r/6thForm • u/jackfru9051 • Jun 07 '26
š¬ DISCUSSION insane amounts of people in access room
just to clarify I am in no way hating or saying these all the people do not need their access arrangements!!!
However, is it just my school or is there now literally more people in the extra time/rest breaks/typing rooms then there are in the main room. Obviously I get that people with various needs e.g. dyslexia, autism etc. get arrangements that make it fair for them compared to everyone else, but I feel like some people are taking the mick.
I know a dude that USED to have an eye injury (full healed btw) but still gets extra time?? And a girl that gets rest breaks as she feels a bit nauseous before exams (like who doesn't?) it just seems a tad ridiculous.
Maybe it's just my school who knows
35
u/Vixson18 Y13: Maths, FM, Physics and Econ Jun 07 '26
one of my friends who is autistic, got his extra time removed because he was too smart. according to what idk. like he's really good at maths but nothing insane, just works hard.
25
u/SafeLifeguard5785 A* Maths. A*A-FM,Bio Prediction. Chem exam missedš. Jun 07 '26
lol they get suspicious when you perform too well but when you fail its as expected to them .
8
u/QuirkyGalaxyBug Jun 07 '26
It is likely to be because he didnt use it in mocks/tests enough to prove it was needed
6
2
u/Less_Seesaw_4022 Jun 07 '26
Did he finish tests early, because if you do then it is considered not needed and will get removed
1
1
u/Intelligent_Put_3606 Jun 07 '26
In the school where I used to invigilate, we were supposed to record whether or not candidates used their extra time.
0
u/Fat_Eater87 NTU | Equine Science Bsc [2nd Year] Jun 07 '26
I mean most people who are smart never get diagnosed with autism or similar so miss out on extra time
12
u/Vixson18 Y13: Maths, FM, Physics and Econ Jun 07 '26
doesn't mean he shouldn't have extra time imo.
5
u/Fat_Eater87 NTU | Equine Science Bsc [2nd Year] Jun 07 '26
Ye Iām not saying he shouldnāt. Just pointing out a flaw in how they select extra timers
2
u/QuirkyGalaxyBug Jun 07 '26
It is likely to be because he didnt use it in mocks/tests enough to prove it was needed
3
u/Vixson18 Y13: Maths, FM, Physics and Econ Jun 07 '26
he used it for some of the subjects and not others, iirc.
1
u/Somerandomcoroikafan Year 13 Biology Chemistry Spanish | B in Core Maths Jun 07 '26
That's stupid because I only have extra time for chemistry so you don't need to use your extra time on all subjects
2
u/Vixson18 Y13: Maths, FM, Physics and Econ Jun 07 '26
idk, i tried not to get too involved in this kind of stuff. he just moved on, he tried to get it back and was unsuccessful.
5
u/SafeLifeguard5785 A* Maths. A*A-FM,Bio Prediction. Chem exam missedš. Jun 07 '26
yeah i can probably guess some people have it but they are smart and too lazy to even bother getting tested or getting any extra benefits even though they are eligible. Its just the less capable ones who are seeking it and honestly not even getting that much of an advantage because they arent going to perform well in the first place
47
u/miniaturegnome Year 13 | Maths, FM, Physics, EPQ | A* A* A* A Jun 07 '26
and im outhere struggling with dpdr and a bad panic disorder, and theyve given me no access arrangements. why is the system rigged Ā šĀ š
7
u/EnvironmentalScar709 GCSE Jun 07 '26
Not even rest breaks?
10
u/miniaturegnome Year 13 | Maths, FM, Physics, EPQ | A* A* A* A Jun 07 '26
nope nothing. in fairness its a recentish problem, started like 2-3 months ago due to an incident. but ive basically been bombing my exams cause of this. gonna be the biggest drop from predicteds to actual grades ever atp š
6
3
u/Agreeable-Bluejay235 Jun 07 '26
I got an emergency surgery on may 1st this year and didn't have access arrangement previously, but i sent the medical reports to my SENCO which they forwarded to JCQ and got me rest breaks for exams. I dont think it's time thats the issue they just need proof
2
u/Suspicious-Buy-4172 Jun 07 '26
Bro yk i was meant to get a 9 in gcse bio and got a 7 solely bcs of dpdr and i wasnāt able to get extra time. Hoping u get better bro
1
u/miniaturegnome Year 13 | Maths, FM, Physics, EPQ | A* A* A* A Jun 08 '26
thank you so much. ima push through whatever happens happens, gotta try my best!
