October and November are all about providing local face-to-face support, so we Customer Support Managers are attending lots of network meetings. Here’s my typical week:

Monday...

My week begins slightly differently this morning – I spend an hour and a half on the M25 to meet a group of Heads of Departments who are considering delivering Cambridge Technicals. I tell them all about our 2016 suite and receive lots of positive feedback; hopefully we’ll have some new schools or colleges joining us!

After the meeting I travel to our London computer science teacher network event. These after-school sessions are led by our Subject Advisor Team and provide teachers with the opportunity to discuss aspects of the specification and share best practice. We have a really positive group discussion about non-examination assessment (NEA).

Tuesday...

I have a slightly shorter drive this morning to attend the Watford exams officer network. It’s a relatively new group which seems to grow every time we meet. We have some interesting discussions around the practical implications of reviews of marking for centre-assessed marks: how this will impact timelines for submission and working in partnership with other schools.

Time to grab a quick bite to eat and then off to the first of this year’s Science teacher networks. Thank you to Nicola Percy at Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls for hosting – it’s always great to see so many teachers taking the time after school to attend.

Wednesday...

Out again today to meet more exams officers, this time at the Haringey network. Lovely to hear some positive feedback regarding the speedy turnaround for our reviews of marking.

After the network I head into Lambeth for this term’s History network. Colleagues in the History team have managed to secure The Migration Museum as a venue. A great setting and we’ll hopefully be using the museum later on in the year as it’s definitely created the perfect environment to talk History!

After battling London traffic, I’m home for 7.30pm and it’s time to go play football. I find after sitting in traffic it’s the perfect way to end the day!

Thursday...

I’m off to Cambridge this morning, for an exams officer network with a bit of a difference. With help from colleagues, I’ve organised a tour of our print and distribution centre, DC10. Michelle Barnes and her colleagues from the Hampton exams officer network travel across for the tour, which provides a unique insight into the processes involved in an examination series. The exams officers tell me they’re all amazed at the complexity of the set up – and now understand why we don’t use treasury tags!

Friday...

I actually manage to not have any meetings today, giving me an opportunity to sit at my computer and prepare for the following week’s network meetings. I also get a chance to respond to the queries I’ve gathered over the last few days. It’s been a very busy week but having the opportunities to meet people face to face and the variety of meetings means no two days are ever the same – which makes all the hours sat on the M25 worthwhile!

About the author

Assad Razzaq - Customer Support Manager (London and Greater London)
Assad is the Customer Support Manager for London. The Customer Support Team provides support, training and guidance for centres administering OCR qualifications. Assad joined OCR in 2014, as the Regional Account Manager for London, before becoming a Customer Support Manager in April 2017. Prior to OCR he worked for a FE college for six years.