Education

Plagiarism at Universities rises

Published

8 years ago

June 30, 2017

THE FIRST weeks at University can be hectic.

There is finding friends, finding a decent takeaway, exploring the world in a number of ways that parents don’t like to acknowledge exist.

IGNORANCE NO EXCUSE

There are also, at most universities, a short bedding-in period when students are given an idea of the academic standards they are supposed to attain.

And one message is hammered home early and hammered home often: plagiarism can seriously mess up your academic future. If you are caught, you face a range of punishments which can include having to re-sit a course module up to expulsion from the University.

Even if you help someone cheat – because that is what plagiarism is, cheating – you can be penalised. The student who helps a friend cheat by letting them copy their submitted work is as guilty as the friend they try to ‘help’.

It’s not as if it’s a great mystery to students that the penalties for cheating are serious. That is spelled out by lecturers, and contained in every single course manual and the student code of conduct.

THE PRESSURE TO PERFORM

The pressure on students to perform can be tough. The increase in the numbers of students attending university has debased the value of a degree to the extent that some overseas universities no longer recognise UK universities’ award of one year Master’s degree, let alone regard undergraduate degrees as the hallmark of academic achievement. That applies to universities across the UK.

Most professions will specify that a 2:1 or better is required at undergraduate level for admission to postgraduate study. Graduate traineeships often specify the same requirement as a minimum.

Teaching, for example, is so desperately keen to recruit the best undergraduates and postgraduates that it offers incentives for those with better honours degrees in select subjects. The determination to shed the ‘those who can’t, teach’ label has created a marketplace in which a first class honours degree in a priority subject – physics, maths, chemistry, Welsh – can access £20K of funding for postgraduate qualification as a teacher. A 2:2 degree in any other subject gets you nothing in additional support.

CHEATING NOT NEW

A minority of students have always cheated, but the use of the internet has created an environment in which cheating has become easier. As higher education has become more accessible so has easy access to any number of shortcuts and back-alley ways to bumping up marks.

Looking at some standalone work-related training modules delivered by private companies, there is solid evidence that not only are the lecturers under-qualified to deliver the course material but that they turn a blind-eye to a culture of cut and paste.

The Herald is aware of one course tutor who actively encouraged one person attending such a course to simply resubmit their undergraduate coursework to gain the qualification they were seeking via the provider employing the tutor.

Self-plagiarism is still plagiarism and it is still cheating. More importantly, the training provider – or rather, the course tutor – was, of course, swindling the employer funding the training.

Does it matter?

Of course it does. In a working world in which employers look at qualifications first, how is the employer meant to distinguish between a qualification gained through GENUINE effort, work, and ability and one gained by a cheating recourse to Control-C followed by Control-V?

Those who get away with it are often smug, but they also liars and – ultimately – frauds.

BUYING FAILURE

Essay mills, the last resort of the truly idle cheat, claim to be able to deliver a guaranteed grade in any subject on any topic – for a price.

Essay mills represent cheating on a commercial and contractual scale. An essay mill is a business that allows customers to commission an original piece of writing on a particular topic so that they may commit academic fraud. Students commission others to write their coursework for them through an essay mill in the hope they will attain the grade required.

The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education said in 2016: “Providers of these services claim that the essays they produce are ‘100 per cent plagiarism free’, but that is a misleading claim. While the essay may not contain any plagiarised text itself, it becomes an act of plagiarism and academic dishonesty once the student submits it for assessment and represents it as his or her own work.

“If students submit work that is not their own, this compromises the fairness of the assessment process and poses a threat to the reputation of UK higher education. There are potentially serious ramifications for the public if people who falsely claim to be competent as a result of an academic award enter a profession and practise.”

In February this year, the UK Government began a consultation with QAA, universities, and the NUS. At that point, the UK Government suggested it was reluctant to go down the legislative route to try and tackle the problem, but in other countries both the provider AND the student would be guilty of a criminal offence.

