In The Line Of Duty

[00:00:00] Music

[00:00:21] Being an exams officer is so much more stressful than being a police officer

[00:00:25] You're kidding me

[00:00:26] I never used to lay awake at night stressing, have I done this? Have I done that?

[00:00:31] Music

[00:00:36] Yeah, you're not allowed to shout in our school

[00:00:39] Not a shout, I like who the police are

[00:00:42] Music

[00:00:46] My get back stay away moments are done

[00:00:48] Music

[00:01:04] You've got more colour in your cheeks

[00:01:09] Yeah, I feel a bit more normal now

[00:01:11] I don't feel like I'm about to collapse at any minute

[00:01:14] Which is good

[00:01:16] So I have done, we've now done, I count things down in terms of what I call the big exams

[00:01:23] And those are the English maths and science GCSEs of which there are 13

[00:01:28] And we have now done six of the 13

[00:01:33] Got English language tomorrow morning

[00:01:35] So by the time I've done that we'll be more than halfway through the big exams

[00:01:39] You haven't been inspected though, have you?

[00:01:41] Haven't been inspected yet, no

[00:01:43] I've seen all people's posts about their inspections

[00:01:47] People very happy to have, like, and relieved to have done it

[00:01:51] And that sort of almost makes it a little bit worse

[00:01:54] I'm not going to lie because you just really want to get your stuff

[00:01:57] Marina who featured in one of our earlier episodes

[00:01:59] She had it on day two, was it?

[00:02:01] Her inspection, she was a bit gloating

[00:02:05] Was it really? That was all over for her quite early

[00:02:08] I mean the things that I have seen people say about their inspections

[00:02:11] have been generally quite positive actually

[00:02:13] And it seems like most of the inspectors that people have come across

[00:02:17] have come with a good positive support of attitude

[00:02:20] Which is good to hear

[00:02:21] So yeah, hopefully mine will follow a similar pattern when it comes

[00:02:34] So while we're on the subject of things being posted on the internet

[00:02:38] I just wanted to talk to you for a second about

[00:02:42] my favourite exams officer meme

[00:02:45] Because you wouldn't have thought necessarily that the exams office community

[00:02:49] would be one for posting memes

[00:02:52] But there is one that is very popular

[00:02:56] within the kind of exams officer Facebook community

[00:02:59] which I really personally enjoy

[00:03:02] Which is that people love to post

[00:03:04] Well, a couple of things actually

[00:03:05] People love to post pictures of their exam halls

[00:03:08] There's one thing

[00:03:09] Like, people are very proud of their exam halls

[00:03:11] Like, particularly an empty exam hall

[00:03:14] that's just got the desks in it all laid out

[00:03:16] with like papers on the desks

[00:03:18] Not papers so they shouldn't post that should they

[00:03:20] or desks all laid out, uniform

[00:03:22] And there's something very aesthetically pleasing about

[00:03:25] a well laid out exam hall

[00:03:27] One of the many reasons why I'm not in exams

[00:03:29] I just, yeah

[00:03:31] So people like to do that

[00:03:33] But my favourite one is

[00:03:35] there's a trend of exams officers

[00:03:38] posting pictures of their car

[00:03:41] being the only car in the car park

[00:03:44] At the beginning of the day

[00:03:47] and then again at the end of the day

[00:03:49] That's totally true with you, isn't it?

