Pupils at Bristol Grammar School experienced exams 1858 style on Tuesday 15 January, when they took part in a special lesson to celebrate the anniversary of it being one of the first schools in the country to sit exams from the 150-year-old University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate, the original name for OCR's parent company Cambridge Assessment.

The Year 7 pupils learnt how lessons and exams would have been 150 years ago, as an ’1858 teacher‘ took them through a typical lesson - in the school's original Victorian teaching room, the Great Hall. Questions were answered in 1858 style, encouraging pupils to act like those from that era. An examiner from Cambridge Assessment (the new name for the Syndicate) joined them with an 'examination briefcase', the contents of which were shown to the class. Pupils then attempted questions from some of the original papers with prizes awarded for the best answers. The lesson was rounded up with a discussion on the merits of 1858 exams v 2008 exams and some very interesting thoughts on what exams might be like in 150 years' time.

Dr Robert Massey, Head of History at Bristol Grammar School, said: "The event really brought the classroom experience 150 years ago to life and allowed the students to compare it with their experience today. It was a real eye opener and a lot of them came up and thanked the teachers at the end for such an enjoyable and educational experience."

Bristol was one of just eight UK centres sitting the first UCLES exams in 1858. The Syndicate was established to raise standards in education by inspecting schools and administering exams for people who were not members of the University. The precise location of the early exams has not yet been traced but they are thought to have taken place in a local school, village or church hall. Unlike today, very few pupils were put forward to sit the exams.

An examiner delivered the papers in person and a set of recommendations were sent to local committees organising the exams, with instructions including taking care that there 'is sufficient means for warming them and lighting them at night'. Subjects sat included English Language and Literature, History, Geography, Geology, Greek, Latin, French, German, Physical Sciences, Zoology, Chemistry, Arithmetic, Mathematics, Drawing, Music and Religious Knowledge (unless parents objected).

Today's successor to the exams of 1858 are those run by OCR, which is part of Cambridge Assessment. It designs, produces and assesses qualifications including GCSEs, A Levels and a wide range of vocational qualifications, to learners of all ages through 13,000 schools, colleges and other institutions.