Such is the scale of the issue across the UK, and not solely in Wales, that QAA has recommended that the advertising of ‘contract cheating’ services be banned and that criminal penalties be put in place for cheating by the use of essay mills. In New Zealand, essay mills have been fined and had their assets frozen.

PLAGIARISM IN WELSH UNIS

The issue has been thrown into sharp relief by a Freedom of Information Act request made by BBC Radio Wales.

Figures obtained by the broadcaster showed an increase in cases of alleged plagiarism from 1,370 2013/14 to 2,044 in 2015/16.

The BBC Freedom of Information request disclosed the following over the three academic years 2013/14 to 2015/16

University of South Wales (approximately 30,000 students): 1,144 students accused of cheating, two prohibited from sitting future exams
Cardiff Metropolitan University: 565 students accused of cheating, 12 prohibited from sitting future exams
University of Wales Trinity Saint David – UWTSD: 928 students accused of cheating, 47 prohibited from sitting future exams
Bangor University: 36 students accused of cheating, four prohibited from sitting future exams
Cardiff University: 713 students accused of cheating, three prohibited from sitting future exams
Swansea University: 1,157 students accused of cheating, 25 prohibited from sitting future exams
Wrexham Glyndwr University: 103 students accused of cheating, three prohibited from sitting future exams
Aberystwyth University: 551 students accused of cheating, 0 prohibited from sitting future exams
The increased detection of plagiarism suggests that universities are becoming more adept at identifying incidents of academic fraud.

Many Universities use software to detect plagiarism, for example Turn-it-in. The software uses a document comparison algorithm that checks papers against a massive database of stored academic papers to identify cheats.

We asked UWTSD to comment on the figures.

Education

Primary school application deadline reminder

Published

3 days ago

December 1, 2025

Tom Sinclair

PARENTS or guardians of children in Pembrokeshire born between 01/09/2021 – 31/08/2022 are invited to apply for a Primary school place (Reception year group) for September 2026 by the closing date of 31st January 2026.

Applications received after this date will be considered late which may have a bearing on whether your child gets a place at your preferred school.

It is important to note that a school place will not be allocated unless a formal application is received.

The online application form can be found on the Pembrokeshire County Council website: www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/schools-and-learning under ‘Apply for a School Place’.

There is no need to re-apply if you have already submitted an application form. You can view your current applications by logging into your My Account and into the ‘Schools & Learning’ ‘School Admissions & Transport’ section.

For further information on the school admissions process, please view our Information to Parents

Parents/guardians will be informed of the allocation of places on the common offer date of 16th April 2026.

Crime

Former Swansea headteacher banned after exposing himself to staff

Published

5 days ago

November 29, 2025

Tom Sinclair

A SWANSEA primary school headteacher who repeatedly exposed himself to female colleagues – both on school grounds and during a school trip – has been barred from working in education in Wales for at least fifteen years.

James “Jamie” Richards, who led Cadle Primary School between 2011 and 2021, was removed from the Education Workforce Council (EWC) register after a professional conduct panel found numerous allegations against him proven. The panel described his behaviour as “harassing, abusive and predatory”.

Richards, a father-of-two, did not attend the four-day hearing, was not represented, and did not respond to the allegations. The panel therefore treated all allegations as denied but considered them on the evidence before them.

Staff left traumatised

During the hearing, several current and former staff members gave accounts of being left “shocked”, “numb”, and “frightened” by Richards’ actions.

One woman said she was summoned to his office and found him standing next to his desk with his trousers and underwear around his ankles. Another member of staff recalled him showing explicit images on his phone during a meeting, while others described a video he displayed of himself touching his genitals.

Five women in total told the panel that Richards had exposed himself to them. Some said they had been too scared to report what happened at the time. One recalled him saying he “can’t help myself” after an incident.

The panel heard that Richards did not return a school-issued laptop during an internal investigation in 2021 – the same device he was said to have used to display naked images of himself.

