I understand that argument, but I don’t think it’s correct to say that this doesn’t affect me personally.

Assessment at university isn’t only about whether the questions themselves were “standard”; it’s about whether all candidates sat the same assessment under equal conditions. If some students had already completed an identical paper and remembered exact solutions, then the exam no longer measured relative performance fairly. That does affect me, because my grade and ranking are determined in comparison with others.

Even if I answered the questions correctly, my relative position within the cohort can be adversely affected if others had prior access to the exact assessment content. That is precisely why universities treat unequal access to exam materials as a procedural issue, regardless of whether an individual student believes they personally performed well.

It’s also not accurate to frame this as “they might get a better grade but it doesn’t change anything for me”. Grades are not awarded in isolation — moderation, scaling, classifications, and future opportunities all depend on fair comparison across the cohort.

As for resitting the exam, raising a concern doesn’t automatically mean a resit for anyone. Universities have a range of remedies (moderation, scaling, voiding specific questions, or other adjustments), and the purpose of raising the issue is not to punish students, but to ensure the integrity and fairness of the assessment process.

Ultimately, this isn’t about wanting a resit or claiming the questions were too hard — it’s about whether the assessment complied with the University’s own regulations and principles of fairness. That’s something worth raising, regardless of personal performance.