TRAINEE accountants were horrified after being bombarded with pop anthem Gangnam style during a crucial exam.

Dozens of people sitting chartered accountancy exams at Hampden thought their number was up when the disruptive music began blaring out during the vital tests in December.

Some of the trainees, who had spent months revising, could potentially face losing their jobs if they fail the exams, which cost thousands of pounds to sit.

Bungled scheduling at the stadium meant an annual children’s party was taking place near the exam room.

One person is understood to have had a panic attack at the end of the three-hour test and invigilators were forced to give extra time to allow for the disruption.

Around 120 number crunchers were taking the tests, but only 40 were subjected to the blasting South Korean tune which started in the last hour of the session.

Students complained to the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)following the blunder, and the professional body is now addressing the problems with Hampden staff.

Hampden boss Peter Dallas said staff at the venue "took steps to rectify the situation" but admitted the music had not been turned off until after the exam had ended.

He said: "On 9 December the music for an annual charity children’s Christmas party started earlier than scheduled which caused a disturbance to candidates finishing an exam for the ACCA on another floor of the venue.

"Our catering team took steps to rectify the situation as soon as they were made aware but were unable to stop the music before the exam ended.

"Both the children’s party and ACCA exams are held annually at Hampden.

"We have spoken to the ACCA to reassure them that we have taken this matter very seriously and have put measures in place to avoid such circumstances arising during exams held at the venue in the future."

Craig Vickery, Head of ACCA Scotland said: "We are aware of the disturbance at our exam centre in Glasgow on Wednesday 9 December.

"Our supervisor at the centre took all measures possible at the time to address the issue and minimise the impact on students, however, we do appreciate from the correspondence we’ve received since then from students that their exam performance may have been impacted by this issue.

"As a regulated professional body ACCA has a process in place that enables students to highlight any issues arising at an exam centre which may have impacted their exam performance, and I can confirm that a number of students have contacted us with regard to the disturbance at the Glasgow centre on Wednesday 9 December.

"This issue will be reviewed in line with this process, along with any other issues brought to our attention by students across our global network of centres, and taken into account in the results released to students for the December 2015 exam session.

"ACCA works continuously with all our exam centres worldwide to ensure the best possible student experience at all times and will be addressing this issue directly with the venue for future exam sessions."

hannah.rodger@eveningtimes.co.uk