Medical students at Uni of Sheff to resit exam after questions leaked

Second-year medics at The University of Sheffield have had one of their exams voided due to being given the wrong paper to complete.

This week they were told that the exam they had sat on May 10 no longer counted as the university had uploaded the wrong paper online. Instead of this year’s paper, the cohort sat last year’s exam, meaning some students had already seen the questions in informal revision sessions.

Students affected by the exam paper leak told The Sheffield Tab they feel the Medical School’s response has been “poor and shocking”.

In response to the compromised exam, the Medical School held a “very unhelpful” Q&A session. Students were told they couldn’t give any details on this, due to an ongoing investigation into the matter.

One medical student told us they felt the department showed “A complete lack of consideration for students’ plans and mental health”.

This mistake made by the university,  means that the entire cohort will have to retake the exam, they have been offered a choice of two exam dates and a free resit. Due to this, placements may be pushed back and for those retaking on the later date, the rescheduled exam will run late into the summer break.

Around 300 students were affected and will have to resit the exam in a few weeks time.

The Medical School also released the paper and answers to students for revision purposes. Knowing the correct answers and what they had written for the exam left some feeling like they “worked really hard” and “it was for nothing”.

Another medical student told the Tab that the news, which they thought was a prank at first, has left them “unmotivated’ and angry”.

SU President, Beth Eyre said: “I can’t even begin to imagine the stress that our second year medical students must be going through right now. Myself and Ellie Lynas, Education Officer, are working closely with medical students and the school to ensure that those affected get the best outcome in the aftermath of this unfortunate mistake.”

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