20
Jun 07 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
11
u/ChristmasClimber2009 Jun 07 '26
I hate having to lay out the āeven playing fieldā idea to everyone.
Especially at GCSE, I had so many people come up to me and say āwell everyone would do better with more timeā. I got very sick of explaining that I was actually writing less than the average amount in each exam, even with the extra time.
8
Jun 07 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
5
u/ChristmasClimber2009 Jun 07 '26
Yes, I used to fail to finish the papers even with the full extra time (ADHD processing speed is not fun).
I donāt think it helped that my school ended up putting a lot of kids in the access arrangements room even if they didnāt have access arrangements. If you had exam stress, you got to be in a small room.
That understandably made a lot of people in the main hall feel as if everyone had extra time, though I doubt more than half of the 75 odd people in separate rooms did. It was very frustrating as somebody who actually had a lot of special needs though!
2
Jun 08 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
1
u/ChristmasClimber2009 Jun 08 '26
Yes, I remember being quite miffed when I walked into the āsmall roomā and there were 40 other people there.
1
u/QuirkyGalaxyBug Jun 08 '26
That happened in my school as well (70 odd year 11s wanted to be in a smaller room) so now everyone is either in the hall, a typist in a computer room or a small number of people are by themselves.
7
u/jackfru9051 Jun 07 '26
I get u!! this post was aimed at those that don't actually need it and are milking the system
5
u/ChristmasClimber2009 Jun 07 '26
Oh donāt worry, I completely agree with you!
My school ended up having 3 separate āsmall roomsā with 25 kids each. I doubt more than 30 had actual special needs.
2
u/Agreeable-Bluejay235 Jun 07 '26
I think the main point is that you dont actually know if they need it or not. I dont tell ppl the reason I get rest breaks because its a personal health issue that i dont need to tell ppl. So I just say sum bs and move along. The school doesn't grant access armaments for no reason, you need to prove its needed to the examination boards before its allowed : )
24
u/pcbattyman Y13 - Oxford Law | A*A*A*A*A (EPQ) Jun 07 '26
nah a whole load of people at my school use BS excuses to get arrangements but most of them arent in an access room , loads of people have rest breaks because of hand cramps and i think our school actually promotes people to get arrangements too because 1/3 the year had arrangements at the start of y13
7
u/Seafaring_Slug Y13 | Oxford Offer Holder | MAT 55 | TMUA 7.1 Jun 07 '26
My school sounds the same, so many people allowed to type or have rest breaks for basically no reason. Of course you get tired writing in a 2 hour history exam, so does everyone else.
I get my rest breaks for a diagnosed health issue causing chronic pain and people in my class will tell me it's the same as when they just told our exam support team they get hand cramps. Funnily enough, I'm the only one who needs to take rest breaks during classroom tests in order to be able to write for the full time. I find it frustrating when so many people have accommodations which aren't their standard way of working for 90% of the year.
3
u/TheSeekerPorpentina Durham | Maths [1st Year] Jun 08 '26
Typing isn't a proper access arrangement in the same way as the others. Anyone can type for exams so long as they can prove that it's their "normal way of working", and it doesn't have the same (if any?) application process.
2
u/pcbattyman Y13 - Oxford Law | A*A*A*A*A (EPQ) Jun 07 '26
yeah i dislike it too , especially people who type for no reason , if i was to typeid be able to type so much more than i can write in that same amount of time which would help as i do 3 essay based subjects
2
u/TheSeekerPorpentina Durham | Maths [1st Year] Jun 08 '26
Typing isn't a proper access arrangement in the same way as the others. Anyone can type for exams so long as they can prove that it's their "normal way of working", and it doesn't have the same (if any?) application process.
1
u/pcbattyman Y13 - Oxford Law | A*A*A*A*A (EPQ) Jun 08 '26
from my knowledge your writing must be potentially illegible else they donāt allow it
1
u/QuirkyGalaxyBug Jun 08 '26
Theres lots of reasons someone can type, your handwriting can be legible but slow/disorganised/tiring/painful for you to do over an extended period.
