Exams Administration
Information and resources for exams officers to plan ahead and stay on track throughout the whole exams lifecycle, from entries to results day.
AQA exams officer podcasts
Gemma Miller – our Exams Officer Engagement Manager - brings you a brand-new podcast for our valued exams officers community.
With a new episode every six weeks, each episode will feature an AQA expert to focus on a key topic for that half term. So, grab a cuppa, and absorb this valuable information, at a time that suits you.
Episode 8 – Getting started as a new Exams Officer
In this episode we bring you Petra who is an Exams Officer. She shares her top tips for getting yourselves started in the role, talks about the transferable skills and things she has done to immerse herself in the Exams Officer community.
Features:
Gemma Miller – your host – Exams Officer Engagement Manager
Petra Croft – Exams Officer
To listen to our podcast please select from one of the below services.
Episode 7 – How we mark exam scripts
In this episode we bring you Pete Hawcroft who is our Head of Marking here at AQA to talk to you about the marking process, how it all works and what quality checks we have in place. This is another episode where we bring our experts to you and delve deep into processes which we know you are keen to hear about.
Features:
Gemma Miller – your host – Exams Officer Engagement Manager
Pete Hawcroft – Head of Marking
To listen to our podcast please select from one of the below services.
Episode 6 – getting your scripts to AQA for marking
In this episode we bring you Matt and Rob from our Milton Keynes processing centre to walk us through the process of how a script is processed through scanning.
We talk about improvements to processes for Summer 2026 and some inside knowledge on how things happen here at AQA.
Features:
Gemma Miller – your host – Exams Officer Engagement Manager
Robert Miller – Scanning Centre Manager
Matt Clarke – Reconciliation Manager
To listen to our podcast please select from one of the below services.
Episode 5 – The curriculum and assessment review, getting ready for reform
In this episode we bring you Reza Schwitzer, our Director of Assessment Reform and we discuss the outcome of the Curriculum and Assessment Review published in November and what this means for our exams officers.
Features:
Gemma Miller – your host – Exams Officer Engagement Manager
Reza Schwitzer – Director of Assessment Reform
To listen to our podcast please select from one of the below services.
Episode 4 – Access arrangements and accessibility
In this episode, we bring you 2 experts from within AQA to talk all things Access Arrangements and Accessibility.
We explore the research AQA are doing now and we discuss the answers to your questions.
Features:
- Gemma Miller – your host – Exams Officer Engagement Manager
- Dr Katy Finch – Head of Research and Evaluation
- Dr Chinwe Njoku – Education Insights Lead
To listen to our podcast please select from one of the below services.
Episode 3 – June – Results and Post-results
What does the Post-Results team do outside of the exams series? Who else do the results team send results to apart from our schools and colleges?
This episode explores the world of results and post-results, helping our Exams Officers be ready for the big day. We discuss the answers to your questions and the improvements the Post-Results team have made to their processes ahead of results day.
Features:
- Gemma Miller – your host – Exams Officer Engagement Manager
- Ryan Wellings – Post-Results Manager
- Missbah Shah – Team Leader in Results.
To listen to our podcast please select from one of the below services.
Episode 2 - April – Malpractice
Who are the Exams Integrity team and what is malpractice?
This episode explores the world of malpractice with Nicole from our Exams Integrity team. We talk about the processes, reporting cases of malpractice, and she shares her top tips ahead of the Summer series.
Features:
- Gemma Miller – your host – Exams Officer Engagement Manager
- Nicole Bralsford – Operational Development Manager for Exams Integrity
To listen to our podcast please select from one of the below services.
Episode 1 - March – Non-exam assessment submissions
This episode delves into the Non-exam Assessment process and gives you behind-the-scenes access to our experts. You’ll hear from Philip and Philip to delve into their expertise and answer your burning questions.
Features:
- Gemma Miller – your host – Exams Officer Engagement Manager
- Philip Chrich – Practical Science and NEA Oversight Manager
- Philip Bridgehouse – Moderation Manager
To listen to our podcast please select from one of the below services.
If you have any questions you'd like answered in one of the upcoming episodes, or if you have any feedback, get in touch with the team on examsofficerengagement@aqa.org.uk
Copyright policy for centres
All AQA publications are copyright to AQA and are, therefore, not in the public domain.