One complainant told the hearing she felt “silenced” and let down after Richards was allowed to resign while the school’s internal investigation was underway. She also described feeling “unbelieved” when South Wales Police later decided there was no criminal case to answer.

Concerns over dishonesty

The panel was told that Richards had refused to participate in an independent internal investigation at the school in 2021. He claimed, via his union, that ill health prevented him from being interviewed.

However, evidence from a Swansea Council fraud team contradicted this. Investigators filmed Richards driving and playing golf with friends at a time when he was claiming he was too unwell to co-operate.

Presenting officer Sara Lewis said Richards had abused his position of trust and had told frightened staff not to speak out.

Struck off until at least 2040

The EWC panel said it had no information about Richards’ current employment or whether he planned to return to teaching. However, it concluded that his behaviour amounted to unacceptable professional conduct and that striking him off was the only appropriate outcome.

Richards cannot apply for reinstatement until November 2040. He has 28 days to appeal the decision to the High Court.

Education

Pembrokeshire talent strike gold as Wales hosts WorldSkills UK finals for first time

Published

6 days ago

November 28, 2025

Tom Sinclair

WALES has hosted the WorldSkills UK National Finals for the very first time – marking a historic milestone for the nation and showcasing its largest ever team of competitors.

Following the Team Wales Torch Relay, which toured the country to celebrate skills and unite colleges and communities, the Finals brought together more than 400 of the UK’s top apprentices and learners who competed for the title of best in their trade.

From 26–28 November, events were held across five venues in South Wales, covering over 40 skill areas including engineering, digital, construction, hospitality and the creative industries.

The results were revealed during a medal ceremony at ICC Wales on Friday, 28 November, where Team Wales achieved an exceptional 57 medals in total.

Pembrokeshire College students excelled on the national stage, securing 3 Gold, 3 Silver, 1 Bronze and 2 Highly Commended medals. Competitors also delivered an impressive performance in Foundation Skills, bringing home 2 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Highly Commended – underlining Wales’ commitment to inclusive, accessible skills development.

This year’s Finals featured 122 Welsh competitors – the highest number Wales has ever fielded. Welsh entrants made up around 30% of all UK competitors, highlighting both the depth of skills talent in Wales and the impact of sustained investment in training and facilities.

Bronze medallist Mason Aitchison, who competed in Welding, said he was delighted with his achievement.

“After getting Silver at Skills Competition Wales, the WorldSkills UK National Finals felt like the natural next step for me.
I’ve put in so much practice to improve my welding skills, and competing has really helped me grow. Learning from trainers, tutors and peers has been invaluable – it’s all about building your skills through practice.”

Minister for Skills Jack Sargeant praised Team Wales’ performance.

“I’d like to extend a huge congratulations to Team Wales on their outstanding success at this year’s WorldSkills UK National Finals.
Hosting the Finals for the first time has been a proud moment for our nation, and the achievements of our competitors highlight their dedication and the exceptional quality of vocational talent we have here in Wales.”

Ben Blackledge, Chief Executive of WorldSkills UK, added: “These exceptional young people represent the future of our economy. They are the new generation of highflyers who will give UK employers a competitive edge. Our competitions, based on global standards, play a vital role in developing the skills that will drive investment, create jobs and fuel economic growth.”

WorldSkills UK, the Welsh Government and Inspiring Skills Excellence in Wales welcomed leading employers, global industry experts and representatives from across the UK’s education and training sector to watch the Finals unfold.

Skills competitions in Wales begin at regional level through Skills Competition Wales, before progressing to national and then international WorldSkills stages.

Medallists at WorldSkills UK may now be selected for Squad UK, with the opportunity to represent their country at future global competitions.

For more information on WorldSkills UK and SkillBuild, or to get involved as a competitor, tutor or employer, visit: https://inspiringskills.gov.wales
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