Inquiry into exam 'leak'

The exams authority has launched an inquiry into claims on an internet forum that a private tutorial centre had leaked an essay topic ahead of a crucial English-writing A-Level.

Initial investigations by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, however, suggest the alleged leak may have been a hoax.

Internet users posting on the forum uwants.com claimed the wording of a sample question was 'exactly the same' as one in the actual exam.

It asked students to write an essay for their school magazine on the dangers of revealing personal details on blogs or social networking sites.

A student using the name 'deardollars' posted a scanned section of what appeared to be a tutorial centre's tip sheet containing the question. It did not identify the centre, but the name and part of the logo of Xiandai College could be seen at the top.

Ng Kam-lun, a tutor for the tutorial chain better known as 'Ken Sir', denied any involvement of Xiandai, which has six schools across the city.