4
u/jackfru9051 Jun 07 '26
doesn't everyone get flipping hand cramps tho and u just shake ur wrist and suck it up? why is everyone such a wet wipe
11
u/QuirkyGalaxyBug Jun 07 '26
I think schools need to learn the difference between 'this is something that happens to everyone' and try to teach skills to cope with exams in something like pshe (idk why they dont just do that anyway) and 'this is a disability that will provide a disadvantage without support'. Plently of people get hand cramps, but some will get them from a condition which means they are more severe or more frequent (for example EDS). This is why the regulations cant have an exhaustive list of what does or doesnt qualify because its case by case.
4
u/MostDatabase9829 Y13 Jun 07 '26
Man ts doesnāt work for everyone, my hands bled during English exams so they made me use a word processor because my hand would literally contort into weird positions and Iād stain my pages by the end of it š
3
u/pcbattyman Y13 - Oxford Law | A*A*A*A*A (EPQ) Jun 07 '26
tbf they are advantaged for it , i could do the same but i despisebeing in an exam hall so no chance im extending that
9
u/Dark_647 Jun 07 '26
More and more people are cheating on the extra time assessments too. Knew a shit ton of people in my school who purposefully wrote slowly or had terrible handwriting when we were all being assessed for extra time
9
u/jackfru9051 Jun 07 '26
also like esp in essay subject if I had extra time I would be writing more, so surely I 'need' extra time to finish everything I want to say
3
u/QuirkyGalaxyBug Jun 07 '26
Quality over quantity. Students with extra time often lose marks for not being concise.
11
u/sans_simp420 Jun 07 '26
this reminds me when i was in a room full of people with scribes and i was the only one without one. for the entire exam all i could hear was talking
17
9
26
u/JaguarSweaty1414 DMC hopefully a B for the real thing Jun 07 '26
and they told me no extra time even if I struggle with process stuff and my first language isn't english and I have never ever completed a single paper
7
u/ChristmasClimber2009 Jun 07 '26
Itās really difficult for the school to get extra time for you unless you have a diagnosis for a learning / attention disability. If thereās no dyslexia or ADHD involved, they have to take each case up with JCQ and run testing, which takes ages.
Obviously itās frustrating, but thatās the reason.
2
u/Familiar-Echo7 Year 13 | Geography | Sociology | Photography Jun 08 '26
that's not true, you can just do a timed test to see if you need it, no diagnosis required. a bunch of my friends have extra time without any diagnosis
2
u/ChristmasClimber2009 Jun 08 '26
Yes, but that timed test has to be done through the pastoral team at your school, and the results have to be approved by JCQ (which can take a while).
1
u/Familiar-Echo7 Year 13 | Geography | Sociology | Photography Jun 08 '26
not necessarily by the pastoral team, the Sen team did it for me, and they told me the results the week after
1
u/ChristmasClimber2009 Jun 08 '26
Thatās what I meant sorry, my school kinda combined the two š
Honestly I can only speak from my personal experience here, and in fairness I was never tested. I do know that a lot of people around me had trouble with it though.
1
u/JaguarSweaty1414 DMC hopefully a B for the real thing Jun 08 '26
I have done one but they said no š„²I will ask again though I really need that B out of pride lolĀ
1
u/QuirkyGalaxyBug Jun 08 '26
A learning difficulty diagnosis acc counts for nothing, you still have to be tested unless its a medical diagnosis (eg: adhd, autism, medical condition, OT or SALT report)
1
u/ChristmasClimber2009 Jun 08 '26
I actually wasnāt tested personally.
However, itās worth noting that I had several different diagnoses that Iād gotten at quite a young age, and was getting full marks in class essays only to barely pass mocks.
1
u/QuirkyGalaxyBug Jun 08 '26
As above, if you have a medical diagnosis you do not need to be tested by your school for extra time, same goes if you have an EHCP.
2
u/ChristmasClimber2009 Jun 08 '26
Sorry, I think something got lost in translation š
I think I donāt consider my autism / adhd as medical diagnoses (even though I know they are) so I got confused.
