John and Sophie usher in the summer hiatus from exams with a catch up with some of the exams officers who we featured at the start of Series 1. Series 2 of weekly episodes will launch with a bang in early September, and we have a great line-up of guests and topics ahead, exploring all aspects of exams and assessment. In the meantime, watch out for a one-off long-form episode in August around GCSE results day, so that you can get your exam fix during the holidays! To make sure that you get notified of this special episode and all the upcoming episodes in Season 2, do follow and subscribe to The Exam Man on any of the major podcast platforms.

Thanks for all of the incredible support over the last few months- it has blown us away. Do let us know if there's a topic you'd like us to cover in Season 2, or if you'd like to get involved!

A huge well done to all the exams teams in our 1500 Examscreen schools who have helped hundreds of thousands of students through some of the most significant months of their lives. Have a fantastic summer and do keep in touch: Examscreen and john.gaston@examscreen.co.uk.

Until then, we're off to Taipei......

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This week Sophie and John spend a lively half hour chatting to Simon Cherriman, a Director at Tutors & Exams, the organisation that supports learners outside of schools to access assessment at their leading, independent exam centres in the UK and South Africa. Hear about Simon's late career change into the world of exams, his love and appreciation for invigilators, and how his role has wildly improved his knowledge of the geography of the north of England.

A private candidate is a candidate who is entered for exams at a centre but is not enrolled there. Home learners, self taught candidates, excluded learners and alternative provision exam candidates have the opportunity to choose where they sit GCSE and A level exams,

More information about Tutors and Exams can be found here: Private Candidate Exam Centre - AQA - EDEXCEL - OCR - Cambridge (tutorsandexams.uk)

The Exam Man is brought to you by the team behind Examscreen- sign up for a free trial!

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What are 'access arrangements'? The Exam Man team take you on a whistle-stop tour of this complex but important part of the exam system, in the first of a series of episodes where they delve into exams across different specialist settings.

In this conversation, John and Sophie chat to Headteacher Ruth McWeeney. Ruth leads Social Arts for Education, a small and innovative independent special school for up to 25 children aged 11- 19. The school is located in Eltham in the London borough of Greenwich, which happens to be around the corner from the house John grew up in. This was particularly helpful as John and Sophie could hurl their children at their grandparents for an evening during half term and escape to SAFE School, where they met with Ruth, saw Examscreen in action, and chatted all things exams. Following a recent flood, Ruth explains what it's like to run a school- and a full and ambitious suite of exams and access arrangements- when you only have one functioning classroom!

Sign up for a free trial of Examscreen here: Examscreen

JCQ Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments document: AA_regs_Revision_One_Sep23_FINAL.pdf (jcq.org.uk)

For more information on ExamWritePad: examwritepad.com

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This week John and Sophie speak to Michael Turner, an Executive Director at AQA- a leading provider of qualifications and assessment services in the UK.

As well as setting out the role of awarding bodies and the epic task ahead of them once the exams are done, Michael tells us all about how exam boards work with JCQ, Ofqual and schools and colleges. Learn about how John feels in the presence of the real Exam Man and find out why we'll soon be off on an unexpected jaunt to Milton Keynes. Covering security, technology, the future of exams and more, this is an episode that keeps on giving!

Guest bio: Michael Turner leads AQA’s Product, Marketing and Brand, Customer, and Sales functions. He is also a board member of Oxford AQA, a joint venture between AQA and Oxford University Press to provide qualifications internationally. Prior to this, he was AQA’s Executive Director of Corporate Affairs and Marketing and was accountable for external and internal communications, policy and public affairs, brand and marketing. He was previously Director General of the Joint Council for Qualifications, the membership body for eight of the largest awarding bodies in the UK. Michael has worked for several education organisations including The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust as Head of Media and Public Affairs and for another awarding body. He also has experience of communications within the construction and financial services sectors.

Examscreen: for more information about the multi award winning exam display tool - used in 1500 schools in the UK and internationally and created by John and Sophie of The Exam Man - take a look here: Examscreen. Do contact sophie.gaston@examscreen.co.uk for more information or sign up for a free trial.

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This week we are exploring the many routes that people take before becoming exams officers. This week's guest, Hayley, an exams officer in a faith school in inner-city London, tells us all about her fascinating journey from police officer to running exams at her former school. She tells us about the transferable skills that help her every day, and why she loves her job- even though she didn't know what it actually involved when she was offered it!

John is forced to open up about his varied career before he got the exam bug, giving us insight into how he knew how to produce a podcast, and why he once had a stylist called Mercedes.....

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This week John and Sophie get to grips with what 'special consideration' means in the world of exams, with a surprising appearance from Kirstie and Phil. What happens when a students' exam experience is disrupted, through circumstances beyond their control? Find out what support is available, and hear from a parent who is applying for special consideration for her son, who is currently taking his A Levels.

For more information see the JCQ guide to the special consideration process: Guide_to_spec_con_process_2023_24_FINAL.pdf (jcq.org.uk)

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As the main UK exams kick off in earnest we hear about John's first day, which was not quite as smooth as he was hoping for. To bring our heart rates back down we kick back with Simon Robinson, the examinations officer at Monkton Coombe School- a leading, independent coed day & boarding school just outside of Bath. The school aims to give young people aged 2- 19 the qualities of character they need to become trusted employees, inspiring leaders, valued friends and loving parents, against the backdrop of the stunning Somerset countryside- just the setting we need to escape to during one of the biggest weeks in the exam calendar!

Former teacher Simon takes us on a magical mystery tour of what it's like to run exams in such an idyllic setting, realising that your neighbour is your line manager, and how an invigilation team bonds best over a free lunch.

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