Students are being advised just to carry on as normal

Sealed boxes containing papers for GCSE English literature, geography, German and Spanish were found in the street in Croydon, south of London, a week ago.

They were stolen at knifepoint from a Parcelforce van in Mitcham on 19 April.

The exam boards initially said they would watch for signs of cheating, but have now decided to change the exams.

Papers involved

The AQA board is changing GCSE English, specification A: the Paper 1 foundation and higher tier tests on 10 June, codes 3702/1F and 3702/1H, and the Paper 2 exams on June 14: 3702/2F and 3702/2H.

The most important message for students is to continue their revision and exam preparations as normal Joint Council for Qualifications

This affects about 430,000 candidates in 3,000 centres.

Also being changed is the written drama paper on June 18, code 3241/W, which is being taken by almost 33,000 students in more than 1,000 centres.

A spokeswoman said the board had written to all schools to tell them what was happening and when to expect the replacements - though they might not all receive the notifications before next week's half-term holiday.

In the case of the OCR board, the change involves all the German writing GCSEs, at both foundation and higher levels, codes 2364/01 and 2364/02.

These are due to be taken by about 6,000 students across the country on 11 June.

It is also changing the Persian writing exam, 1922/04, which affects about 400 students also on 11 June.

To flag up the change, both would be on pink paper rather than the usual white, a spokesman said.

The Joint Council for Qualifications, which represents the exam boards in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said: "The most important message for students is to continue their revision and exam preparations as normal."

Have you suffered any problems over your exams this year? Have you heard of any cheating? Use the form below to let us know.

Disclaimer: The BBC may edit your comments and cannot guarantee that all e-mails will be published.

It's not that bad all you get is a different paper you don't even notice the difference - it happened to me last year.
Sean, Kidderminster UK

Let's be honest, this won't affect students in any way at all. They will still enter the exam room and waiting for them will still be an exam paper. The only thing that might, is that all the press hype will add to their already negative feelings about exams. The fact is they really aren't that bad, and I've done a lot of them!
James, Cambridge, UK

I'm doing my GCSE's at the moment and the fact that GCSE papers that I was due to sit have been stolen adds to the pressure that is already being put on me and many of my friends. This is more stress being put on me and my friends which we don't need. Every year you hear about something that has happened with exam papers more should be done to stop something like this from happening in the future.
David Poynton, Newcastle-Under-Lyme

Two years ago an exam board lost my year's psychology exam scipts: they didn't even notify my college about it. The story only came to light after people who hadn't turned up to the exam were awarded a mark!
Fi, Yorkshire

I sat my GCSEs last year and have just sat my AS German exam and can imagine the frustration this will cause not just students but also teachers. This happens year after year and you would have thought by now that the security of transporting exam papers would have been stepped up. So far, touch wood, I have never been a victim to stolen coursework or exam papers and have never had the problems displayed in this story but commiserations to those that are!
Ben Lord, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England

My daughter had her sketch book and rough drawings, research and drawing pencils all stolen from school, two weeks before her art GCSE. The school did not seem to understand how important the loss was and that she had to redo most of her work, I had to repeatedly ask that a note was made in case it affects her grade, I don't think this has happened, I got the feeling the school just think I'm a moaning parent. Then in humanities the exam covered a topic that they had run out of time at the end of the year to cover fully. How are the kids expected to do well when the school cannot be bothered on their behalf?
Helen, Bradford

On our RE exam, there was a question which wasn't on the syllabus! We were taught about poverty and wealth and the question was based on illness. This is unfair, it gives people a disadvantage which is unnecessary. At least the rest of the papers have been fine so far.
Tyron Wain, Longfield Kent

Never mind about stealing exam papers - cheating on coursework is a regular occurrence and undermines the entire system and especially students' confidence in it. Why am I working all night on science coursework when it can be copied from the Internet? Or even from my girlfriend? It seems very unfair to those who actually work when others do nothing apart from a few clicks of the mouse and get the same grades.
Sparky, Wincanton, United Kingdom

The best of luck to any students taking their exams this year, be it Standard Grade and Highers up here in Scotland, or GCSEs. As a teacher I see the stress and worry pupils go through and can only say it will be ok. For those of you who are thinking of cheating or have been cheating, you will be found out in the end. You cannot cheat your way through life guys, if you do, you will get caught.
Graeme Stevens, Dundee, Scotland

These pupils who think they can get away with cheating are in for a rude awakening. when they attempt to use these grades for a job or college, they do not realise that the grades are there to show colleges and employers what their capabilities are, even when I went into A-level maths with a GCSE grade B in Maths, I found it extremely difficult, so how could a pupil with a predicted D/E grade manage it? They couldn't, in the end they are only cheating themselves out of acheiving their potential.
Steven Wilson, Clifton, Nottingham

I am studying for 12 GCSEs this year, and I think that this incident just adds to the serious undermining of these exams. Many, many people obtain coursework off of coursework banks off of the internet, and some just copy up in their own handwriting older cousins or older brothers and sisters coursework. I do not think that the current exam system is fair, as it allows a lot of corruption and those that cheat never get caught and end up with the same grades as those who work really hard. I think that there needs to be a change in the system, and if not abolishing coursework, I think that all coursework should be done under controlled conditions so as to minimise cheating.
Sophie, Woodford Green, Essex