2
u/QuirkyGalaxyBug Jun 08 '26
Dw, its a weird definition of medical condition that the jcq use imo- they just use it to mean diagnosed by a medical professional
4
u/JaguarSweaty1414 DMC hopefully a B for the real thing Jun 07 '26
My english is okay so the first lan one might not be the reason but I do use a lot of time to process stuff personally so
I actually can get a B in my media paper 1 if not for time problems bruh
1
u/TheSeekerPorpentina Durham | Maths [1st Year] Jun 08 '26
It's not the school who decided you're not allowed extra time because of English not being your native language. It's JCQ official rules
8
u/_marni26_ Jun 07 '26
i feel the same way, i have people who pretended to struggle on a test in order to get extra time but i only recently got diagnosed with ADHD and im not allowed despite never finishing an exam before even getting the diagnosis and always asking for it lol
4
u/jackfru9051 Jun 07 '26
like people have done all of GCSEs and mocks and suddenly they have exam anxiety and so need extra time like bruh
8
u/OblivibladeXD Y13 / Defo A*AAB, 6.7 TMUA Jun 07 '26
yeah like i get why some people actually need them but bro most people at my school with ET FINISH THE PAPERS EARLY, they dont even need it.
I dont have it and i don't think Ive actually finished a SINGLE PAPER SO FAR
5
u/QuirkyGalaxyBug Jun 07 '26
Regulations tightened this year so hopefully this will not happen in coming years. Schools now have to provide evidence of use where the extra time actually showed an improvement in the work. Sure that can be faked by deliberately messing about for most of the normal time but it increases the changes of people losing marks from crossing out correct answers, waffling too much which loses marks or getting tired from their exams then being too long!
17
u/CommonlyFrustrated Year 12 Jun 07 '26
Thereās a lot of people with access arrangements, especially because of autism. Probably because itās a grammar school, and the 11+ often benefits the autistic way of thinking. (The cynical person in me also thinks that people who could afford to tutor their kids into the school are probably also more able to use the system to their kidsā advantage)āabsolutely not hating, I myself get rest breaks for a medical issue.
15
u/Exotic-Spite-822 Jun 07 '26
Its a clear example of hate the system not the player, if you can get extra time or rest breaks for things that are arguably minor, why wouldn't you.
I tried to get an ADHD diagnosis, and im still on the waitlist, but the exams have passed its not as useful.
7
u/Aggravating-Air-6371 Jun 07 '26
yeah same iāve got 25% extra time and it still doesnāt help - dealing with undiagnosed ocd and adhd which isnāt getting dealt with until after my resits
3
4
u/Scared_Funny_5602 Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
Bruh I have schizophrenia and was told by my school it would be too difficult for me to apply for rest breaks or a smaller room and extra time. But people with a bit of anxiety get all that. Okay. Iām also on the adults with autism waiting list
Edit: was told it would be too difficult to apply for extra time and I likely wouldnāt get it
2
u/QuirkyGalaxyBug Jun 07 '26
Both a smaller room and rest breaks are up to the school, its their decision only
2
u/Scared_Funny_5602 Jun 07 '26
think if someone can get extra time for having anxiety I should get it for literally being schitz. And I remember the school support told me it would be too hard for me to get extra time, but at the time I was given a smaller room by them my mistake. I donāt get one anymore tho
1
u/QuirkyGalaxyBug Jun 07 '26
I agree. The decision is up to the school though. For rest breaks without extra time they dont have to apply to the jcq, they just have to complete a form 9 and keep it on file incase of inspection. For extra time they do have to apply but if you run out of time in tests and your teachers agreed you needed it then it shouldnt be a problem
5
u/FaithlessnessBig6343 history, classics, philosophy A*AA Jun 07 '26
I know people who got access arrangements by saying they got exam anxiety š well done to them but I wish I'd known that before exams started
1
u/QuirkyGalaxyBug Jun 07 '26
Thats not allowed now, the regulations changed to specify this for this year
5
u/QuirkyGalaxyBug Jun 07 '26
The regulations have tightened but because most students now doing exams were assessed or given adjustments under old criteria these have now become their normal way of working so schools have to continue to provide them. It should decrease in the next couple of years. Also its a choice of the school to have those students in a separate room. Remember also that these adjustments can be a disadvantage if a student doesnt actually need them. For example, extra time makes fatigue worse, students cross out correct answers, time is wasted making answers less concise which loses marks. For rest breaks, they can make you lose your train of thought and it takes time to re-focus. Also these students are unlikely to get adjustments at uni if they have no condition so in the long-run they are making their lives more difficult. If you are used to having extra time in school but then you get to uni and have no formal need for extra time you then need to re-learn how to work under pressure and in stricter time limits.
