London Cheating at London Metropolitan University is worse than at any other of 73 universities giving information on the problem.

Sixty-five students there were caught cheating in formal exams in the 2006-7 academic year and it had a record 801 plagiarists, according to figures issued under the Freedom of Information Act.

Westminster was next worst, with 39 exam cheats. South Bank University, also in London, came third with 35 for offences including talking in a foreign language before the end of an exam.

The investigation found that 614 students in the universities covered were caught cheating.

At the University of Oxford, 17 students were found guilty of plagiarism. Three were excluded and two students cheated in their exams by using crib notes.

A Manchester Metropolitan student was caught with 30 pencils, all of which had notes written on the side. Robert Gordon University in Scotland gave a student a warning for bribery after the person was caught having posted a request for help on a website.

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