The Student Room Group
Competition - post a photo you've taken of nature >>
Competition - post a photo you've taken of nature >>
Competition - post a photo you've taken of nature >>

My experiences with special arrangements during exams (´｡• ᵕ •｡`)

Hi there! I'm togepixels, I'm in year 11 currently doing my GCSE's and I have what is known as special arrangements for my exams so I can get the best possible chance of getting somewhat decent grades.

Though a lot of people may think that special arrangements are unfair - it's actually more about equity.
Imagine it as if you're running a race against me - and I only have one leg. If you were to give me a prosthetic then it'd be a bit fairer - right?

So really all I want to do is raise a bit of awareness about special arrangements for exams, because a lot of people aren't understanding, and it's really difficult for a student already facing difficulties to be told that they don't deserve the extra support.

What types of special arrangements are there?

• Extra time is the most common type of special arrangement, I believe it can only be given as 25% extra, meaning with extra time a 1 hour exam would be 1 hour 15 minutes, or a 2 hour 15 minute exam would be 2 hours and 49 minutes - which is a freakishly long time.

• A smaller room is often given to people who struggle with being in the exam hall, or with a lot of people. This may be because they have to use a computer, a scribe, or a reader, or they can't cope in the hall for other reasons. (That's me!!)

•Students who have really bad handwriting or dysgraphia or another writing disability will be put into a separate room with computers so they can type out exams. These students will have certain logon they must use, so they can only access a basic form of microsoft word, with no grammar of spell checkers.

•A voice-to-text may be used in serious circumstances if the student does not have a lot of dexterity in their hands - meaning they cannot type. Students using voice-to-text will be put in a room on their own with an invigilator .

•At our school we also have support staff who sit next to kids with reading difficulties to read out text for them.

•There's also the basic stuff like cream coloured papers and enlarged papers - but I think that they usually go in the hall?

•I don't know how common this is - but I am allowed quiet snacks during the exam if my blood sugar gets too low.

What are my special arrangements?

I have 25% extra time, and a smaller room as well as the ability to eat during exams.
I think there's about seven of us in the smaller room? I'm with kids who use computers because I feel most comfortable in that room and the typing doesn't really bother me.
We have a normal invigilator as well as a SEN support staff member.
As I've only taken an exam in the hall once, and no one said anything about it, I think it's allowed? But I take squishy putty stuff into the exams to fidget with it and keep my hands busy - if I get too overwhelmed or anxious, I have a tendency to start scratching myself so it's pretty much to stop that from happening.

Why do I have special arrangements?

In the summer between year 9 and year 10 I sadly had a complete breakdown. I'd always been an anxious child, but the idea of GCSE's and life after school terrified me and I didn't want to go through that. Long story short, my family got a visit from the police and after a stay in hospital, I was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and an eating disorder.
I'm now on medication which helps, but I spend a lot of time dissociating which can make exams pretty difficult when you're meant to focus. I also can get severe panic attacks in exams and classroom environments, so my extra time is mostly spent panicking. If I didn't have that time, a huge chunk of my exam would be spent crying, and I likely wouldn't even finish the exam.
The smaller room also helps me feel a lot more confident - I can't really explain it that well, but large spaces make me really anxious and I can't cope. I panic, and I can't breathe, and I scratch myself and rip out my hair and basically my special arrangements mean that I can act as near as I can to a normal person during exams.

How do you get special arrangements?

• Talk to your teachers, head of years, whoever. They can put you in contact with the right people in the SEN department who can assess you.

•if you're under CAMHS, or a similar service, get a letter from your counsellor or psychiatrist (Mine was from my psychiatrist) asking for whatever special arrangements you want. This will mean you can skip assessment from your school.

•Literally just ask. What's the worst that could happen? They say no? And if they do, and you really think you need it you can always contest it.Talk to your GP and get a note or a letter or something.

If any of you guys have special arrangements too I would love to hear about your experiences! (◕‿◕)♡
I believe the special arrangement can be unfair, but it's because they put a huge variety of people into the same boat.

I have high-functioning autism and have an Education Health and Care Plan, like most children with special needs. This automatically qualifies me for 25% extra time. I was offered the ability to use a computer and be out of the hall - I declined those because I wanted the "real hall experience". But my predicted grades are all A*s and 9s, and I'm being stuck into the same bracket as one of my friends who has serious difficulties (including dyslexia) who struggles to get Cs. My autism no longer hinders me in lessons like it did a few years ago, and I talk and act completely normally. I've never used this extra time, and it seems rather unfair that I'm given it whereas a person I know who has minor difficulties doesn't have it.

Also, the invigilators seem to treat people with extra time as if they're stupid (asking "Are you sure?" several times, rushing to help people fill in the front of their papers even though they don't need it etc). Yet most of the people in the hall with extra time are actually quite bright (to be fair it's a biased perspective - the people with serious difficulties are all in a smaller room).

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you