Examiners

As an examiner, you’ll mark completed exam papers against a mark scheme. You’ll work as part of a team with a supervisor who will guide you through the process and answer any queries.

Most of our exams are marked on-screen but in some cases you’ll work with candidates’ paper scripts. 

We’ll make sure you are fully trained so you understand the exam process and your part in it. There will also be standardisation activities to make sure you can apply the mark scheme consistently.

The amount of work involved will depend on the level of exam and the type of questions you’re marking.

• Typically, the marking window is 2-3 weeks long and falls within the period May to July.
• The exact number of scripts you’ll mark will depend on the exam level and the script length. As a guideline, you can expect the target to be between 200 and 450 scripts. 
• Fees are dependent on the complexity and level of the paper you are marking. Examiners could earn between £240 to £1,500 for marking a full allocation. We’ll quote specific details and fees when we offer you an examining task.

• A teaching qualification or a degree in a related subject
• Subject expertise
• Teaching experience within the last three years. For some tasks, we also consider PGCE students who have completed the classroom teaching element of their course and/or have QTS status
• The ability to use IT confidently and effectively
• Previous or current teaching experience within the UK education system

You don’t need to be teaching the OCR specification of your subject. We would also be interested in people with current or previous experience of working for other examination boards.

You’ll need to provide a professional reference with your application. We’ll also carry out right to work checks if you are a UK based applicant. 

Want to know more about marking? Read more about online marking and grade boundaries.

Want an idea of what’s involved in examining?

We have a set of trial question papers that you can download, so you have a try at marking using the relevant mark scheme. This will allow you to get a feel of what examiners can face during the marking period.