[00:03:51] So I've been getting into work at like 6.30 in the morning

[00:03:54] And then I often don't leave until 6 o'clock in the evening

[00:03:58] Literally as the school is closing

[00:04:00] So I'm there as it opens and as it closes

[00:04:03] And yeah, it's quite funny this thing

[00:04:06] People love to like just post a picture

[00:04:08] just to show that they're like the first person

[00:04:10] in and the last person out

[00:04:12] You should just don't let caretaker to you many

[00:04:14] roles along with the exams officer

[00:04:16] Well yeah, I think if I sometimes annoy the caretaker

[00:04:18] because I am literally there as he's opening

[00:04:20] the doors first thing in the morning

[00:04:24] And he's probably like

[00:04:26] he could probably do within an extra 10 minutes

[00:04:28] Because you often forget stuff

[00:04:30] and you have to ask him to open up

[00:04:32] after you've left work there

[00:04:34] So I've been there a few times

[00:04:36] Yeah, I am known for leaving things in my office

[00:04:38] and so I do regularly annoy the caretaker

[00:04:40] That might be why you're going to do that

[00:04:42] She's probably just annoyed with me generally

[00:04:50] So this week we are talking to Hailey

[00:04:52] who is one of the exams officers

[00:04:54] that we are following over the exam period

[00:04:57] This was a great chat that we had with her

[00:05:00] all about the things that she loves

[00:05:02] about her role

[00:05:04] what she's finding challenging

[00:05:06] going into the exam period

[00:05:08] but also we went off on a long tangent

[00:05:10] and we were about the very interesting route

[00:05:12] she took before becoming an exams officer

[00:05:16] Yeah, we weren't quite prepared

[00:05:18] for what she'd done before

[00:05:20] but it was really interesting

[00:05:22] to hear her talk about it

[00:05:24] And I really enjoyed this interview

[00:05:26] I think it was

[00:05:28] It's really nicely pitched for where we are

[00:05:30] now in the kind of exam season as well

[00:05:32] because

[00:05:34] I think we've all had a grueling couple of weeks

[00:05:36] but this

[00:05:38] interview with Hailey is just

[00:05:40] it's really positive

[00:05:42] it's really warm

[00:05:44] and I think it's good to

[00:05:46] remind ourselves that we're doing something

[00:05:48] that's really valuable

[00:05:50] really important at this stage

[00:05:52] and as hard as it may be

[00:05:54] that we are serving a genuinely

[00:05:56] important

[00:05:58] purpose

[00:06:00] Definitely, that definitely comes across

[00:06:02] to us that

[00:06:04] Hailey's also got lots of energy

[00:06:06] which I think really comes off

[00:06:08] which is good at this point isn't it

[00:06:10] I don't know how much energy she's got

[00:06:12] right now

[00:06:14] We'll have an update from her next week

[00:06:16] When we spoke to her a couple of weeks ago

[00:06:18] she had plenty of energy and I think it really comes through

[00:06:20] So I work

[00:06:28] in an inner London school

[00:06:30] we are a faith school

[00:06:32] we're not as big as probably

[00:06:34] where my children go to school

[00:06:36] there's only about 13

[00:06:38] about 1,300 students

[00:06:40] at our school so we're not massive

[00:06:42] We do offer GCSE

[00:06:44] and A level so we do have a 6th form as well

[00:06:48] We are a community

[00:06:50] school I think where

[00:06:52] we have not so many students

[00:06:54] we are able then to

[00:06:56] get to know students on a deeper level

[00:06:58] maybe so if they

[00:07:00] do have specific needs

[00:07:02] we are a lot more focused on

[00:07:04] each student individually

[00:07:06] and we know her by name

[00:07:08] which is lovely

[00:07:10] I've been there nearly 4 years

[00:07:12] I was listening to one of the ladies on a previous week

[00:07:14] who was also a Covid joiner

[00:07:16] so I am another Covid joiner

[00:07:18] I've been there 4 years

[00:07:20] but I actually went to this school

[00:07:22] as a student as well

[00:07:26] So that's quite nice

[00:07:28] It has been quite nice

[00:07:32] Presumably you had good enough experience

[00:07:34] at school there to want to go back

[00:07:36] I did, I had a really lovely

[00:07:38] childhood growing up in my school

[00:07:40] it was a happy place to be

[00:07:42] So I joined nearly 4 years ago

[00:07:44] I came in just after the first lockdown

[00:07:48] so I joined in the winter

[00:07:50] and I joined in the November time

[00:07:52] and then the next lockdown happened

[00:07:54] around Christmas time

[00:07:56] I had to quickly, really quickly

[00:07:58] learn my job

[00:08:00] before everyone went home

[00:08:02] so it was different

[00:08:06] Had you been an exams officer before

[00:08:08] or was this your first exams officer role?

[00:08:10] No, it was my first time

[00:08:12] family enough when I interviewed

[00:08:14] as well I didn't actually know

[00:08:16] what the job was that I was interviewing for

[00:08:18] so the head teacher

[00:08:20] at the time she found it

[00:08:22] hilarious that I'd interviewed for this job

[00:08:24] but I didn't actually know what it was

[00:08:26] I couldn't believe that it was a full time role

[00:08:28] I was really like, I was confused

[00:08:30] I was like how can this be a full time role

[00:08:32] but very quickly I learnt it is

[00:08:36] But yeah, I came in and obviously exams

[00:08:38] were cancelled and I was panicking

[00:08:40] that I wasn't going to be needed

[00:08:42] because there was no exams in that first year

[00:08:44] so that was a little bit of a panic

[00:08:46] but I was lucky

[00:08:48] because the guy who was

[00:08:50] the exams officer before me still worked with us

[00:08:52] he just changed roles

[00:08:54] he used to be data as well

[00:08:56] so luckily I had him still at school

[00:09:00] I always say if I wouldn't have had him there

[00:09:02] then I would have probably quit day 2

[00:09:04] because it's such a ridiculous job

[00:09:06] without that hand over

[00:09:08] it would have been impossible

[00:09:10] I take my hat off to anyone that does this job

[00:09:12] with that hand over

[00:09:14] So what were you doing before

[00:09:16] you became the exams officer?

