We all know that universities run exams, naturally. Yet most of us, even if we work in exams, wouldn't have a clue how it all works.

In this week's episode, John and Sophie are joined by Karen Williams & Jess Price, Exams Managers at King's College London, to answer John's many, many questions about exams in universities!

We hear about the staggering scale of the operation, the main differences between school and university exams, and the common joys and challenges. We also get to explore both of their journeys to running exams in universities. This was a really entertaining conversation- enjoy!

To listen to all previous episodes of The Exam Man and to read our blogs, visit: https://theexamman.com/

For more info about Examscreen/ to sign up for a free trial: https://examscreen.co.uk/

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Ever wondered what Examscreen does, and how it came into existence? Due to popular request, on this week's episode of The Exam Man podcast, John Gaston and Sophie Gaston talk about the background to Examscreen. They retell the story of how John's frustration with schools using big, expensive clocks and PowerPoints in exam halls led to a summer learning how to code, a seriously dramatic launch day, and what is now critical exam display tool that is familiar to hundreds of thousands of students in the UK and internationally. This week we bring you a potted history of how Examscreen began and the journey since. This episode will, as always, be interesting to anyone with an interest in exams and assessment, but also to anyone interested in entrepreneurship, edtech and the early days of start ups.

With mentions and huge thanks to:

💥STAXO Group Julie Parr Peter Goring David Goring Chris Seal Dhruve 🧙🏽‍♂️ Shah for being our technological wizards over the years

💥Jonathan Seaton MBE DL TwinklHive Twinkl Educational Publishing for the seriously timely advice

💥Cool Milk Tim Stirrup Jon Thornes MBE Lauren Thorpe for the game-changing motivation with their brilliant Cool Initiatives competition

💥Most importantly, the thousands of exams officers and invigilators who use Examscreen across the country every day, and especially our early champions

To listen to all previous episodes of The Exam Man and to read our blogs, visit: https://theexamman.com/

To learn more about Examscreen or to set up a free trial for your school, go to examscreen.co.uk

Further reading from the early days of Examscreen: https://www.brightonandhovenews.org/2019/06/07/hove-teacher-wins-prize-for-exams-app/

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Amanda Spielman, our guest this week, has worn many hats during her career. Best known in the world of education for being HM Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills from January 2017 to December 2023, Amanda also had a successful early career in finance and was on the founding senior leadership team at Ark Schools from 2015. Amanda is also a Visiting Professor in Practice at LSE and a trustee at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

However, we are a podcast about exams and assessment.... so we really hone in on Amanda's time between 2011 and 2016 when she was Chair of Ofqual, her reflections on the reforms and her hopes for the upcoming Curriculum and Assessment Review. This is a full deep dive into exams and assessment- enjoy!

To listen to all previous episodes of The Exam Man podcast and read our blogs, visit: The Exam Man - the #1 podcast about exams and assessment

To read more about Examscreen and to sign up for a free trial: Examscreen

For the Schools Week article that John and Amanda reference, go to: Ten principles to guide Labour's review of assessment (schoolsweek.co.uk)

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This week we welcome our first author guest onto the podcast, Sammy Wright- how could we not, when he has written a book called 'Exam Nation'! The book has certainly made waves, with reviews in The Guardian and The Times amongst others, and it was Book of the Week on Radio 4 last month.

Once we established that Sammy wasn't attempting to make John and all other exams officers redundant, we entered into a lively discussion about not just the purpose of exams, but also of school. We hear about what Sammy thinks about how we assess what students learn, what he thinks about technology and exams and he tells us what he hopes will come out of the upcoming Curriculum and Assessment Review.

Aside from offering up suggestions to the rather large question of 'what is school for?' the book is full of anecdotes about the minutiae of school life that will appeal to anyone who has been to school, has children at a school, or has a school near them. But it is especially interesting to those of us working in the world of exams and assessment- certainly food for thought!

Sammy Wright is Head of School at a large secondary in Sunderland. He sat on the government's Social Mobility Commission from 2018 to 2021. He has taught for twenty years at schools in Oxfordshire, London and the North East. His debut novel Fit won the Northern Book Prize.

