Students who have access to the latest gadgets and gizmos are cheating in record numbers, according to a Government-sponsored study by the Qualifications and Curriculum Agency.

In the last year along, there's been an increase of 27% in students being caught cheating, of which about a quarter cheated by using mobile phones.

In order to combat their cheating via mobile phones, students should take their exams in special metal-lined rooms called Faraday cages so that they can't get reception. However, this wouldn't stop them from using crib sheets saved on their MP3 players.

Students should also have to pass through security scanners that can detect gadgets being carried into the exam rooms, the Agency recommended. And universities should store fingerprints to reference during exam time to make sure students aren't having friends sit their exams instead.

Earlier this year, it was announced that A-level coursework would be abandoned in some subjects because so many students were caught plagiarising it.

The professor who carried out the research for QCA said that jamming devices would be the most effective way to stop students cheating during exams, but Ofcom won't allow it.