For teachers, candidates and parents, music exam entry has been especially, even uniquely, stressful in recent years. Alongside endless changes in syllabus requirements and entry procedures, there have been many complaints as all of the boards have faced emergency alternative means of delivering exams in the Covid and post-Covid world. Of course, our musical world is increasingly digital/online in approach, and while this may be welcomed by teachers from younger generations, it is fair to say that a significant proportion of experienced colleagues have found administration of exam entries for their pupils off-putting and often time-consuming, to say the least. Horror stories of poor responses to enquires, the impossibility of scheduling exams at suitable dates and delays in the postage of certificates and results have proliferated.
LCME woes
LCME has certainly had its fair share of complaints from applicants since the pandemic struck in 2020. Happily, since the ebullient interim head Dr Jonathan Drennan was appointed in August last year, LCME has been going out of its way to improve service and communicate with clarity not only on its website but also on social media. Drennan is keen to emphasise that the service now provided is run in collaboration with LCME’s new technology partner, GoCreate Academy. Regular streaming from Drennan on YouTube has certainly clarified what the board wishes to deliver. He has categorically stated that certificates that appeared to have gone astray in the post will be delivered to everyone who passed exams in recent months. He is adamant that improvements mean that mistakes in the past will remain there. Certainly, there is a sense of adjustment, even of repair, from a period of time that was, to be fair, extremely challenging for everyone.
The revised offer
As part of the ongoing adjustments at LCME, digital examinations returned on 27 February. These were extremely popular during the Covid period and now exist as one of three possible ‘products’ or approaches to London College exam entry. If you enter an LCME exam, you can choose to do it live in-person (face-to-face), submit a digital recorded entry, or sit the exam live online from your home, your teacher’s studio, or another venue of your choice. Such flexibility is unquestionably positive, ‘customer centric’ and flexible. There is no doubt that it makes exam scheduling in the ever-demanding 2020s less onerous for teachers as well as for pupils and their families.
With candidates entering for exams in over 95 countries, there is no question that LCME’s relaunch of the live digital exams will be welcomed in regions where it may be challenging to arrange the requisite number of days necessary for an examiner to travel. But the option could be appropriate for teachers living anywhere as they juggle holiday and academic commitments with live exam dates. It is good, too, to find the digitally recorded option still in place, as this could well be more suitable for candidates who wish to focus more exclusively on repertoire for assessment, or for whom the pressures of live performance could prove too much in an exam situation.
I ask Drennan, what are the main advantages of London College’s exam changes? ‘It is essential to offer in-person exams, as before’, he says; ‘reaching out, in person, to our customers is a crucial part of educational and business growth. Of course, we must watch our green credentials too; however, in view of the present high demand for flights, I question whether it is feasible to argue that flying a very small corpus of examiners around the world is grossly affecting the climate. We have put real thought into the pricing of our products: a candidate that does not want to spend more on an in-person exam has the option of entering a less expensive digital option. The advantage of keeping the three exam types is that the varied syllabi lend themselves to varying needs.’
Continued support
For those teachers who have used LCME for many years and may be intimidated by electronic entries and recordings in general, what advice would Drennan give? What support is there for teachers who are not confident with computers and the internet?
‘LCME is very aware of the needs of our stakeholders, especially in terms of digital products. Historically, LCME has been a very friendly board, open to offering advice directly by telephone. Currently, we run 24/7 technical support for candidates experiencing issues with technical matters in particular; in addition, our wide body of reps is on hand to help candidates on their digital journey. In terms of advice, I am regularly reaching out to our candidates, offering support as we move forward.’
View from the top
Drennan came to his current position and remit from a varied musical life as a performer, musicologist, university lecturer and international music examiner; he has examined many thousands of candidates worldwide. He joined LCME in January 2022 as chief examiner, and became interim head in August 2022.
It’s been said that the management structure of LCME is unique. In what way? ‘LCME is different to other UK boards in being part of a university: the University of West London’, he says. ‘This is not always straightforward, as LCME is essentially a business, but it must conform to the structuring of a university. In my position, I have initial responsibility for decision-making. There is also a chief examiner for Speech and Drama. However, the running of the board is, ultimately, the responsibility of management at UWL. All syllabi and anything to do with structural change are brought before various panels within the university structure to ensure that candidates are afforded the highest quality of examination.’
Why are exams still important in musical development?, I ask. ‘We know that music exams are written culturally into our recent history, and we almost take them for granted’, he admits. ‘We also know that other countries produce expert musicians without this exam culture. However, I think that most are in agreement that exams provide structured learning.’
Did he feel that the pandemic dramatically changed society’s attitude to grade exams? ‘Yes, undeniably’, he confirms. ‘The ability to enter an exam in isolation has enabled candidates to bypass the holistic structure of the exam: i.e., sight-reading and aural tests have been rather pushed aside in favour of a purely performance model. Additionally, the ability to provide recordings has facilitated candidate scrutiny. All things told, the candidate has much greater control of the exam content and outcome.’
If you had not changed your approach to exams, would trouble have resorted? ‘In short, yes! We generally think only about candidates, and, of course, digital exams allowed learning to continue in a generally successful fashion. However, we need to spare a thought for examiners: remember that music boards have depended for decades on examiners who have worked methodically in an international arena. The workloads for many of these examiners were severely curtailed during Covid’.
Behind the scenes
Drennan has been chief examiner for less than 12 months but his ebullience seems hard-wired. Can he tell us what has appealed most about the job? ‘I enjoy seeing the positive results of very hard work, of course! Running a business 24/7 worldwide means that working hours do not stop at 5pm; I am often on call 24/7. A very enjoyable part of my job was sitting down again to examine in the Far East recently’.
What further reforms or adjustments would he like to see in place? ‘I personally – not with my LCME hat on – am concerned that, by indulging so strongly in digital exams, we are turning our backs on the importance of live, in-person music. We like YouTube perhaps, but what about live concerts? If we get into a groove of producing musicians who do not learn to adapt on stage when things go wrong, if we neglect the importance of reading at sight (let’s think here of practice pianists, church organists, orchestral musicians) and if we ignore good aural training (let’s think of school teaching), I fear that musical skill-sets will be worryingly denuded. I would like to see music education re-adjusting itself to a greater sense of balance.’
