28 Aug 2026
Before the exam year gets busy: What will your team do differently this time?
There is something about the beginning of a new academic year that encourages us to look forwards.
There are dates to confirm, information to read, systems to prepare and people to brief. For exams managers/officers and their teams, it will not be long before another exam cycle begins to gather momentum.
Before it does, perhaps there is value in looking backwards.
Not to dwell on what went wrong, but to make sure that what we learned during the last exam series is not lost in the rush to begin the next one.
What did the last exam series teach us?
When we are in the middle of a busy exam series, we often solve whatever is immediately in front of us.
We change a room, find another member of staff, adjust a process, answer a question or work around something that has not quite gone according to plan.
We make it work.
Once the pressure has passed, however, it is easy to move on and forget the temporary solutions, useful observations and promises we made to ourselves about doing things differently next time.
Before the year becomes busy, it may be worth asking:
- What worked particularly well that we want to repeat
- What caused unnecessary pressure
- What did we change or adapt during the exam series
- What could we organise differently next time
- What did we say we would remember for next year
Reflection gives us an opportunity to turn experience into learning.
Are our systems ready?
There are practical things that need our attention as another academic year begins.
Which JCQ documents need to be downloaded? Which documents or notices need to be replaced in exam rooms or the exams office? Are the systems and processes we relied upon last year still appropriate for the year ahead?
It can be tempting simply to repeat what we have always done. However, the previous exam series may have shown us where a small change could make a significant difference.
Perhaps a process created unnecessary work. Perhaps information could have been communicated earlier. Perhaps something that worked perfectly well previously did not work quite so effectively this time.
The question is not simply, what did we do last year?
It is also, what did last year teach us about what we might do differently this time? What did the practicalities teach us?
Sometimes it is the seemingly small things that create the greatest pressure during a busy exam day.
Room allocations that looked perfectly sensible on paper may not have worked quite as smoothly in practice. Staff deployment may have needed last-minute changes. Movement around the centre may have caused difficulties we had not anticipated.
There will also be things that worked brilliantly. Those deserve our attention too.
Ask the people who were involved.
What made their role easier? What caused confusion? What information did they need sooner? What would they suggest changing?
The person doing the job may have noticed something that nobody else could see.
What did we learn as a team?
An exam series is rarely the work of one person.
It relies upon people understanding their responsibilities, communicating effectively and being willing to respond when something unexpected happens.
Looking back may help us recognise where the team worked particularly well together and where greater clarity or support could help next time.
This is not about finding fault. It is about using what happened to make what happens next a little easier.
Have you allowed yourself to stop?
There is one more person who needs to be included in this reflection.
You.
After an intense period, we do not always need to analyse everything immediately. Sometimes we need to stop and allow the experience to sit quietly in the background while we step away from it.
Now that you are back at your desk, perhaps this is the time to notice what has stayed with you.
What are you pleased about?
What did you handle particularly well?
What would you change?
What did you learn about yourself?
What do you want to remember when the pressure begins to build again?
Ready for another year?
There will always be another task to complete, another document to read and another item to add to the list.
Being ready does not mean having everything perfectly organised before the year has even begun.
Perhaps it simply means taking a little of what last year taught us into this one.
Keep what worked.
Change what did not.
Listen to the people who were there.
Make the small improvements while there is still space to make them.
Then, when another exam year begins to gather momentum, perhaps we can face it knowing that we have not simply started again.
We have learned.
And hopefully, there are pens in the cupboard and smiles on.
More from Geraldine
For further reflections and resources for students and staff, visit www.geraldinejozefiak.com