Melbourne: Teachers at nine high schools in northeastern Australia discovered just days before an ancient history exam that they had taught students about the wrong Roman ruler — Augustus Caesar instead of Julius Caesar.

As a result, students in Queensland were exempted from the statewide exam scheduled for Wednesday. Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek said the mix-up had caused distress among students, calling the situation “extremely traumatic.”

After the error was found on Monday, schools sought and received exemptions from the exam, even as students frantically tried to study Julius Caesar's life and achievements as a Roman general and statesman.

“I'm very unhappy about the situation,” Langbroek said, assuring that the 140 seniors affected would “not be disadvantaged in any way.”

Parents, however, criticised the confusion, saying the anxiety caused by the exam had affected their children's preparation for other subjects.

The exam carried 25% of the students' annual marks. Those excused will now be graded based on their performance in internal assessments that account for the remaining 75%.

According to the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority, schools were informed two years ago that the ancient history topic would shift to Julius Caesar in 2025, after four years of focusing on Augustus Caesar.