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Exam boards call for a ban on all watches from exams

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Students taking exams might not be able to use their watches in the future

All watches should be banned from exams to stop pupils from cheating.

That's the recommendation from an inquiry looking at cheating in exams in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland by The Independent Commission on Examination Malpractice.

Smart watches are already banned from exams, as they can connect to the internet and access the same functions as smart phones, which would make it very easy to cheat.

But the review says it is becoming difficult for those supervising exams to distinguish between these hi-tech and traditional watches.

More on schools' unusual rules

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

The difference between smart watches and normal watches is getting harder to spot for people who supervise exams

This means that people could disguise their smart watches for traditional watches, which makes it very difficult for exam inspectors to spot the difference.

Review chairman Sir John Dunford called for a "blanket ban" on watches.

The good news is that the inquiry showed that overall there was a "very low level of malpractice" - which means not many people were caught cheating.

But the most common form of cheating was using a mobile phone in exams.

But what do you think?

Do you think all watches should be banned exams? Is it fair?

Will it stop cheating or will cheats find another way?

Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.