To contact Sammy: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/sammy-wright-a4300a64

To order Exam Nation: https://housmans.com/product/exam-nation-why-our-obsession-with-grades-fails-everyone-and-a-better-way-to-think-about-school/

For more information about The Exam Man to and read our blogs and listen to all previous episodes, please go to:theexamman.com

For more information on Examscreen, visit: examscreen.co.uk

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Every so often on a Friday morning, a bonus episode of The Exam Man will drop.

FROM THE SECURE ROOM is a series of short episodes where John explains how he carries out a specific aspect of running exams. Particularly useful for exams officers new and old, do send in ideas for future topics to cover and let us know how you approach the same tasks in your own setting. We'd love to hear from you: Contact Us | The Exam Man - the #1 podcast about exams and assessment

We launch FROM THE SECURE ROOM today with an episode all about how John recruits invigilators..... enjoy!

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To launch Season 2, John and Sophie start as they mean to go on, chewing the fat with an exams officer from one of their Examscreen schools. Kirsty Wilson is the exams officer at The Cherwell School, a large secondary school in Oxford. In this hugely enjoyable and informative chat, Kirsty talks about how she started working in exams, what it's like to run exams across such a big school, and she tells us all about her new role as Exams Officer of the Year for 2024!

To celebrate the new season, we are also launching our first giveaway- you have until 5pm on Wednesday 4th September to send us a screenshot proving that you follow The Exam Man on any of the podcast platforms, to either [email protected] or [email protected]. Make sure you include the full name of your school, if you work at one.

An Examscreen subscription and Brighton and Sussex boxes of treats up for grabs!

For more information on The Cherwell School, visit: Welcome to The Cherwell School

To join Examscreen or to sign up for a free trial, visit: Examscreen

To explore Beacon Down vineyard, visit: New tab (beacondown.co.uk)

To listen to all previous episodes of The Exam Man and read our latest blogs, please visit The Exam Man - the #1 podcast about exams and assessment and do leave us a review.

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** GIVEAWAY TIME **

Just a little teaser of an episode this Bank Holiday Monday, to let you know that Season 2 of The Exam Man podcast will launch next Monday 2nd September with a very special interview, and we will be celebrating the new season with a brilliant giveaway.

Tune in on the 2nd to hear how to enter the competition, and make sure you don't put it off listening to the podcast episode- you'll only have until Wednesday 4th September at 5pm to take part!

There are 2 prizes available:

Prize 1: If you work in a school, you will get a free annual subscription to Examscreen for your school (or a free annual renewal if you are already an Examscreen subscriber) PLUS a delightful box of treats from Brighton and Sussex.

Prize 2: if you don’t work in a school, you will just receive the indulgent box of goodies, all Brighton and Sussex themed.

Catch you next week, as the new term/ season dawns!

To listen to the back catalogue of episodes of The Exam Man and to read our blogs, check out our website: The Exam Man - the #1 podcast about exams and assessment

For more information about Examscreen and to sign up for a free trial: Examscreen

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Just in case you've been missing your dose of all things exams over the holidays, The Exam Man is back with an extra episode to coincide with exam results days - and to tide you over until the start of Season 2! For this special, longer- length episode, The Exam Man team deep dive into the life cycle of exam papers. Have you ever thought about what happens to an exam paper once pens are put down? Or what goes on behind the scenes to ensure that students get the right results on exam results days?

John and Sophie explore the journey of this most precious cargo, interviewing pupils, examiners, and awarding bodies to piece together the key elements of this herculean task. Big thanks to Mark Collins, Head of Operations at AQA, for hosting us at their processing centre, and to Ruth Bradbury, experienced Headteacher and English examiner for two awarding bodies, for helping to answer our (many) questions about the examining process.

For more information on Examscreen, visit: Examscreen

For a good explanation of grade boundaries: https://www.tes.com/magazine/analysis/secondary/gcse-and-a-level-grade-boundaries

To read more about Ruth, check out: Education Consultant | Gatehouse Education

For more information on AQA, visit: AQA – education charity providing GCSEs, A-levels and support

To listen to all previous episodes of The Exam Man and to read our latest blogs, please visit The Exam Man - the #1 podcast about exams and assessment and leave us a review.

Subscribe on any of the major podcast platforms.to get notified of all upcoming episodes of The Exam Man, and please do rate us too!

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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 [email protected].

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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