Page 12 - ES MAG 2018 dig

A Day in the Life of the Examinations Oce
Who am I?

Where am I?

by Ursula Pantelides, Assistant Head i/c Examinations

My roller shutter usually slowly grinds open at about 7.10 in the morning
to the calming sound of birdsong ltering through the school yard trees.
When the key nally turns in my ancient green door, air oods in to bring
fresh life to the whi of stationery, gently humming oce machinery and
odd sandwich residues lingering in the wastebaskets. With the door open
I wake up and am ready for business. I take a deep, energising breath.

Then the phones start ringing- teachers, support sta, parents… The students’ favourite time seems to be around
7.30 to 7.50. At this time of the year they are usually looking for a new copy of something called a ‘personal exam
schedule’. To be honest I can’t understand how so many of them lose this piece of paper and why they realise it just
before their exam starts. It is so important that they know where they are going to sit their exam! My sta try to help
them but normally they are dealing with invigilators at this time, (usually teachers), so students have to look for their
seats on things called ‘seating plans’ outside the exam rooms. In amongst all the early coming and going, what I call
10 my heart chamber is opened up. The people who work with me call this the safe – I am glad they keep this part of
me so safe! This where I keep all the exam papers which have to be stored with me so securely. There are usually
hundreds of colour-coded shiny plastic envelopes on my shelves, all ordered in a special way. And only two of my
sta know the secret code to enter. They have to punch in a code to bring the right exam papers out for each exam
and if they are correct I answer with a coded beep, just so they know we are all on the same team. Later on, through
the day, they have to store completed papers on my shelves, in dierent types of envelopes, until they are couriered
to the UK the next morning.

The invigilators come and go collecting and returning papers. When they come to collect papers, my sta do
something called a “handover” where they explain any special circumstances, a bit like changing a shift on an airline
ight, someone once told me. When they return completed papers, my sta always count the papers in front of the
invigilators to make sure the number is correct and compare the number to the room register. Then they spend
time pencilling in little circles on coloured sheets of paper with each pile of exam papers and count them into new
envelopes. There is a lot of counting and checking so they need to concentrate to make sure there is no mistake!
There are usually many exams going on throughout the day and sometimes it gets really hectic. There is a strange
small black thing which I have been told is an old style mobile phone. It makes ugly noises – it seems to take up a
lot of my sta’s time. They run up and down stairs a lot because this machine sends questions concerning exam
administration or a student needing to use the bathroom. I am not allowed to be left alone when they are out, so I
am always locked up; I can’t help if someone rings or knocks at the door. Lots of other things happen during the day
– all sorts of people visit me, softly spoken people and loud noisy people, polite and less polite. Sometimes I get
inspected by a person from overseas with a clipboard- and lots of ‘health-check’ questions about my working parts.

When my thick chamber door thuds shut for the last time, late in the afternoon, I feel replete. Job done. My ever-
faithful sta can go home to their families and I can get some peace and quiet before it all starts again the next day.
I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Who am I? Where am I?

Haven’t you guessed?

Well. The Exams Oce in room 25 of course!