Students could be made to sit their exams in a giant cage to stop them from cheating through mobile communications.

This was the suggestion of a Government education expert called in to investigate the growing problem of “malpractice” in exams, the Daily Mail reported.

Professor Jean Underwood, from Nottingham Trent University advised installing a giant Faraday cage, which insulates the area inside the cage from outside electromagnetism.

Research has shown that one in four students has been caught smuggling mobile phones into exam rooms.

The phones were used to call or text friends for answers, or to access the Internet, and other appliances with similar features were used to store information such as MP3 players and small digital handheld devices.

Cheating has risen 27% since last year with 4,500 students penalised last summer.

Professor Underwood said: “There is a rising fear that technology is fuelling this problem. There are enough people doing it to be worried”.