The Exam Man

John Gaston and Sophie Gaston
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  • Education
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The Exam Man is the number 1 podcast for anyone with an interest in exams, assessment, and education in the UK and beyond. John Gaston and Sophie Gaston, the team behind the exam display tool Examscreen- used in 1500 schools in the UK and internationally- provide listeners with insights and musings on all things assessment, bringing in a variety of voices from across exams, education and beyond, tackling the issues of the moment and looking forward. They explore what we can do to build an excellent assessment system for children, schools, families, and employers, as well as offering a light-hearted take on the business of running and sitting exams. Don't miss out, subscribe today! Wherever you get your podcasts... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. Sep 24

    EXAM UTOPIA

    To usher in the autumn term, we sat down with Idris Fabiyi, an education technology leader whose career has spanned secondary schools and further education. As Head of Innovation & Technology across BPP, Idris brings deep experience in digital learning, similation-based assessment, and emerging technologies to the conversation. We set out to imagine the future of exams and assessment and what it couild look like if we threw out the rule book and dropped all the barriers! What we ended up with was a really thoughtful chat, exploring the gap between what the technology promises and whether the infrastructure and readiness in schools and among students could actually support it, and when. We also do a deep dive into the post-results process that most exams officers are currently wading through, and learn why you should NEVER say 're-mark' to them! Enjoy, #exams #examsofficers #skillable #assessment #bpp BPP is a client of Skillable. Skillable is the trusted pioneer and innovator in hands-on learning and skill validation. In job and organization-tailored scenarios, people develop and validate their skills through live learning experiences that accelerate job readiness and produce performance-based skill data and intelligence. Since 2004, more than 400 global customers have created and launched 60 million labs, using Skillable to practice and validate their skills. To learn more, visit skillable.com. Idris Fabiyi is an education technology leader and Head of Innovation & Technology at BPP, Estio Training and Firebrand Training. With a background in digital learning, cyber security training and emerging technologies, Idris is focused on rethinking how people learn, practise and prove skills. His work explores how AI, immersive labs and simulation-based assessment can better prepare learners for real-world careers. You can listen to all previous episodes of The Exam Man here: https://theexamman.com/episodes and do check out all our exams and accessibility tools here: https://examscreenextra.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    EXAM UTOPIA

  2. Apr 14

    LINSEY ARMSTRONG-SMITH: Exams at Shiplake College

    In this special pre - exam season episode, we chew the fat about all things exams with super experienced Exams Officer Linsey Armstrong-Smith. Linsey shares how she found her way into her current role at Shiplake College in Oxfordshire, what she thinks are the skills and mindset needed to thrive in the role, as well as what she loves and finds challenging about working in exams. We also dig into how she’s gearing up for the looming summer exam season, and she shares her wisdom - and summer survival tips - from her varied career so far. Whether you’re a seasoned EO or just starting out in the role, you’ll find plenty to relate to in this chat with Linsey! #exams #gcses #alevels Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    LINSEY ARMSTRONG-SMITH: Exams at Shiplake College

  3. 12/15/2025

    JCQ with baubles on

    Welcome to a special Christmas episode of The Exam Man, in collaboration with JCQ, In this festive episode, John and Sophie are joined by none other than Margaret Farragher, Chief Executive Officer of JCQ. Margaret is an experienced and respected leader across the public, private and voluntary sectors, with an impressive career dedicated to helping to ensure that students and schools have the very best experience of exams.  We dive into: Margaret's journey through the exam world, leading to her heading up JCQ The power of embracing feedback and being conscious about timing- with students and exams teams always front of mind The key role and aims of JCQ, and the work that goes into it .... all with a sprinkling of Christmas cheer! Whether you’re an exams officer, SLT, parent of exam-doers, this special episode is guaranteed to teach you something you didn't know about one of the most important exams organisations in the UK.  You can listen to all previous episodes of The Exam Man here: https://theexamman.com/episodes. Thank you for listening in 2025, all the fantastic feedback, and for our brilliant guests- Merry Christmas to you all. Cin cin! #exams #examsofficers #examregulation #assessment #jcq #schools Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    JCQ with baubles on

  4. 08/18/2025

    RESULTS SPECIAL: "Contingency mindset", adrenaline junkies & introducing My Big Year

