Dear Colleague,
Here's the message I promised ten days ago, with instructions for downloading the test material. I'm deliberately putting that information at the end of the message because I have a few other items of business to deal with.

• Foundation scripts for trial marking.  I need 10-20 Foundation scripts on Monday (4th Feb) so that I can check the marking scheme that I'll be releasing on Friday. If you can scan the scripts and send them to me, I'll do the marking for you and send you the marks within days; and your colleagues will benefit from a better marking scheme. Please tell me as soon as possible if you can help.
• How to encourage student uptake? If your students are hard to get into the Olympiad, and you want to share ideas with others in the same boat, do join the discussion at http://www.uklo.org/?page_id=1303. (Run down to the comments at the foot of the page.)
• Getting your marker.  We mark all entries at Advanced level, so we will assign you a marker who can deal with whatever numbers you have notified with Martin Edwardes. You should receive an email message from Martin or Jessica this weekend containing the contact details for your marker, so if you have not received those details by Monday, please contact Jessica at jb789@cam.ac.uk, or me.
• Last minute changes in your numbers. If the numbers who turn up for the test are different from the numbers you notified to us, we only need to know about the changes if (a) they involve Advanced candidates and (b) the difference is greater than 5.
• What next? On 25 March, we will announce the 16 winners selected for Round 2 and return Advanced spreadsheets (and your scripts if you supply a stamped addressed envelope). We will produce downloadable certificates of participation at Foundation and Intermediate levels soon after the competition, but by 15 March we will also send schools printed and personalized certificates for all Advanced candidates, including Gold, Silver and Bronze awards.
• The spreadsheet for names and marks. The downloadable material (see below) includes a spreadsheet called xxx_marks_A_2013.xls (which covers the entire range of questions across all levels). This is for you to enter your students' names, genders and NC years, and (in the case of Foundation and Intermediate entries) their eventual scores. Be careful with the names, because what you write is what we shall use in preparing any certificates that we distribute. Use the spreadsheet as follows (this information will be repeated on the website where you download it):
• make a copy for any Foundation or Intermediate entries
• rename each file, replacing xxx by your school's postcode and changing _A_ to _FM_ as appropriate.
• fill in your school's name and postcode (just once - it will automatically copy across the spreadsheet).
• complete the list of names etc for Advanced candidates and send it to your marker. (Careful - see above!)
• complete all the information, including your scores, for Foundation and Intermediate candidates and (please) send Martin a copy.
• Technical point: the first four columns are 'frozen', which means that if you scroll to the right, they stay on the screen but the next few columns disappear. Don't worry if that happens - just scroll back and the missing columns will reappear.
• Running the test. We have just three requests:
• Treat the Advanced test like any serious examination where students work as individuals without access to support such as the internet. You can run the Foundation and Intermediate tests as you want - the main aim at those levels is student enjoyment.
• Treat all the question papers as confidential until we publish them (in late March), because other countries are using the same tests. Do not let competitors take the question papers away.
• Allow 2.5 hours for the Advanced test. We recommend two hours for the other levels, but again this is up to you.
• Provide some extra paper for rough working, and recommend students to bring coloured a set of pens/pencils - very useful!
• Arabic or Shavian? You'll see that question 4 has two different versions: 4a for Arabic, and 4b for Shavian. Shavian is intended as an alternative for students who already know Arabic script. This question is not part of the Advanced paper, so we're happy to leave you to decide whether, and how, to use Shavian. You may even decide your competitors should try both.
• Downloading the test material. Thanks for reading this far; now here's the information you're really waiting for: To download the spreadsheet template and the test material, go to http://www.uklo.org/?page_id=1765 and enter the password which you will receive in a separate email message.
• Good luck!! Don't hesitate to contact Martin or me if something is unclear or if you hit a problem.

Best wishes, Richard

-- 
Richard Hudson (dickhudson.com)