At Edexcel, we have successfully recruited all of the markers required to mark all test subjects and conducted training for around 11,000 markers at 100 training sessions. Marking is now under way and going well.

However, some of the training events were oversubscribed, which meant that we had to contact a small number of markers to ask them to attend on another day andor venue.

I do appreciate the inconvenience this caused, and am sorry that we lost some markers as a result. We did offer extra pay and reimbursement of expenses, and I am pleased to say that most of those whose training was affected were able to attend on alternative dates and are now marking for us.

This is the first year that Edexcel has marked these tests and we are taking additional steps to ensure that marking is high quality and pupils receive the results they deserve.

These include a threefold increase in the number of scripts sampled to monitor marker accuracy and extra checks andre-marking of key stage 3 English scripts. We value the contribution of all markers and are striving for continuous improvement in the logistics of training so many people.

John Kelly

Operations manager for

national curriculum tests

Edexcel

128 Long Acre, London WC2