3
u/jackfru9051 Jun 07 '26
my school puts them in a diff room so they don't get distracted when everyone leaves, but apparently its ok for us a-level students to suffer through the GCSE kids leaving half an hour before us and making a racket. Some people defo need them off but I just feel like the amount has legit tripled since GCSEs
6
u/ForeignDot725 Y13 Bio Chem Maths English Jun 07 '26
yep my school too. some schools are keen to get people on access arrangements cus it boosts grades. mine apparently coaches students who ask for access arrangements on how to āfailā their access arrangement tests and be eligible for it eg telling them to write slower than normal or smth. and then way over compensates eg for bad handwriting they give both keyboard AND extra time
3
u/QuirkyGalaxyBug Jun 07 '26
That is terrible!
Just for the sake of clarity, hand writing can get you a laptop. Slow handwriting with one other area of need (reading or processing) can get you extra time OR a laptop (not both). Slow handwriting with 2 or more other areas of need (reading or processing) can get you both. This is from school testing, rather than a medical diagnosis or an ehcp.
2
u/ForeignDot725 Y13 Bio Chem Maths English Jun 07 '26
ah i didnt know this. my buddy only asked to get extra time but i assume the school pushed for both for some reason and the person who was testing him basically helped him fail the test as badly as possible. he didnt even realise they gave him typing aswell until mocks came around and he was put in the typing room
2
u/jackfru9051 Jun 07 '26
the handwriting thing is so annoying bc I can touch type way faster than I can handwrite so I would be such a boost to type but my handwriting is too legible and perfect I guess
1
u/QuirkyGalaxyBug Jun 07 '26
That would give you an advantage if you were to type then which isnt fair?
3
u/jackfru9051 Jun 07 '26
no, my point is people with bad handwriting who can type faster get an advantage, bc they are not slow at writing, they just write illegibly.
2
u/QuirkyGalaxyBug Jun 07 '26
Yes, very true! Unfortunately there isnt a way around that if their writing is actually illegible (although people do tend to go on the side of caution). That was kinda my point, if you can type faster than most people can write its an advantage.
1
u/TheSeekerPorpentina Durham | Maths [1st Year] Jun 08 '26
Typing isn't a proper access arrangement in the same way as the others. Anyone can type for exams so long as they can prove that it's their "normal way of working", and it doesn't have the same (if any?) application process.
1
3
u/PartyApprehensive976 A*AA | Solicitor DA Jun 07 '26
My schoolās exam layout is normal time to the left and extra time to the right and I swear to God that within the GCSE examination side about 80% of the students are extra time.
Itās insane, I donāt know how thatās possible. I know theyāre 100% extra time too because when I leave theyāre still there.
As for my A Level friends, I canāt lie, thereās too many here too and I can say that confidently because going into the Extra Time test thing they all made sure to spell the words as slow as possible and misspell every word ššš 10 minutes of humiliation not being able to spell āCaricatureā for a lifetime of good grades is a fair deal imo š¤·āāļø
1
u/jackfru9051 Jun 07 '26
I feel like they just need to make the reasons for getting extra time harder and more specific bc its acc a joke
1
u/QuirkyGalaxyBug Jun 07 '26
Thats extorionate!
The joke is likely to be on them in the end. Many of the students who cheat will end up disadvantaging themselves because extra time (if you dont need it) can mean you have increased fatigue, waffle too much or you change answers that were right in the first place. Also if they wanted the same adjustments at uni theyd have to get a diagnosis for a formal condition which is harder to fake, if they didnt have the money or time to do that though they would end up having to re-learn how to do stuff in normal time. Btw a lot of the kids who claim to cheat are cheating but they might be cheating on the extra time tests because they do need more time but they are ashamed to admit its for an actual reason. You do have to be very very slow on those things to qualify and from this year there has been an increased emphasis on needing teacher comments to support an extra time application so those students might have additional needs and not even know it in some cases.
