The Student Room Group

What exam adjustments can I access if I have a health/medical/physical condition?

If you have a health condition, a medical condition or a physical disability, you may be allowed adjustments during exams so you are not put at a disadvantage due to your impairment. These adjustments may be made to support symptoms of your condition directly or consequences of your condition (such as pain, fatigue or side-effects of medication).

These adjustments should match what support you are typically given in the classroom and during class tests. If your condition is variation, make sure you discuss this with your school so that this can be considered when organising support for your exams.

To encourage independence for students, schools are advised to encourage students to use adjustments like assistive technology or auxilary aids before recommending extra time or support delivered by an additional adult (like a scribe or practical assistant).

Permission to use fidget toys

Rest breaks

Alternative rooming arrangements

Listening to music or white noise

Extra time

Alternative site arrangement OR remote invigilation

Speech-to-text software

A scribe

A practical assistant

Access to a mobile phone

Reply 1

For more information on exam adjustments and support, please see this thread
Feel free to ask any questions about exam access arrangements below or share your own experiences about what adjustments worked for you if you think this will help others 🙂
(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 2

Original post
by DerDracologe
If you have a health condition, a medical condition or a physical disability, you may be allowed adjustments during exams so you are not put at a disadvantage due to your impairment. These adjustments may be made to support symptoms of your condition directly or consequences of your condition (such as pain, fatigue or side-effects of medication).
These adjustments should match what support you are typically given in the classroom and during class tests. If your condition is variation, make sure you discuss this with your school so that this can be considered when organising support for your exams.
To encourage independence for students, schools are advised to encourage students to use adjustments like assistive technology or auxilary aids before recommending extra time or support delivered by an additional adult (like a scribe or practical assistant).

Permission to use fidget toys

Rest breaks

Alternative rooming arrangements

Listening to music or white noise

Extra time

Alternative site arrangement OR remote invigilation

Speech-to-text software

A scribe

A practical assistant

Access to a mobile phone


This is a super helpful summary! Very useful for anyone studying with a medical condition or disability, and also useful for uni students who might not know which adjustments to ask for! Awesome work!

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