[00:09:18] Before I came in as an exams officer

[00:09:20] for 15 years

[00:09:22] I worked in an inner London borough

[00:09:24] in the same place

[00:09:30] and I left there

[00:09:32] I had my children

[00:09:34] and I left there because I just realised

[00:09:36] that there was more to life than being in the police

[00:09:38] and I found it really quite hard as a parent

[00:09:40] my husband found it quite hard

[00:09:42] if I was going out and about at night

[00:09:44] or worrying that I wasn't going to come home

[00:09:46] so I made the decision

[00:09:48] to leave after 15 years

[00:09:50] and I

[00:09:52] started up my own business teaching

[00:09:54] mindfulness to children with anxiety

[00:09:56] when I was younger

[00:09:58] I suffered with anxiety myself

[00:10:00] so I felt like I needed to do something

[00:10:02] that was for me

[00:10:04] so I started my business

[00:10:06] I was doing that for 2 years

[00:10:08] and it was really successful but then Covid happened

[00:10:10] and all of my work

[00:10:12] in schools stopped

[00:10:14] because obviously I couldn't go into schools anymore

[00:10:16] my business completely dried up

[00:10:18] which was really sad

[00:10:20] so I still had a mortgage to pay

[00:10:22] and I still had children to feed

[00:10:24] I ended up

[00:10:26] seeing this job as an exams officer

[00:10:28] and I was like

[00:10:30] it can't be that bad, it would be fine

[00:10:32] and I rocked up to my interview

[00:10:34] like I said I didn't have a clue what the job was

[00:10:36] the head teacher laughed at me

[00:10:38] he gave me the job, I must have been impressed somehow

[00:10:40] because she gave me the job

[00:10:42] we did laugh to the day

[00:10:44] and I was interviewed as she gave it to me

[00:10:46] and I didn't know what the job was

[00:10:48] so that's basically it

[00:10:50] I've always stayed in the same sort of place

[00:10:52] my police career was really long

[00:10:54] and then obviously I worked for myself

[00:10:56] I thought I was going to find it quite hard

[00:10:58] to come back from working for myself

[00:11:00] to work

[00:11:02] in a full time school environment

[00:11:04] but I think the role of an exams officer

[00:11:06] was a really good bridge for me

[00:11:08] because I find that I'm

[00:11:10] stand alone, I can do what I need to do

[00:11:12] get on with it

[00:11:14] and I found that

[00:11:16] it was a very good step

[00:11:18] for me to come back into that sort of

[00:11:20] environment

[00:11:22] I'm so interested in your background

[00:11:24] that's really fascinating

[00:11:26] how helpful are the things

[00:11:28] you've done before, so being a police officer

[00:11:30] and then the work that you did

[00:11:32] with mindfulness, how have they helped you

[00:11:34] as they sound like

[00:11:36] things that would be quite useful

[00:11:38] as an exam officer

[00:11:40] I've always said that

[00:11:42] being an exams officer is so much more

[00:11:44] stressful than being a police officer

[00:11:46] you're kidding me

[00:11:48] I never used to lay awake at night

[00:11:50] stressing have I done this, have I done that

[00:11:52] I never had that feeling

[00:11:54] with the police, I could park it

[00:11:56] funnily enough and leave it at work

[00:11:58] but with exams

[00:12:00] you get that midnight wake up

[00:12:02] and you're like oh no, what happens

[00:12:04] if I haven't done this or did I forget to lock my secure room

[00:12:06] did I do it, I'm not sure

[00:12:08] so in terms of skill set

[00:12:10] the organisation and planning

[00:12:12] we're effectively project managers

[00:12:14] in what we do

[00:12:16] in that side and the logic

[00:12:18] and the following and order

[00:12:20] that's all very similar, it's transferable

[00:12:22] attention to detail I guess is something

[00:12:24] as a police officer you've got to be very careful

[00:12:26] having you follow the right steps

[00:12:28] that's it, paperwork

[00:12:30] paperwork has got to be

[00:12:32] on point

[00:12:34] also behaviour issues

[00:12:36] have you got a really good look

[00:12:38] I imagine

[00:12:40] sorry, yeah

[00:12:42] you're not allowed to shout in our school

[00:12:44] so not a shout, I like who the police are

[00:12:52] my get back stay away moments are done

[00:12:54] I can't do that no more

[00:12:56] it must be so tempting though to just tell

[00:12:58] all the children at the start the exam

[00:13:00] just so you know this is what my previous role was

[00:13:02] but you know what it's funny

[00:13:04] because somehow it gets back

[00:13:06] and I'm not one to shout about what I used to do

[00:13:08] so it does get back

[00:13:10] and they're like miss were you actually a police officer

[00:13:12] I was

[00:13:14] but yeah I don't know

[00:13:16] it's a funny one, it is a funny one

[00:13:18] and I haven't had like a

[00:13:20] straightforward career path

[00:13:22] I have, yeah it's different

[00:13:24] I think that's so interesting

[00:13:26] I guess no one comes out of

[00:13:28] school or university whatever

[00:13:30] and thinks oh I'm going to become an exams officer

[00:13:32] no one knows what it is

[00:13:34] I mean I didn't

[00:13:36] I'm like you I didn't know really

[00:13:38] what I was applying for

[00:13:40] what I was going for, I mean our circumstances

[00:13:42] were just different we moved to a different city

