Examiner case study: Lyn Reynolds

Lyn lives in Birmingham and has taught for over 30 years. She used to teach at Byng Kenrick Central in Birmingham (now the International School) as well as teaching all over the country in the out of hours environment. Combining the two meant that she only had a fortnight off a year for the three years leading upto 2000 so in 2001 Lyn decided to concentrate solely on extended school teaching, where she could 'inspire young people to do education because they choose to do it'. She is now Extended Schools Coordinator in Birmingham.

Lyn has been an examiner since 1983 and is Team Leader for AQA for GCSE History Specification A Paper 2 Option A American West.

'I first decided to examine because I was newly divorced and needed the extra money. But I kept on doing it because of the insight into the exam process it gave me that I could pass on to the young people I was teaching. It helped change my approach to help young people answer the questions well – I better understood the thinking behind the levels mark scheme and how students moved from one level to another.

As head of department, it was a significant factor in developing colleagues, course work and exam technique to get above national average GCSE history results in a school which got below average GCSEs.

Becoming a team leader helped to ensure that I could help more young people get the most out of their exams. I've been very lucky to work with chief examiners who have clarity of vision and leadership that give you a mark scheme that is easy to use and be clear about. They have a strong desire to allow young people to do as well as they are able to, without lowering standards.

Examining keeps my foot in the history camp which means I can still go back to mainstream teaching with something to offer and do really well by the children.

It also helps keep me rooted in the practicality of the changes in 14–19 learning. It would be easy to become adrift but examining every year and the excellent leadership I get allows me to pick up on the changes.

Examining has really helped my career development. The team leader skills of leading, influencing and explaining things clearly to other adults are absolutely vital in my current job.'