L-R Chair of the Education and Skills Select Committee, Barry Sheerman MP; Jerry  Jarvis, Edexcel Managing Director; and  Financial  Secretary , Treasury,  John Healey MP draw the five millionth script to be processed for onscreen marking. The script belongs to Charlotte Baker, a student from Chatham Grammar School for Boys.

Charlotte Baker, a student from Kent who attends Chatham Grammar School for Boys, will be the surprise recipient of a prize when her script was identified as the five millionth script to be marked by Edexcel using the most advanced onscreen marking process in the world - ePen.

Her script was pulled out of Edexcel’s high tech system by Barry Sheerman MP, Chair of the Education and Skills Select Committee, together with the local MP John Healey, Financial Secretary, Treasury, on Friday 20th January.

Charlotte, 18, sat her Statistics A-level exam with other students at the school and after the exam the scripts were sent to Edexcel’s processing centre where they were booked in and immediately started their journey around the centre.  By Friday evening Charlotte’s answers were already being marked onscreen. 

The digitised script and onscreen marking system has already cut over a week off the whole process by reducing examiners' administration, allowing results to be issued over a week earlier. 

The technology, which enables results-day feedback on a question-by-question basis, has been welcomed by teachers as it allows instant comparisons against peers or national averages and for the first time ever, in 2006 Edexcel will run a pilot for students to see their grades onscreen through home PCs on results day.

Barry Sheerman, seeing ePen technology  processing in action, said: “This is impressive technology has changed the quality and speed of marking.  We need to find other applications for it within education assessment.”

John Healey added: “This international facility in Hellaby, South Yorkshire, with its trained local workforce is applying world class technology and is playing a real and important role in moving the frontiers of marking.  The detail available through Edexcel’s ePen technology enables true personalised learning as the data lets teachers and pupils see how students performed at an individual question level, which will help drive up standards.”

Jerry Jarvis, Edexcel's Managing Director, said: "Edexcel is driving forward the modernisation of the examination and assessment in the UK.  This tried and tested ePen system has now been used to great success and in 2006 we aim to mark in excess of four million scripts onscreen for the first time.

"Congratulations to Charlotte on being the author of the five millionth script.  It's a real milestone for us.  Her digital camera/printer prize will be presented to her very soon."