[00:13:44] and it was just like I'd been

[00:13:46] so we live in Brighton

[00:13:48] and I've been commuting to London for work

[00:13:50] and that is a nightmare journey for anyone who does it

[00:13:52] knows, yeah it's long

[00:13:54] I just got fed up so I was like I want to find a job

[00:13:56] locally and this I saw this job

[00:13:58] and I was like well I don't really know what that is

[00:14:00] and I think you can even tell me what interview

[00:14:02] you went for, you went for the interview

[00:14:04] I've just got this job

[00:14:06] I was so sure I wasn't going to get it

[00:14:08] because I didn't know anything about it

[00:14:10] and then like you I must have done something

[00:14:12] at the interview where they were like oh yeah

[00:14:14] we could see them doing this

[00:14:16] job and then when I started

[00:14:18] I was like shit

[00:14:20] exactly what do I do

[00:14:22] I felt the same

[00:14:24] like they gave me a paper

[00:14:26] task and I had to work at how to see

[00:14:28] the children in an exam room

[00:14:30] and what would I do with this and what would I do with that

[00:14:32] and I just sat in this room and I was like

[00:14:34] I don't know, I don't know what

[00:14:36] I'm going to do but yeah I don't know

[00:14:38] like I say I must have winged it somehow

[00:14:40] because they gave it to me

[00:14:42] and your business as well

[00:14:44] that must have some really interesting

[00:14:46] do you know what

[00:14:48] I love my mindfulness work

[00:14:50] I still practice it for myself

[00:14:52] it does help me

[00:14:54] and also like with our access arrangement rooms

[00:14:56] when you've got students coming out

[00:14:58] having a panic attack I find that does really

[00:15:00] help and they turn up at my door

[00:15:02] non-exam time and then I miss I'm having a panic attack

[00:15:04] I'm like okay fine we talked

[00:15:06] through it and then we go medical

[00:15:08] so you know it does come in handy

[00:15:10] my office is full of positive affirmations

[00:15:12] all over my walls

[00:15:14] so yeah so it does

[00:15:16] it does help I think that's one thing

[00:15:18] that a lot of people might not know about

[00:15:20] exams officers is the number of students

[00:15:22] that you'll see

[00:15:24] upset and anxious

[00:15:26] and things like that and you'll often be

[00:15:28] suddenly the person who

[00:15:30] is the only person with them

[00:15:32] to help them

[00:15:34] I mean that's true of invigilators as well

[00:15:36] isn't it like invigilators are often in

[00:15:38] that situation as well where

[00:15:40] students just having a complete

[00:15:42] panic attack

[00:15:44] so yeah to have those skills

[00:15:46] and to know some experience

[00:15:48] for that must be very very useful

[00:15:50] yeah no it is

[00:15:52] so my main access arrangements room

[00:15:54] like my smaller room is near enough opposite my office

[00:15:56] so during exam time

[00:15:58] if something does happen then yeah

[00:16:00] I'm literally there in a second

[00:16:02] do you feel that this is basically your job

[00:16:04] now for the rest of your career

[00:16:06] have you loved it this much

[00:16:08] I think it's the job that I've

[00:16:10] obviously with my mindfulness work

[00:16:12] I do love what I do with that

[00:16:14] but I do enjoy my exam

[00:16:16] work it's a weird

[00:16:18] situation because you feel stressed

[00:16:20] and anxious with it and then you get

[00:16:22] the build up and the adrenaline rush of it

[00:16:24] and yeah

[00:16:26] seeing it from like a start to an end

[00:16:28] I don't know

[00:16:30] I don't really know like what else at the moment

[00:16:32] I mean I'm also an assistant head of year

[00:16:34] so I have that on the side

[00:16:36] I'm an assistant head of year 10 at the moment

[00:16:38] so like 14-15 year old

[00:16:40] yeah so yeah

[00:16:42] so I have that as well so that sort of slots in

[00:16:44] quite nicely

[00:16:46] so last year I was the assistant

[00:16:48] head for year 11 so that was great

[00:16:50] because during that time we were completely

[00:16:52] in line yeah so

[00:16:54] like I will follow this year group up next

[00:16:56] year and so hopefully

[00:16:58] I'll be the same as I was with them last year

[00:17:00] so yeah it does help and it does work

[00:17:02] yeah does that

[00:17:04] is that an issue with workload to find that

[00:17:06] difficult to manage because that's quite a big job

[00:17:08] being an assistant head of year

[00:17:10] yeah it can be I mean I'm the only pastoral

[00:17:12] non-teaching staff

[00:17:14] member the rest of the

[00:17:16] assistant heads are all teachers as well

[00:17:18] so a lot of the time for my year

[00:17:20] they will turn up at my door because

[00:17:22] I am free

[00:17:24] as such in averted commerce

[00:17:26] I'm not teaching a lesson

[00:17:28] so yeah like obviously the work regarding

[00:17:30] attendance is massive for

[00:17:32] assistant head of year work so that takes a lot of

[00:17:34] time

[00:17:36] if a student turns up at medical from my year group

[00:17:38] that obviously takes time as well

[00:17:40] did you find like last year

[00:17:42] when you were assistant head of year 11

[00:17:44] how did you find the relationship

[00:17:46] with the students was that a big benefit

[00:17:48] to you when it came to running these exams

[00:17:50] can you just explain a bit about that

