Exam boards ordered to tighten up four GCSEs GCSE changes come amid concerns pupils are only studying topics likely to come up in exams. Exam boards have been ordered to tighten up GCSEs in four subjects amid concerns it is becoming easier for pupils to pass. The exams regulator, Ofqual, announced it was making changes to GCSEs in English literature, maths, history and geography to ensure students studied the whole curriculum. It is understood the move comes after concerns were raised that pupils were only studying topics that were likely to come up in the exams, rather than the entire course. The Ofqual chief executive, Glenys Stacey, said: "We are tightening GCSEs in these key subjects to make sure students cover the whole curriculum. We want our young people to have the best possible educational experience, with qualifications that prepare them for the future. The exam boards have welcomed this steer from the regulator and are to look again at these qualifications and how the rules are interpreted to make sure that young people taking them have to study an appropriate range and depth of the subject. It is understood that Friday's announcement is part of an attempt to move away from teaching to the test and to encourage breadth of study, with pupils learning everything in the course. Ofqual said changes to GCSE geography would be introduced for teaching from this September, and maths from November, with history and English literature papers being changed from September 2013. A Department for Education spokesman said: "It is vital confidence is restored in the exams system. We are committed to raising standards for all pupils. We are pleased Ofqual is taking action to ensure that GCSEs in these subjects are more challenging, requiring students to demonstrate that they have covered the whole curriculum. We want all exams in England to stand comparison with, and be as rigorous as, those in the best-performing education jurisdictions. In December the Daily Telegraph released video footage of a conversation between an undercover reporter and a chief examiner at Edexcel who claimed the company's GCSE geography tests were not as difficult as those from other exam boards. Speaking at an Edexcel seminar in Birmingham in November, Steph Warren said teachers should choose their exam because "you don't have to teach a lot. There's so little [in the exam], we don't know how we got it through. Edexcel later announced that an internal review, analysing data from all five awarding bodies for GCSE geography, history and English had found that candidates were "no more or less likely" to achieve certain grades with its exams compared with those of other boards. It said it had also assessed the "breadth and depth of the exam specifications" and was confident they were of the appropriate standard set by Ofqual. Appearing in front of a select committee this week, Mark Dawe, the chief executive of the OCR exam board, suggested that examiners who had seen questions relating to future exams could be banned from attending seminars with teachers. He said the move was a sacrifice that may need to be made to regain the public's trust in the exams system. His comments came in the wake of the Telegraph's investigation, which alleged that examiners had been secretly advising teachers on how to boost GCSE and A-level results. The claims centred on teachers being given detailed advice at exams seminars on forthcoming exam questions and how students could score higher marks.