Follow Anna through her day as an AQA examiner. Juggling it alongside her teaching role and the tangible personal and professional benefits she enjoys as a result of returning year on year to work with AQA.
I'm Anna Hunt, I'm an AQA examiner and this is a day in my life.
It's early morning and I've just come downstairs to do my two hours of examining before I start the day. It works really well for me, I like to do it first thing in the morning so I can clear a huge chunk of my daily marking before I even get dressed.
I started examining in 2011 and originally it was to pay for my wedding. We call it marking money and we use it for nice things, those expenses that come that sort of eat into your monthly outgoings that actually the marking chunk can take care of.
This is Beecham City 6th Form and I'm just about to start my school day. I think probably the biggest impact examining has had has been on my teaching. I feel that I'm able to offer a really holistic understanding of the specification to the students from the minute that they arrive in the class at year 12. I think they feel that confidence and that they trust what I've got to offer.
I have in the past been promoted and have worked my way into leadership roles and I'm certain that those leadership roles that I was in were enabled by the fact that I'd got experience with the exam board.
I'm in the staff room just enjoying having a coffee and a relax. Marking has had an impact on the relationships that I've got with colleagues.
When newly trained teachers are working with me I think they find it very reassuring I'm able to explain to them how the mark scheme works, how they should apply it and talk to them about trends and things they should look out for and I think it gives them a confidence. When I speak I speak from experience of both sides of the table.
I've got a couple of free periods and I'm using those to finish off marking the last few scripts and that means by the time I leave work I haven't got any more marking to do this evening.
I would always recommend young teachers to examine papers. The practice, the experience means that you recognise what's in front of you and you can confidently put a mark on something in a way that it's perhaps hardest to do at the beginning of your career without that experience.
If you're thinking about examining don't let anything stop you just do it, just have a go and it really will have a really positive impact on your career and on the students that you teach as well so there's nothing to lose.