Ofqual, the exams regulator, has called for sweeping changes to A-level tests, saying students should be assessed using multiple choice questions, project work and oral tests.

According to Glenys Stacey, chief executive of Ofqual, the coalition needs to reform the current system in order to evaluate pupils' abilities in a more accurate way.

Presently, fears persist that schools are too reliant on traditional exams.

"We have found - and this is countercultural for us - a much greater use of multiple choice questions. They have their place in properly evaluating the breadth of study," Ms Stacey explained to people looking for teaching jobs and others.

She added: "We have also found a much greater reliance on projects and on oral assessment."

Late last year, the Daily Telegraph uncovered examples of serious wrongdoing by senior examiners.

To critics of the current system, proof of cheating served to emphasise that too much importance is being placed on exam results.