly deserved. One OCR paper contained an error that was only discovered after the exam, which caused some students to get stuck. At AQA, questions weren’t technically wrong, but the phrasing was so convoluted that students struggled to work out what was really being asked. Teachers reported many instances where students left the exams upset and disheartened. For young people already having to deal with exam pressure, issues like these are an unwelcome source of additional stress.
In an unusual step, the IOP called on universities to take these “exceptional circumstances” into account when considering offers this year.
Alas, this is not the first time that errors or badly phrased questions have been identified in A Level Physics papers. Hari Rentala, associate director of education at the IOP, remarked: “Once again AQA set some questions that were overly challenging.” Physics already has to fight against its image of being a difficult subject, so there are real concerns that poorly written papers could put students off the subject altogether.
It’s frustrating, because exams should be a fair test of knowledge, not a puzzle in deciphering the question. Students work hard all year and they deserve the chance to show what they really know.
There is, however, some positive news. Nearly 45,000 students sat A Level Physics in the UK this year – the highest figure for 25 years, and more girls than ever are choosing the subject. That growth is encouraging.
Yet there’s a challenge beneath the surface: a shortage of specialist teachers. A recent IOP report found that a quarter of state schools in England have no qualified physics teacher at all. More than half a million GCSE students are starting the year without one, and thousands could miss out on taking A Level Physics as a result. For families, this underlines just how important it is when young people do have access to experienced teaching and guidance.
Let’s hope that the exam boards learn lessons from this year’s mistakes, because students deserve exams that inspire confidence, not anxiety.
This post is based on an article by Michael Banks in the October 2025 issue of Physics World, published by the Institute of Physics.