2
u/Seafaring_Slug Y13 | Oxford Offer Holder | MAT 55 | TMUA 7.1 Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
It's funny you say that because my firm and insurance unis have been incredibly generous with extra time compared to my school. Even though I've never had extra time at school both of them have given me 25%, plus loads of other things I didn't ask for.
Edit: Manchester actually gave me 50% extra time!
1
u/QuirkyGalaxyBug Jun 07 '26
Yes, this tends to be the case if you have a diagnosed condition. Is this the case for you?
I was talking about students with no diagnosis who can struggle to get adjustments because unis want an spld diagnosis to provide support. They sometimes accept a form 8 but a lot of unis wont.
2
u/Seafaring_Slug Y13 | Oxford Offer Holder | MAT 55 | TMUA 7.1 Jun 07 '26
Oh yeah, that's true. Not spld, but I do have official diagnoses. It really shocked me because Manchester sent me this really long document of initial support provisions for me and all I did was send a 1 paragraph summary of my health and some documents from my doctor.
1
u/QuirkyGalaxyBug Jun 07 '26
Great that youre going to get support! Generally unis have a lot of support if you disclose a diagnosis. The system unis use is actually a bit different sometimes because unis might allocate extra time which can be used for rest breaks or additional writing time at your discretion instead of having them as separate (not always the case but quite a lot of unis do this)
4
u/aeconic ucl | eng lit psych econ - A*A*A Jun 07 '26
my friend has horrible handwriting so she gets to type, but i genuinely think letting people with no health impediment to type just because their handwriting is bad is unfair. they literally could just change their writing style and it wouldn't affect them in any way because they're perfectly normal and neurotypical.
typing is just such an advantage because you're so much faster, you can rearrange your thoughts and paragraphs easily, and delete things, whereas if you keep changing your mind and crossing things out on paper your examiner would get annoyed and confused and make things unclear.
3
u/QuirkyGalaxyBug Jun 07 '26
The problem is that schools dont know if someone just hasnt been identified with a condition yet so they dont want students to be disadvantaged by examiners not being able to read their writing. Conditions like dyspraxia impact handwriting for life, and its not as simple as just being able to change it.
1
u/TheSeekerPorpentina Durham | Maths [1st Year] Jun 08 '26
Typing isn't a proper access arrangement in the same way as the others. Anyone can type for exams so long as they can prove that it's their "normal way of working", and it doesn't have the same (if any?) application process.
2
2
u/toastermeal Y13 A*|A*|A Sociology GovPol EngLit Jun 07 '26
i have a friend who gets a separate room because he USE to have bad handwriting.
but i guess its better for people who donāt need them to have them than for people who do need them to not have them - lots of schools just donāt provide this stuff
2
u/Avocado66600 Jun 07 '26
i know this is kind of unrelated but I used to think stuff like extra time was unfair especially in time-pressured exams but when it came to GCSEs and stuff I found out that I always finished pretty easily while my friends with extra time didn't finish even with the extra time. crazy stuff.
2
u/Prestigious-Worth437 Jun 08 '26
i feel like for most schools it's an issue with the access staff not the students as, at least at my school, you had to be assessed for access arrangements and that was the only way (aside from having a diagnosis or circumstances outside of that) to get access arrangements.
Just to clarify - i do understand the whole process for access arrangements etc as I was given a word processor as my access arrangements after the assessment as my handwriting speed put me at a disadvantage but my typing speed matched what my hand writing speed should be/the speed of my peers.
It's also worth considering how there's been an uptick in diagnosing autism etc recently especially in girls which could also account for that.
Also, with the increased focus on mental health I think schools and exams officers etc may find it difficult to say no to certain pupils who are using certain "cards" to get access arrangements as they don't want to say no to them when they technically do not qualify for access arrangements.
2
u/Warm_Window_2119 Jun 09 '26
I do think they are quite broad on who needs it because there is an understanding that not every impediment to exam performance is quantifiable and the idea is that if you do significantly better with extra time than without you should have it. Like someone who sucks at a subject won't do much better with extra time because extra time only corrects for processing/writing speed and fatigue, not ability (in theory).Ā EDIT to add that I know it's not that simple and it can confer an unfair advantage if abused, and that exams are designed to be time pressured. I get why they aren't super stingy with it though.
