Cambridge Teachers Conference

Feedback on the Cambridge Teachers Conference and, in particular, the visit to the Cambridge secure warehouse

Introduction time at the Plenary Session

Welcome Lunch in dining hall at Robinson College

Exhibition tent in the courtyard at Robinson College

Intense discussion in the workshop groups

Closing session on the last day of the conference.

Karen Anderson – El Shaddai Christian School

For feedback on the general conference see my separate “ppt” presentation (available on request).

Our group travelled by taxi to the Cambridge Assessment secure warehouse in Hill Farm Road. The drive took about 20 minutes.

The building looked like a typical warehouse building (a much neater version of “Macro”!) We reported at the reception desk where we were given yellow officials jackets and where we handed in cell-phones and cameras. As we arrived, another group was leaving. Apparently Cambridge gives regular tours of the building.

After a short wait we were met by Peter Rice, who manages the whole operation. He was our tour guide.

Starting downstairs in a massive warehouse hall, we were shown rows of typical warehouse shelving, which was probably about 3 storeys in height. Peter Rice told us that the printing and distribution of all the Cambridge publications and exam papers is done directly from this warehouse. Currently they send out materials with UPS (couriers), due to reliability and cost considerations. UPS has an office in the building as it is a massive contact.

In one section all the printing is done. Exam papers are printed shortly before despatch according to entries made. This is a highly automated process, whereby papers are printed, sorted and packed into boxes, in a system where errors are detected by scanning the barcodes on the papers and on the packets. The scanner can pick up an error at an exact location by paper and packet. There are also scanning machines where staff scan in the exam answer scripts, which is done increasingly as they send out scripts electronically to examiners to mark online. Multiple choice sheets are also scanned in at this facility.

Peter Rice explained that an error can be made more easily by someone checking papers manually and perhaps placing them back on the wrong pile, than by the automated process.

From there he showed us the production of the well-known plastic exam packets, which are also labelled by the machine as they come off the roll. Once the exam packets are sealed they go to the boxing assembly line, where the box is automatically packed and wrapped with plastic after which it is sent to the distribution point. One whole side of the warehouse has despatching doors from which the boxes leave.

After the tour downstairs he took us up to see one of the board-rooms, where there is also a display area for marking art works – shelving at a slant all around three sides of a small hall where the “standards” may be placed and compared to the exam pieces. The adjoining boardroom had a long table with about 30 chairs around it. (Impressive!) Peter Rice said it was one of 8 boardroom facilities spread around the building, used for examiners moderation meetings, etc. He explained that they have just redesigned the exam boardroom facilities and the warehouse is now almost as he wants it.

I was duly impressed. It was good to see the tight security and the volume of work that can be accommodated. Leaving the building we followed the same procedure, past the security desk, receiving our phones, etc. The visit was much appreciated.

The visit confirmed for me that El Shaddai Christian School made the correct decision in following the Cambridge curriculum with its strict security regulations for examinations. One hears in the news of numbers of incidents of papers being leaked in other education systems. With Cambridge one can rest assured that the highest standards are applied to security.

Thanks to ACESA and the El Shaddai Christian School for their support and partial sponsorship which made the whole conference possible for me.

Karen Anderson – El Shaddai Christian School