14.1 - Eligibility for special consideration

Special consideration is given following a test to ensure that a student who has e.g. a temporary illness, injury or indisposition at the time it is conducted is given some compensation for those difficulties and the circumstances.

A student who was fully prepared for assessment will be eligible for special consideration if:

• performance in a component is affected by circumstances beyond the control of the student, e.g. irrevocable computer crash, recent personal illness, accident, bereavement, serious disturbance during the examination;
• part of an examination is missed due to circumstances beyond the control of the student, e.g. recent personal illness, accident, bereavement;
• special arrangements which were made in respect of a permanent or long-term disability proved inappropriate or inadequate.
  

A student will not be eligible for special consideration if:

• any part of the examination is missed due to personal arrangements including holidays or unauthorised absence from any examination component;
• no evidence is supplied by the centre that the student had been affected at the time of the examination by a particular condition e.g. chronic hay fever.

Students, either individually or as groups, will not be eligible for special consideration if:

• preparation for a component is affected by difficulties during the course
  e.g. disturbances through building work, lack of proper facilities, changes in or shortages of staff, industrial disputes;
• the effect on the final assessment cannot be reliably quantified by AQA.
  

14.2 - How to apply for special consideration

All enquiries must be submitted by the Head of school/centre, an authorised member of staff at the school/centre or the parents/carers of an external student.

Submit the request to AQA on form WCT/SC in Appendix K as soon as possible after the test and not later than seven days after the date of the last component.

You must provide medical or other appropriate evidence in all cases of absence and cases that the school/centre is unable to verify to the satisfaction of AQA.

Requests for special consideration received after the publication of results will normally only be accepted if:

• they have been overlooked at the centre and the oversight is confirmed by the Head of school/centre;
• medical evidence emerges about a student's condition which demonstrates that the student must have been affected by that condition at the time of the test even though the problem revealed itself only after the tests were over.
  

In any event late applications will not be accepted after the date given in the Schedule of World Class Test activities (Appendix A).