Funnily enough, that was the part of his reply that jumped out at me - why a Principal, or, if they are going to have these meetings, it would be nice to include an exams officer as a relevant person - after all, we are talking about exams and exam papers!
Grrr
Karen
-----Original Message-----
From: The FE Exams Network mailing list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Shirley Hallett
Sent: 28 November 2012 16:17
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Opening exam papers
Good letter Marjorie.....Nick spoke to the Vice Principal....not the exam officer....typical...
Shirley Hallett
Examination Manager
01925 494450 extn 4450
01925 494497 Fax
-----Original Message-----
From: The FE Exams Network mailing list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Marjanne WORSLEY
Sent: 28 November 2012 16:11
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Fwd: Re: Opening exam papers
Hi
I had sent the following e-mail to Nick.
"Dear Nick
I hope you have received the following e-mail from Alan Waymont.
'Thank you for the survey request but the addition of 30 minutes for a centre that can have up 1900 candidates sitting exams in one session in over 100 rooms is totally inadequate, especially as we have some 25%+ students with access arrangements of varying complexities.
To be able to do the work effectively and without the risk of errors we should be able to do this work the day before. After all, the exam papers are kept in secure conditions during the time that we perform the necessary copying etc and we do not have time to even look at, let alone read the question papers. The period immediately before the start of an exam is an extremely busy time, with numerous queries from staff and students as well as dozens of invigilators to check in and issue papers to so that they can set up the exam rooms. The telephone never stops ringing during this time. Even with four staff it is very stressful and often impossible to complete the tasks in the time allotted by JCQ so that exams start on time.
It would be very useful if you actually visited some centres who experience these problems - we are not alone by any means - many colleges and in particular sixth form colleges are hard hit by the JCQ rules which have clearly been designed with small centres in mind. We often have more candidates and exams in one session than some centres have in the whole exam period.'
I wholeheartedly agree with him. My centre is not as big staffing wise but being a sixth form college, means some huge and complex sessions. Although in the more straight forward sessions, in my centre, the 90 minutes would suffice, for the more complex sessions it does not. If there is an emergency or a student who needs my attention, getting the exam papers out and starting on time would be impossible. Students are geared up for a nine o'clock start and I personally hate to keep them waiting. Pressure to do so might lead to errors. I fully understand that the security of the exam papers are of the utmost importance, but if you cannot trust 'your' Exam Officers to keep that trust ......
If we were able to prepare the paperwork the day before for the morning session, it would be a huge help. Certainly in my centre it would not be necessary every day and the 90 minute rule would certainly suffice for the afternoon sessions (having dealt with most emergencies in the morning). In our centre the papers would never leave the secure storage and I do not envisage any necessity for copying before the 90 minute deadline.
I hope you will consider these points and although I have a very understanding family, 90 minutes means getting up even earlier to start at 7.30 a.m and usually I will not come back in before 6.30 p.m. With the January exams gone the summer exams will only get busier and more complex, so I do not see this changing.
Kind regards
Marjanne Worsley
See attached the answer of Nick. Reasonable but still not to trust us not to look at a paper!! How about EOs living in rural areas. Get up at 5! I do not mind the long hours, but on a hectic day I could really do without preparing all the documentation for the separate rooms.
Kind regards
Marjanne
Marjanne Worsley
Examinations Officer
Phone: 01444 446844
Fax: 01444 454207
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
Central Sussex College - Sixth Form College Harlands Road Haywards Heath
RH16 1LT
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