Crossword Genius

Exam the night before has broken everyone (1,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

a level

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'exam' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'the night before has broken everyone' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'night before' could be 'eve' (I've seen this before) and 'eve' is located in the answer.
'everyone' could be 'all' (I've seen this before) and 'all' is found in the leftover letters.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for a level that I've seen before include "Senior school exam" , "School examination in a single subject" , "Higher GCE exam" , "You'd have to take papers for this" , "Top tier in UK schools" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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