One parent, who contacted the Central Western Daily requesting to remain anonymous, said she felt for the students who had worked hard for the exam and would now have to sit a second paper.

The paper was part of the scheduled half-yearly examinations for year 12 students before the Higher School Certificate (HSC) trial examination next term.

James Sheahan principal Mark Pauschmann said staff moved quickly to address the problem when it was discovered after the exam.

“We weren't able to determine if and how widely that paper had been distributed, but we felt it compromised the position of all the students,” Mr Pauschmann said.

He said by asking students to resit the examination it would ensure no student would be disadvantaged.

“It would have changed the overall rankings and so the fairest thing was to redo the paper to avoid any injustice to the other students,” the principal said.

“It does disappoint me that parents would go to the paper before trying to consult with the school.”

The parent said emails had been sent to the school by parents and a meeting was requested by others.

“But we were told that couldn't happen,” the parent said.

Mr Pauschmann said the cheating incident was the first of its type experienced at the school.

“We do not have a cheating problem at this school, it's a one-off incident,” he said.

Mr Pauschmann said strict guidelines surrounded students sitting for all examinations, particularly the HSC.

“Mobile phones have to be left either at the front of the room or in the student’s bag at the back of the room,” he said.

“They are not allowed to go to their bags for any reason.

“If they need a tissue we have that at the front of the room, along with everything else they could possibly need.”

Mr Pauschmann would not comment on whether or not the student at the centre of the cheating incident had been disciplined, adding he was not in a position to reveal where the student had photographed the mathematics paper.