[00:17:52] yeah massively so like I think again

[00:17:54] because I don't teach

[00:17:56] I have to then learn there's probably

[00:17:58] well it's just over or just under 200 students

[00:18:00] in the year group and if I don't

[00:18:02] teach them I don't have that

[00:18:04] time that teachers do to learn them

[00:18:06] individually so learning their names

[00:18:08] and their needs so I

[00:18:10] do find it really hard but with last

[00:18:12] year we have mocks

[00:18:14] in January or we did have them in January

[00:18:16] so by then I knew

[00:18:18] exactly who the children were that were going to be

[00:18:20] in my smaller rooms I knew the ones I

[00:18:22] need to look out for I could put names to faces

[00:18:24] a lot more easier looking at timetables

[00:18:26] who's in which form group

[00:18:28] so it did really help so then

[00:18:30] by the time January was out the way

[00:18:32] I had a much better

[00:18:34] relationship with them because

[00:18:36] I was seeing them more

[00:18:38] they were coming to me a lot more

[00:18:40] and yes I last year

[00:18:42] I did find it a lot being

[00:18:44] an exam year group it does help

[00:18:46] yeah Hayley can you tell us

[00:18:48] what your sort of favourite aspects of

[00:18:50] the job what do you really enjoy doing

[00:18:52] as an exams officer

[00:18:54] the 4th Fair TAM get ups during exam season

[00:18:56] is definitely not one of them

[00:18:58] I live

[00:19:00] an hour away from work so I have to get a picture

[00:19:02] early

[00:19:04] that's bad I know yeah it's long

[00:19:06] but I think

[00:19:08] it's like I say maybe

[00:19:10] builds from where I've come from but the structure

[00:19:12] you know in September

[00:19:14] what you're going to do in September

[00:19:16] and then in December you know what you need to do

[00:19:18] so the structure of the exam year

[00:19:20] cycle as such

[00:19:22] it's quite comforting to know that you know

[00:19:24] once you get going you know what you're doing

[00:19:26] and you know what you should sort of be doing

[00:19:28] when you're doing it and in a way it makes the year

[00:19:30] go a bit quicker if you know what you're doing

[00:19:32] when you're doing it

[00:19:34] but I think it's the build up

[00:19:36] from the beginnings so like if it comes from

[00:19:38] like say with mock exams

[00:19:40] I'm responsible for building the timetable

[00:19:42] so the jigsaw puzzle

[00:19:44] of trying to build a mock timetable

[00:19:46] and then the satisfaction when you've done it

[00:19:48] and it works and you've got no clashes

[00:19:50] things like that are brilliant

[00:19:52] seeing the kids

[00:19:54] from like they come

[00:19:56] the first time obviously they come to me

[00:19:58] they're immature year 10 students

[00:20:00] and they leave you most of them

[00:20:02] as adults in year 13

[00:20:04] and they've watched them grow

[00:20:06] from these young people

[00:20:08] into adults

[00:20:10] that then can drive a car

[00:20:12] and they're going out and they're in their first legal drink

[00:20:14] because they're an adult to celebrate the end of their exams

[00:20:16] and you know it's just

[00:20:18] one of my I think my most

[00:20:20] unpopular opinions

[00:20:22] is that I think that students really grow

[00:20:24] by doing exams

[00:20:26] so like you watch them

[00:20:28] I've watched them through that like

[00:20:30] particularly like what we've got coming up now

[00:20:32] in the next week period

[00:20:34] and you see year 11 students

[00:20:36] some of whom you know may have been like

[00:20:38] you say like mucking about

[00:20:40] for a couple of years and all of a sudden

[00:20:42] you see them like turning to adults

[00:20:44] almost overnight

[00:20:46] it's quite remarkable

[00:20:48] it is, it's amazing

[00:20:50] and it's like you watch them

[00:20:52] and they turn up at your exam room

[00:20:54] as a 14 year old and their behaviour is not the best

[00:20:56] and then you iron out those creases

[00:20:58] and you get them to mocks in year 11

[00:21:00] and then you get to results day

[00:21:02] and you know what these kids need

[00:21:04] to get on to their next stage of life

[00:21:06] and you know that they need

[00:21:08] three B's to go to the university

[00:21:10] they want or whatever

[00:21:12] and you on the day before like release day

[00:21:14] and you see that they've got it

[00:21:16] and it's just such an amazing feeling

[00:21:18] to know you've been part of that

[00:21:20] you're part of their journey

[00:21:22] in a small way, like whatever way

[00:21:24] but you are part of it

[00:21:26] so yeah

[00:21:28] you know in that year you play

[00:21:30] particularly in year 11 and then in year 13

[00:21:32] again if you have a sixth form

[00:21:34] like you do play really

[00:21:36] a critical part isn't it

[00:21:38] so obviously the early starts

[00:21:40] aren't great, is there anything else

[00:21:42] that gets you go a little bit

[00:21:46] in terms of like least favourite things

[00:21:48] I suppose

[00:21:50] the sheer amount of information

[00:21:52] as exams officers we do have to remember

[00:21:54] and the worry of what happens

[00:21:56] if you get it wrong

[00:21:58] or you make a massive mistake

[00:22:00] like a massive financial problem to a school

[00:22:02] or detrimental to that students career

[00:22:04] going forward

