Special consideration question

You can ask but without any medical confirmation that you suffer from an anxiety related health issue I doubt anything will come of your request. Did you report the problems to the exams staff at the time?

Reply 3

Alevel2022

Original post by xx_princesca_xx

Can I request for special considering if I was having a panic attack during an exam but without medical evidence of menatl health conditions? This is for an a level exam with aqa.

Maybe

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 4

McGinger

20

Original post by xx_princesca_xx

Can I request for special considering if I was having a panic attack during an exam but without medical evidence of menatl health conditions? This is for an a level exam with aqa.

Talk to the relevant exam admin person at your school.

Reply 5

exex!

12

Hey

It sounds as though the exam you are talking about has already happened, in which case, I don't know if there is anything the school/college can do afterwards, but I would still recommend emailing them to check as they might be able to help.
If you have exams upcoming and you think you might experience more panic attacks in those, then I would recommend asking your school if you are eligible for rest breaks.
I was given 'rest breaks' in case I had a panic attack / felt very anxious in an exam. I let the exams department at my college know that I was very anxious about exams and that I had started taking medication, and they let me know that I could have rest breaks. I don't think they had to ask the exam board for special considerations for me to have them, although I may be wrong. I didn't have to give a doctor's note either, but I'm not sure this is the case across the board.
The rest breaks mean that I can have 5 mins every hour to close my paper and do some breathing exercises. If I have a panic attack, this means I don't lose time from my exam as the this will get added back on at the end by the invigilator. For me, I have to stay in my seat, but I know that this is dependent on the exact arrangements made for you by your school, so I know some people able to step outside the room with an invigilator in this time.
I personally have not used my rest breaks in my exams so far, as my medication has been helping my anxiety, but just the thought that I have them stops me from getting so worked up as I know that I have the opportunity to stop and stay calm, if I did need them.
I'm not sure if you will be eligible for these, but I would definitely recommend emailing the exams or learning support teams at your school/college to see if they are able to help.
Best of luck to you for the rest of your exams :smile:

Reply 6

123livvyx

5

Hi for myself my dad passed away 6 months prior to my gcse exams. Not only that but I have had to quarantine for almost another 4 months on top of lockdown and have had shocking attendance this year of about 60% as a result of mental health. My school has applied for special consideration to be added to my exams. Do you think i am likely to get even something like 2% added onto them. Thank you.

Reply 7

Original post by 123livvyx

Hi for myself my dad passed away 6 months prior to my gcse exams. Not only that but I have had to quarantine for almost another 4 months on top of lockdown and have had shocking attendance this year of about 60% as a result of mental health. My school has applied for special consideration to be added to my exams. Do you think i am likely to get even something like 2% added onto them. Thank you.

Very sorry to hear you lost your dad. I am sure that was devastating. Sounds like you have had a really tough year.
Special consideration is given to a candidate who has temporarily experienced illness, injury or
some other event outside of their control at the time of the assessment. It is applied when the
issue or event has had, or is reasonably likely to have had, a material effect on a candidate’s
ability to take an assessment or demonstrate his or her normal level of attainment in an
assessment. Special consideration isn't really designed to compensate for the sort of disrupted education you have experienced so it's difficult to predict what they might decide. I'm sure whatever sixth form or college will take it in to account when assessing your results and application for next year.

Reply 8

m_040106

Original post by gdunne42

Very sorry to hear you lost your dad. I am sure that was devastating. Sounds like you have had a really tough year.
Special consideration is given to a candidate who has temporarily experienced illness, injury or
some other event outside of their control at the time of the assessment. It is applied when the
issue or event has had, or is reasonably likely to have had, a material effect on a candidate’s
ability to take an assessment or demonstrate his or her normal level of attainment in an
assessment. Special consideration isn't really designed to compensate for the sort of disrupted education you have experienced so it's difficult to predict what they might decide. I'm sure whatever sixth form or college will take it in to account when assessing your results and application for next year.

Hi.

I have autism and was diagnosed in late 2022 (so when I was in Year 12). However, my parents never told me about my diagnosis and I never applied for extra time because I didn’t know that I was entitled to it.

I found out I had autism soon after the deadline for extra time in January passed.

I ran out of time frequently in my exams and this negatively impacted me. Could I apply for special consideration as I was clearly disadvantaged due to a medical condition?
Will I get special consideration?

Reply 9

Original post by m_040106

Hi.
I have autism and was diagnosed in late 2022 (so when I was in Year 12). However, my parents never told me about my diagnosis and I never applied for extra time because I didn’t know that I was entitled to it.
I found out I had autism soon after the deadline for extra time in January passed.
I ran out of time frequently in my exams and this negatively impacted me. Could I apply for special consideration as I was clearly disadvantaged due to a medical condition?
Will I get special consideration?

I don't think you could successfully apply for special consideration because you did not request the access arrangements that you could have had. Talk to your exams officer who has expertise in this area and can consult with the examiners if they need to.

Reply 10

m_040106

Original post by gdunne42

I don't think you could successfully apply for special consideration because you did not request the access arrangements that you could have had. Talk to your exams officer who has expertise in this area and can consult with the examiners if they need to.

But I didn’t know that you had to apply for this.

This isn’t my fault or my school’s fault; if anything it’s my parent’s fault for not telling me that I was diagnosed with autism and now that I have confronted them about it they said that they were unaware about extra time and that you had to apply for it.

But, to an extent, it could be my school’s fault as I notified them about it just before my exams started and they said it was too late to apply. However, the government website says that schools are obliged to report things like this even if they are late to the exam board which they didn’t do.

Reply 11

Original post by m_040106

But I didn’t know that you had to apply for this.
This isn’t my fault or my school’s fault; if anything it’s my parent’s fault for not telling me that I was diagnosed with autism and now that I have confronted them about it they said that they were unaware about extra time and that you had to apply for it.
But, to an extent, it could be my school’s fault as I notified them about it just before my exams started and they said it was too late to apply. However, the government website says that schools are obliged to report things like this even if they are late to the exam board which they didn’t do.

It doesn't matter where the fault lies, I don't think the special consideration process could be successfully used in your case. The policy states:

2.3 Candidates will not be eligible for special consideration if preparation for, or performance in the examination is affected by:
2.3.16 a disability or learning difficulties (diagnosed or undiagnosed) unless the disability or circumstances exacerbate what would otherwise be a minor issue at the time of the assessment, i.e. difficulties over and above those that previously approved access arrangements would have alleviated;
2.3.17 failure by the centre to process access arrangements by the published deadline.

https://www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Guide_to_spec_con_process_2223_FINAL.pdf

Talk to your exams officer or SEN coordinator who should be able to give you the best/latest advice.

(edited 10 months ago)

Reply 12

m_040106

Original post by gdunne42

It doesn't matter where the fault lies, I don't think the special consideration process could be successfully used in your case. The policy states:
2.3 Candidates will not be eligible for special consideration if preparation for, or performance in the examination is affected by:
2.3.16 a disability or learning difficulties (diagnosed or undiagnosed) unless the disability or circumstances exacerbate what would otherwise be a minor issue at the time of the assessment, i.e. difficulties over and above those that previously approved access arrangements would have alleviated;
2.3.17 failure by the centre to process access arrangements by the published deadline.
https://www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Guide_to_spec_con_process_2223_FINAL.pdf
Talk to your exams officer or SEN coordinator who should be able to give you the best/latest advice.

Please could you give me a concrete answer as to when the deadline for a school/centre to apply for A-level special consideration in 2024 is, especially for Edexcel and AQA. I ask because I have phoned them and searched on Google but they give different responses and it is very confusing.

Reply 13