Papers no longer like showing maidens inside (5)

I believe the answer is:

exams

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

'no longer like showing maidens inside' is the wordplay.
'no longer' becomes 'ex' (prefix meaning former or onetime).
'like showing' becomes 'am' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'maidens' becomes 'damsels' (damsel means a maiden or young woman).
'inside' indicates the central letters.
The middle of 'damsels' is 's'.
'ex'+'am'+'s'='EXAMS'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for exams that I've seen before include "Tests for students" , "Tests, in short" , "summer term commitment?" , "finals?" , "papers" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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