[00:22:06] you know

[00:22:08] and as well a lot of the time

[00:22:10] like I say I was guilty of this

[00:22:12] I didn't know what the row entailed

[00:22:14] and there's so many people that work in a school

[00:22:16] that don't know the pressure that we're under

[00:22:18] and don't understand the job

[00:22:20] they say oh it's your busy time now

[00:22:22] it's always my busy time

[00:22:24] doing nothing for the rest of the year

[00:22:26] but you know that's a

[00:22:28] that's a peeve

[00:22:30] but I don't know and the fact that we're not

[00:22:32] maybe the fact that we're not paid

[00:22:34] to reflect our responsibility

[00:22:36] as well I think we would all probably agree

[00:22:38] with that

[00:22:42] I saw a post

[00:22:47] today on Facebook

[00:22:49] someone said that they had

[00:22:51] just taken the job on

[00:22:53] today

[00:22:55] what now

[00:22:57] we're back to the month

[00:22:59] so I was going to ask you

[00:23:01] Haley what like what your

[00:23:03] like kind of maybe top two or three

[00:23:05] bits of advice for a new exams

[00:23:07] officer might be

[00:23:09] maybe not one of this stage

[00:23:11] but like you know just generally

[00:23:13] yeah I mean I wish them

[00:23:15] the best of you honestly to take this job

[00:23:17] on now they deserve a medal

[00:23:19] honestly but I think

[00:23:21] if they've posted already obviously join

[00:23:23] our Facebook group for exams

[00:23:25] that's vital for any exam

[00:23:27] I think there's so many

[00:23:29] there's always so many things on there

[00:23:31] and there's always someone that will know the answer

[00:23:33] or that will point you in the right direction

[00:23:35] so definitely join that group

[00:23:37] the other thing that I found really helpful

[00:23:39] is that I attend a

[00:23:41] local networking event for exams

[00:23:43] officers in our borough

[00:23:45] and I find that does really help

[00:23:47] it's always good to find the people that do

[00:23:49] your job locally

[00:23:51] make those connections

[00:23:53] emails regularly

[00:23:55] do someone have say for example

[00:23:57] for speaking exams

[00:23:59] if you need a speaking examiner

[00:24:01] if someone cancels

[00:24:03] there's always things like that

[00:24:05] definitely invest in your exam screen

[00:24:07] as well John

[00:24:09] because exam screen has saved my life for exams

[00:24:11] I just like to point

[00:24:13] a plug for exam screen

[00:24:15] I'd like to point out that we did not

[00:24:17] pay Haley to say that

[00:24:19] no no honestly

[00:24:21] for the money that cost

[00:24:23] honestly it was the best 25 quid

[00:24:25] I could have told my school to buy

[00:24:27] 45 now

[00:24:29] oh 45

[00:24:31] still cheap though

[00:24:33] 45 even though

[00:24:35] 45 a month would be good

[00:24:37] no honestly exam screen

[00:24:39] when I had my

[00:24:41] jcq inspection last year

[00:24:43] they were very impressed with

[00:24:45] the exam screen so just to letting you know

[00:24:47] as well

[00:24:49] that's nice

[00:24:51] the other thing is just to make sure you stock up on

[00:24:53] good biscuits and snacks because during exam season

[00:24:55] you're not always going to get to sit down

[00:24:57] and eat

[00:24:59] but just always

[00:25:01] literally I see it as like my diet plan exam

[00:25:03] time because I think I move more

[00:25:05] and I eat less

[00:25:07] how many steps you do

[00:25:09] are you on Haley during exams

[00:25:11] do you reckon how many do you do

[00:25:13] bearing in mind I do no steps

[00:25:15] at other times

[00:25:17] I'm probably up to about

[00:25:19] 15,000 on an exam day

[00:25:21] which is nothing compared to people in

[00:25:23] the exam group that I've seen

[00:25:25] so then I worry I'm doing something wrong

[00:25:27] I never win

[00:25:29] that game of how many steps

[00:25:31] but I guess if you're an hour away from work

[00:25:33] do you drive to work

[00:25:35] I drive to work

[00:25:37] I beat the traffic

[00:25:39] so I know some people are walking to work

[00:25:41] or running to work

[00:25:43] can I just say that John drives to work

[00:25:45] 8 minute walk

[00:25:47] is it 8 minute 8 9 minute

[00:25:49] pass and run

[00:25:51] I always have these like

[00:25:53] noble intentions Haley to

[00:25:55] walk to work

[00:25:57] if I walk to work I could probably do

[00:25:59] 25,000 steps on an exam day

[00:26:01] but you've got to get in so early

[00:26:03] and it's like

[00:26:05] am I going to get up

[00:26:07] 20 minutes earlier

[00:26:09] so that I can walk to work

[00:26:11] or am I just going to try and have another 20 minutes

[00:26:13] so that I can

[00:26:15] just get a little bit more sleep on exam days

[00:26:17] it's not a competition for me

[00:26:19] like I'm driving every day

[00:26:21] yeah

[00:26:23] fire up

[00:26:32] hello

[00:26:34] we just said that's amazing

[00:26:36] honestly

[00:26:38] we've got absolutely plenty there

[00:26:40] is there anything else that you wanted to talk about at all

[00:26:44] no, I'm all good

[00:26:46] as long as you're happy

[00:26:48] that was brilliant

[00:26:50] the stuff about what you've done before

[00:26:52] and all that, so interesting

[00:26:54] yeah, and you're welcome

[00:26:56] yeah just it was brilliant

[00:27:02] aww

[00:27:08] so enjoyed speaking to Haley

[00:27:10] didn't you John?