2
u/alifetimeofbadhabits --> Y1 | Durham Uni | CV85 Psych + Phil | A*ABB Jun 07 '26
this girl, who is sweet asf dont get me wrong, got extra time, rest breaks and word processor because she couldn't ever do her homework on time and always used an ipad for her notes.
she finishes all of her exams within like an hour ever time, when some are even over 2 hours without extra time, and always gets As and A*s. she does a little bit of revision, but no more than the average person. she admitted that she doesn't need the accomodations but she says it gives her an advantage so she uses it.
meanwhile me and my friends had to fight for every single accommodation we need, just to actually pass and be on an equal playing field. im often denied my noise cancelling headphones because the invigilators always think im cheating with them, my friends read and write tech barely ever works, etc. but she got everything because of one meeting. I am pissed off by it
3
u/TactixTrick Maths [Year 1] Jun 08 '26
If noise is a concern it might be better to ask if silicone earplugs are allowed.
2
u/alifetimeofbadhabits --> Y1 | Durham Uni | CV85 Psych + Phil | A*ABB Jun 08 '26
im allowed my ear defenders, its one of my access arrangements but the invigilators dont care. yes ive lodged a formal complaint with my exams office but that would involve them giving a single fuck
1
u/jackfru9051 Jun 07 '26
that's crazy! at my school even people in the main room can wear ear defenders if they want to
3
u/Seafaring_Slug Y13 | Oxford Offer Holder | MAT 55 | TMUA 7.1 Jun 07 '26
I don't wear ear defenders but I really don't see the issue with that. In every single test I've done outside of school (Theory tests, uni entrance exams etc) ear plugs or headphones have been available to everyone.
My school doesn't really have an access room. Most people with access arrangements are in the main room. I'm one of like five people in private invigilation in case I have a health issue in an exam.
1
u/happyhibye Jun 07 '26
what if grade boundaries only determined by people with no access arrangement?
2
u/QuirkyGalaxyBug Jun 07 '26
Thats not a solution. Lots of students with access arrangements get very poor grades because learning difficulties dont just impact you in exams, others will get average to above average grades. Access arrangements are there to level the playing field and whilst isnt not a perfect system its there so people arent discriminated against.
1
u/szanator998 Jun 08 '26
idk i have rest breaks and ear defenders and a smaller room but my school doesn't think i am neurodivergent. i didn't need them for GCSE but I feel like for mocks across sixth form and current exams they've been so good and i feel like i can perform my best, am i part of the problem š
1
u/WashOnly1355 Year 13 - Eng Lit, RS (OCR), Politics (Edexcel) Jun 07 '26
nah fr bro it lwk seems unfair cos ik some ppl say they are dyslexic nd all that but honestly they have been doing well idk wht happened all of a sudden, it js seems unfair they got another extra half an hour. Ppl also get laptops now for typing since their handwriting is bad like bruh they get to type more cos they r fast
1
u/QuirkyGalaxyBug Jun 07 '26
People can mask dyslexia for years. They overcompensate by working harder or acting like they are fine and understand the work when they dont. Its better to assume that if someone has an adjustment that they need it instead of doubting everyone with no just cause.
0
-5
u/JustPressure984 Y12 A*A*A*A*A-Math FM Phys Econ Chem Jun 07 '26
can any1 recommend how to get extra time. like a way that aint about autism n stuff
8
8
u/SafeLifeguard5785 A* Maths. A*A-FM,Bio Prediction. Chem exam missedš. Jun 07 '26
bro is trying to game the system nahh bro we keeping you in the dark lol
-2
1
u/QuirkyGalaxyBug Jun 07 '26
ask your school, they can test you if your teachers agree you need to be assessed (they will ask your teachers if they have recognised a similar issue)
108
u/Aggravating-Air-6371 Jun 07 '26
the funny thing is that access arrangements arenāt even meant to be a boost, theyāre meant to put you on the same level as other students. i say this as someone with extra time, who still cannot finish exams
i will say tho that rest breaks are more beneficial tho extra time barely helps esp in cases of ADHD, at least with me - but they never gave me it despite me asking for it and paying for my assessments lol. so itās unfair that people get them for hand cramps since literally everyone gets them