General
- This note concerns the reproduction, by approved examination centres; of material held in copyright by AQA (including material produced by its predecessors the Associated Examining Board, Southern Examining Group, the Northern Examinations and Assessment Board, Joint Matriculation Board and the Northern Examining Association).
- All AQA publications, including past question papers, mark schemes and specifications, are subject to copyright and may not normally be reproduced in whole or in part without the prior written permission of AQA. Specific permission must be obtained from AQA in respect of past questions or other materials which it is proposed to include in text books, journals or other publications (see separate Policy on the Use of AQA Material).
- This document covers all material published by AQA in print; on CD-ROM; on Centre Services and on the AQA website unless otherwise stated.
Question papers and mark schemes
- It will not be necessary for centres to apply for permission to reproduce question papers or parts of them, subject to the following conditions.
- The photocopies; print-outs from website downloads or CD-ROM are for use in internal examinations or for teaching purposes within the centre.
- No charge is made to students or others for the copies.
- Where question papers contain third party material (eg maps, photographs, tables, diagrams, prose extracts, quotations) the copyright of which isn't held by AQA but has been released for AQA use, the centre must obtain prior permission direct from the copyright holder (this will be indicated on the question paper or in a separate Acknowledgements Booklet).
Other publications
- Centres are welcome to reproduce extracts from other AQA printed and electronic publications on the understanding that the material is for internal use within the centre only and not sold for commercial gain and on the condition that the extracts do not contain material held in copyright by another body. Where these publications contain third party material the copyright of which is not held by AQA but has been released for AQA use, centres must obtain prior permission direct from the copyright holder.
Specifications
- Centres are recommended to link to the AQA specifications on the website to ensure that they are using the most recent version of the specification. It is the responsibility of the centre to ensure that they are using the correct version. Specifications are subject to change. Specifications may be made available within the centre by downloading copies from the website.
Electronic use
- Centres may use AQA material on their internal intranets, Moodles or VLEs as long as the material is:
- restricted to access within the centre only and cannot be accessed publicly
- materials are used for teaching purposes only
- materials are not copied or offered for sale in any format
- past question papers and mark schemes should not be retained on intranets for longer than 5 years after the examination series
- the integrity of the material must be retained – no alterations or abridgments can be made.
There are serious legal consequences for the unauthorised use of third party material and centres are advised, wherever possible, not to use material subject to copyright. Where this is essential centres must assume responsibility for clearing copyright permission from external sources. Any permissions that AQA has received cannot be passed on to third parties.
Please be aware that centres may be asked to provide samples of this material to AQA.
- Centres may not reproduce AQA material on their public websites.
- Music and MFL CDs and files must not be copied or digitised.
- Secure papers for Mocks - centres must not allow secure papers to physically leave the centre, and this would include not sharing the secure papers to a school intranet that is accessible to students.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AQA does not allow anybody (including schools and colleges) to use any AQA materials to train Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered tools or technologies. This includes question papers, specifications, mark schemes, reports, teaching resources and other such materials. While we understand how useful these tools are, putting any AQA material into an AI tool would be in breach of copyright law, and AQA policy.
Centre Services
Centres must not pass on, upload onto school websites or discuss on any forums/social media platforms (such as Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Google Drive etc.) any AQA publications and particularly any material which is marked as confidential and only available from Centre Services, eg pre-release materials/NEAs for live examinations, the most recent series of past papers, which are kept confidential for one year for the purposes of mock examinations, second or third sets of specimen papers.
Access to Centre Services is for teachers at AQA-registered centres only.
Acknowledgement booklet
- For confidentiality purposes, acknowledgements of third party copyright materials within question papers are published in a separate Acknowledgement Booklet. This booklet is produced after each examination series and is available for free download on Centre Services and at www.aqa.org.uk when the examination papers are made available. Please assume that any examination papers or items within examination papers which are not listed in the relevant booklet are purely the copyright of AQA.
AQA Logo
- As a registered trademark there are strict rules concerning the use of the AQA logo. The current policy of AQA is not to allow registered centres (schools and colleges) to reproduce it either in printed format in brochures and prospectuses or in an electronic format on any website or social media platform.
You can contact the AQA Copyright team with any queries or feedback at copyright@aqa.org.uk