[00:27:12] yeah it was a fantastic interview

[00:27:14] and it really got us thinking

[00:27:16] about in particular the stuff she said

[00:27:18] about what she'd done

[00:27:20] as an exam's officer

[00:27:22] yeah because quite a few people have mentioned interest

[00:27:24] in things that they've done just before

[00:27:26] it seems to be a job that people

[00:27:28] picked up after doing other things

[00:27:30] I mean like I was saying to her

[00:27:32] I don't think that it's something that you necessarily would think of doing

[00:27:34] but also both of you didn't even know what it was

[00:27:36] when you went for the job

[00:27:38] which I love

[00:27:40] it seems to be a job that a lot of people fall into

[00:27:42] sort of accidentally

[00:27:44] but interestingly as well

[00:27:46] we sort of did

[00:27:48] ask people to let us know

[00:27:50] if they'd done

[00:27:52] interesting or different things

[00:27:54] for some of the responses

[00:27:56] ride operator at Alton Towers

[00:27:58] was I think my personal favourite

[00:28:00] so that was the only shepherd used to be a ride

[00:28:02] operator at Alton Towers

[00:28:04] I really want to know about the transferable skills

[00:28:06] there

[00:28:08] yeah I don't know

[00:28:10] I've just been trying to work it out on my head

[00:28:12] brilliant, brilliant

[00:28:14] well things moving at a fast pace

[00:28:16] quite a lot of prison and police

[00:28:18] work

[00:28:20] the prison one

[00:28:22] so Bryony Stocks worked in a prison

[00:28:24] for 7.5 years

[00:28:26] that I imagine

[00:28:28] is good

[00:28:30] preparation

[00:28:32] and she worked in the exams

[00:28:34] in the prison to be sure

[00:28:36] which is something we've talked about before

[00:28:38] wondering how that works

[00:28:40] so maybe that's something

[00:28:42] we could pick up at some point

[00:28:44] Theresa Pryor

[00:28:46] also pointed out that she's got

[00:28:48] 3 ex-prison officers

[00:28:50] as invigilators

[00:28:52] that must be a walk in the park

[00:28:54] for the invigilators

[00:28:58] yeah some other really good ones

[00:29:00] Bethany Bonestate agent

[00:29:02] now a state agent

[00:29:04] Bethany didn't think that was a great one

[00:29:06] but she doesn't know how much we love

[00:29:08] estate agents

[00:29:10] it's totally my miscalculation

[00:29:12] I really regret it's not becoming a state agent

[00:29:14] I still think I'd be great

[00:29:16] it's mainly because we watch all those

[00:29:18] programs on Netflix

[00:29:20] I mean that means I've done a lot of research

[00:29:22] but yeah I think I'm good at spinning things

[00:29:24] which is the whole point

[00:29:30] there are some other great ones as well

[00:29:32] Jeanette Higgins

[00:29:34] cocktail waitress

[00:29:36] and Jeanette Higgins worked at Woolworths as well

[00:29:38] yeah that was a bit of an off style jet

[00:29:40] yeah yeah pick a mix

[00:29:42] and kitchen items

[00:29:46] so Kim Cherrington

[00:29:48] worked at another one who worked at a police

[00:29:50] police station

[00:29:52] now we get on to my favourite one

[00:29:58] I think we're going to have to maybe get Stephen Payne

[00:30:00] on the podcast because

[00:30:02] it's just so much to explain

[00:30:04] I need more info really

[00:30:06] so Stephen Payne

[00:30:08] has been a martial arts instructor

[00:30:10] a research chemist and this is key

[00:30:12] he played bass

[00:30:14] on Mike Oldfield's

[00:30:16] album Tubular Bells 2

[00:30:18] so he has played bass on a number one

[00:30:20] album

[00:30:22] which is pretty amazing

[00:30:24] and he also

[00:30:26] is the first man

[00:30:28] to cross the Alps on a space hopper

[00:30:30] so yeah

[00:30:32] which I immediately googled

[00:30:34] and yeah read about it

[00:30:36] yeah he's not lying

[00:30:38] I just couldn't believe that was even possible

[00:30:40] I've struggled to understand it

[00:30:42] but I need to hear more

[00:30:44] yeah so Stephen

[00:30:46] if you're listening and you want to come on the podcast

[00:30:48] and tell us about space hopper across the Alps

[00:30:50] Kevin Jackson also told that he was

[00:30:52] a taxi driver

[00:30:54] before being an exams officer

[00:30:56] which I thought was quite interesting

[00:31:00] yeah a couple of

[00:31:02] he's got a couple of

[00:31:04] interesting ones

[00:31:06] so he was a taxi driver

[00:31:08] but also I like this as well

[00:31:10] he says he was a current remover

[00:31:12] from a conveyor belt

[00:31:14] yeah that really quite specific

[00:31:16] now that's attention to detail

[00:31:18] and final one here

[00:31:20] Rebecca Kinan

[00:31:22] says that she ran pubs

[00:31:24] and clubs in the west midlands

[00:31:26] I can see the transferable skills

[00:31:28] there seem to be a lot of people who have done jobs

[00:31:30] where they have to deal with

[00:31:32] dangerous situations

[00:31:34] it goes from quite gentle

[00:31:36] customer service roles

[00:31:38] to the most extreme

[00:31:40] but I think often things where you have to be able

[00:31:42] to stay calm in the face of a storm

[00:31:44] and flappable in whatever is going to be thrown at you

[00:31:46] I guess it makes sense

[00:31:48] but yeah it's just been fascinating

[00:31:50] I mean I was like blown away

[00:31:52] by Hayley saying in that interview

[00:31:54] that she thought that

[00:31:56] being an exams officer was more stressful

[00:31:58] than being a police officer

[00:32:00] I mean that is just

[00:32:02] yeah I can't quite believe that

[00:32:04] but I don't doubt

[00:32:06] you should make everyone feel very proud

[00:32:08] as you go it's half to a better grade

[00:32:10] so before we end though

[00:32:12] John is not going to get away with

[00:32:14] talking about what you...

