The Pancyprian examinations concluded on Friday, with results due to be announced by July 24, head of the examinations service Socrates Mylonas said on Friday.

He said those results will also include university placements in Cyprus. “With many reservations, we hope by July 24,” he said.

Successful applications for places at universities in Greece will follow a few days later.

The examination period concluded on Friday with the common core maths paper taken by just over 2,000 candidates.

Mylonas said the exams had been completed without any major problems.

“In general, our exams went smoothly. We haven’t had anything shocking or any issues up until now,” he said.

Only one suspected cheating incident was investigated during the examination period.

However, Mylonas said the allegation was not confirmed and the student’s paper was sent for marking.

He explained that supervisors are required to report any suspicion so it can be examined after the exam.

Mylonas acknowledged that some students had expressed concerns about the difficulty of certain papers, particularly maths, but said there had not been widespread complaints.

He added that the main purpose of the Pancyprian examinations is to rank students fairly for admission to public universities rather than simply rewarding high marks.

“We want distinction and the goal is not for candidates to get the maximum score, but for them to be able to be ranked in a reliable way, so that the best of them can claim places at universities,” he said.

He also defended the current system, under which school graduation exams and Pancyprian exams are held separately.

According to Mylonas, the two examinations serve different purposes, with one assessing students’ school performance and the other determining university admissions.

He said a final review of this year’s examination papers would take place after all candidates’ feedback had been collected.

“The proof is always at the time of the exam, how the candidates react,” he said.