    To usher in GCSE results week, John and Sophie spent a delightful half hour chatting to Jennifer Halpin, Exams Team Leader at David Ross Education Trust, for a special summer episode of The Exam Man. In her role, Jen supports exams officers across the 11 secondaries at DRET, a team which includes one exams officer with 20 years' experience and also exams officers who are brand new to the role.  Hear about how Jen's innovative role came about, what it involves on a day-to-day basis and what she loves about her unique role in exams. In this episode we also learn about the phenomenon of sleepwalking exams officers, how being an adrenaline junkie is critical, and why John loves working at midnight at this time of year. The very wise Jen had some great phrases that we are totally going to steal. Listen to her excellent advice on having a 'contingency mindset', and we loved her description of GCSE results day as 'the Christmas of exams'! Wishing all our listeners a great results week ahead. For anyone concerned, Jen did indeed make the wedding! To learn more about My Big Year do have a look around and sign up for free here: Home - My Big Year More information about David Ross Education Trust can be found here: https://www.dret.co.uk/ The Exam Man is brought to you by the team behind Examscreen- sign up for a free trial! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    RESULTS SPECIAL: "Contingency mindset", adrenaline junkies & introducing My Big Year

  5. 05/01/2025

    SPECIAL EPISODE: Ofqual in the house

    SPECIAL EPISODE of The Exam Man is here! Such a pleasure to speak to Amanda Swann, Executive Director at Ofqual, about the imminent summer exam series and the role of Ofqual- with information aplenty, helpful tips, timely reminders, and uplifting messages of appreciation for those in charge of running exams in schools. Wishing everyone the very best for the next couple of months see you on the other side! #exams #summerseason #gcses #alevels #ofqual #examregulation Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    SPECIAL EPISODE: Ofqual in the house

  6. 03/17/2025

    ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! What we've learned about podcasting

    Celebrating One Whole Entire Year of The Exam Man! How to create a podcast... and what we've learned. The Exam Man podcast- despite originally being planned as a scrappy six- week event for the summer exam season- somehow reaches its first anniversary this week! Over the past year, thousands of colleagues around the world have tuned in every week to listen, learn, and connect. From episodes on every exam technicality and helping students prepare, to how exams run in the US and what on earth is 'special consideration', we've also heard from parents, students, teachers, policy makers, Headteachers, and very many exams officers, sharing their stories and wise words. The Exam Man has become a platform for deepening our shared knowledge of exams and assessment and appreciation for the people who run them, whilst having a whole lot of fun in the process. We've explored a large range of topics and now have a huge bank of free audio content to support anyone involved or interested in the business of exams- you can listen to all episodes and read our blogs at theexamman.com. In this special anniversary episode- which also brings Season 3 to a close- John and Sophie Gaston focus on what they've learned about creating a podcast over the past 12 months, with lessons for others embarking on a similar endeavor. A huge thank you to all our awesome guests and supporters, it has been a joy. Here's to the second year! For more information on Examscreen go to: examscreen.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! What we've learned about podcasting

  7. 03/10/2025

    Could Schools Handle An Exams Overhaul?

    This week on The Exam Man podcast we swing from talking about South Korea's all-in attitude to exams to transforming the exam system- should we? Could we, even if we wanted to? Lisa Greenslade joins us to talk about her experience of transforming at scale in higher education exams. To subscribe to Examscreen go to: Examscreen To read more about the work of TEAMCo- teamcouk.com Find out more about the Suneung (CSAT) in South Korea here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Could Schools Handle An Exams Overhaul?

  8. 03/03/2025

    Exams and Employability

    Exams and employability- do exams prepare young people for the many decades following school?This week we are joined by Oli de Botton, the CEO of The Careers & Enterprise Company – the national body for careers education- to talk everything exams and employability. We had a great chat all about the purpose of exams, and what employers want and need from an assessment system. Oli draws on his vast experience in education in our thought- provoking conversation, including his time as the founding Headteacher of Welcome to School 21 and as a government education adviser. (As an aside, find out why Oli and Sophie Gaston admit to being irritating in their younger days- and why John Gaston agrees!) To learn more about The Careers and Enterprise Company: The Careers & Enterprise Company | The Careers and Enterprise Company Would you like to find out more about Examscreen? Examscreen Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Exams and Employability
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About

The Exam Man is the number 1 podcast for anyone with an interest in exams, assessment, and education in the UK and beyond. John Gaston and Sophie Gaston, the team behind the exam display tool Examscreen- used in 1500 schools in the UK and internationally- provide listeners with insights and musings on all things assessment, bringing in a variety of voices from across exams, education and beyond, tackling the issues of the moment and looking forward. They explore what we can do to build an excellent assessment system for children, schools, families, and employers, as well as offering a light-hearted take on the business of running and sitting exams. Don't miss out, subscribe today! Wherever you get your podcasts... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    John Gaston and Sophie Gaston
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    47
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © John Gaston and Sophie Gaston
  • Show Website
    The Exam Man