[00:32:16] because you've had many many different careers

[00:32:18] do you know what one of my

[00:32:20] in-vigilators

[00:32:22] the other day asked me

[00:32:24] what I did before as an exams officer

[00:32:26] and she was there then for about half an hour

[00:32:28] I explained all the various jobs I had done

[00:32:30] and it's funny because I've been

[00:32:32] obviously an exams officer for 12 years

[00:32:34] but in the sort of 10-11 years

[00:32:36] that preceded that I had so many different jobs

[00:32:40] I did all kinds of things

[00:32:42] when I first graduated

[00:32:44] I was a TA

[00:32:46] so learning support assistant for a couple of years

[00:32:48] in a secondary school in south London

[00:32:50] then I worked for the prison service

[00:32:52] which is what I met you

[00:32:54] you wouldn't admit

[00:32:56] I wasn't based in prisons

[00:32:58] I was based in the head office

[00:33:00] did you choose paint colours for prisons?

[00:33:02] no I didn't

[00:33:04] I've worked in energy management

[00:33:06] you did choose colours

[00:33:08] for prison walls

[00:33:10] no that was the person who said opposite me

[00:33:12] she was in charge of choosing

[00:33:14] calming colours for prison walls

[00:33:16] so that was a strange job

[00:33:18] but I did visit quite a lot of prisons during that time

[00:33:20] as well

[00:33:22] anyway John's done lots of different jobs

[00:33:24] the one that he's avoiding talking about

[00:33:26] is

[00:33:28] he was in a band

[00:33:30] at the same time that you were in the prison service

[00:33:32] actually when I met you

[00:33:34] because I met you at one of your gigs

[00:33:36] was a bass player

[00:33:38] I was much like Stephen Payne

[00:33:40] I've never played on a number one album

[00:33:42] but you were in a band called The Shakes

[00:33:46] there's fortunately

[00:33:48] John is quite pleased about that

[00:33:50] there's been lots of other bands called The Shakes since

[00:33:52] so you have to do a bit of digging online

[00:33:54] to find stuff now

[00:33:56] but you're in the top 40

[00:33:58] back is that still a thing?

[00:34:00] yeah well yeah we had one single

[00:34:02] that charted

[00:34:04] what was it? what did it come in as?

[00:34:06] I can't remember

[00:34:08] but anyway John is cringing

[00:34:10] but you had

[00:34:12] you had a record deal

[00:34:14] we played at the Reading Festival

[00:34:16] and my favourite John had a stylist

[00:34:18] called Mercedes

[00:34:20] who

[00:34:22] this is something of an exaggeration

[00:34:24] who would take you to top shop

[00:34:26] and

[00:34:28] choose all your clothes from Topman

[00:34:30] Arnox is great

[00:34:32] anyway

[00:34:34] so there we are

[00:34:36] so John was in a band for quite a while

[00:34:38] I was

[00:34:40] what were the transferable skills

[00:34:42] actually about

[00:34:44] interestingly

[00:34:46] so a few people have said to me

[00:34:48] who produces your podcast

[00:34:50] it sounds very professional

[00:34:52] produces your podcast

[00:34:54] I'm like well I produce the podcast

[00:34:56] and obviously

[00:34:58] because I was in a band

[00:35:00] for a while I know a little bit about

[00:35:02] recording

[00:35:04] but actually we were kind of

[00:35:06] pioneers of podcast

[00:35:08] so I had a podcast back in I think

[00:35:10] it was 2005

[00:35:12] 2006

[00:35:14] was it even called a podcast then?

[00:35:16] it was such a novel

[00:35:18] kind of

[00:35:20] media then

[00:35:22] I don't think many people were doing that

[00:35:24] it was stuff about what we were doing

[00:35:26] as a band

[00:35:28] bits of new songs

[00:35:30] it was quite fun

[00:35:32] I enjoyed it then

[00:35:34] was that for the record company?

[00:35:36] no we just did it

[00:35:38] but what I remember thinking

[00:35:40] at the time

[00:35:42] so this was about 2005-2006

[00:35:44] I remember thinking at the time was

[00:35:46] I just don't think that as a medium

[00:35:48] this is going to take off

[00:35:52] it just seemed like

[00:35:54] it was too much like a radio

[00:35:56] but not really radio

[00:35:58] in my mind I just thought it didn't really

[00:36:00] it wasn't really going to go anywhere

[00:36:02] you always got a finger on the pulse shot

[00:36:04] like new trends

[00:36:06] now podcast obviously like ridiculous

[00:36:08] of the charts so popular

[00:36:10] and so yeah

[00:36:12] we were kind of early pioneers

[00:36:14] so this is how you know what to do

[00:36:16] know how to produce a podcast

[00:36:18] so the band have come in handy

[00:36:20] they have come in handy

[00:36:22] combining exams and being a rock star

[00:36:24] would be possible

[00:36:26] but turns out it's

[00:36:32] thank you so much for listening to the exam man podcast

[00:36:34] we really really appreciate your support

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