How to Get Extra Time in GCSE and A-Level Exams: A Parent's Guide

Extra time in GCSE and A-level exams is one of several official access arrangements for students with a recognised learning difficulty, disability or medical condition. These arrangements are applied for and managed by the school — not the family — and must be submitted to the relevant exam board before a set deadline each academic year.

What are access arrangements?

Access arrangements are formal adjustments to standard exam conditions that allow students with a disability, learning difficulty, or medical condition to access assessments on the same footing as their peers. The framework is set by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) — the body that brings together AQA, OCR, Pearson (Edexcel), WJEC, and the other main UK exam boards — and applies to GCSEs, A-levels, and most other regulated qualifications.

A fundamental rule governs all access arrangements: they must reflect the student's normal way of working in school. They cannot be applied for as a last-minute measure before important exams. The school must demonstrate, through documented classroom practice, that the arrangement is already how the student accesses their learning day to day. The school's SENCO (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator) and exams officer coordinate all applications.

Who qualifies for extra time?

Extra time is available to students whose disability or learning difficulty significantly affects their ability to access an exam under standard conditions. The key test is not the diagnosis itself but its functional impact — whether it meaningfully affects the student's ability to read, write, process information, or manage time in timed assessments.

A diagnosis alone is not sufficient to grant extra time. The school must show both a qualifying need and a history of the arrangement being used in lessons.

What evidence does the school need?

For the majority of access arrangement applications, the school must hold evidence across three areas:

1. A diagnosed disability or learning difficulty — typically documented through a specialist assessment carried out by a qualified educational psychologist or a specialist teacher holding the Assessments Practising Certificate (APC). The assessment must usually have been carried out within the last three years, though exceptions apply for stable, lifelong conditions such as a permanent physical disability or long-standing visual impairment.

2. A history of the arrangement as normal classroom practice — the school must demonstrate that extra time (or another arrangement) is already being used in lessons and internal assessments. Evidence is gathered by the SENCO through teacher observations, internal exam records, and the student's learning support plan or SEND Support Plan.

3. Evidence of a significant attainment gap — for most applications, particularly for extra time, the school must show a measurable discrepancy between the student's underlying ability and their performance under timed conditions (for example, below-average reading speed or writing speed relative to their age group). Standardised assessment results are used to document this.

For temporary conditions — such as a broken arm shortly before exams — or exceptional personal circumstances, shorter-notice applications can be made directly to the exam board. The standard route, however, requires sustained documentation built up over time.

How does the school apply for access arrangements?

The application process is managed entirely by the school on the family's behalf. Parents cannot apply directly to exam boards. The typical sequence of steps is:

1. Identify the need early — the SENCO flags the student through routine monitoring, or a parent raises concerns; teacher observations and internal assessment results begin to be gathered
2. Commission or carry out a specialist assessment — the school arranges an assessment by an educational psychologist or APC-qualified specialist teacher; some schools carry this out in-house, others refer families to independent assessors at the family's cost
3. Document normal way of working — the SENCO records the use of the arrangement across subjects and internal assessments over time; this evidence file is crucial to the application
4. Submit via JCQ's Access Arrangements Online (AAO) system — the school's exams officer registers the arrangement through the JCQ's online portal, typically by the 21 February deadline for external qualifications in the summer exam series
5. Confirm the arrangement with parents — once approved, the school notifies the family, and the arrangement is applied across all papers in that series

What other access arrangements exist beyond extra time?

Extra time is the most commonly granted access arrangement, but the JCQ framework includes a wide range of other provisions:

• Reader — a human reader (or assistive software) reads the exam paper aloud to the student; useful for students with dyslexia, visual impairment, or processing difficulties
• Scribe — a human scribe records the student's spoken answers; commonly used for students with physical disabilities, dyspraxia, or very slow handwriting speed
• Word processor — the student types their responses rather than writing by hand; must be used offline and without spell-check unless spell-check itself is an approved arrangement
• Rest breaks — scheduled breaks during the exam that do not count as additional time; the exam clock pauses during a rest break
• Separate room — the student sits the exam in a smaller room away from the main hall; often combined with other arrangements to reduce distraction or noise
• Prompter — someone who can prompt a student with attention difficulties to re-focus, without providing any assistance with the content
• Transcript — a copy of the student's handwritten work is made after the exam if legibility is a concern
• Enlarged print — the exam paper is printed in a larger font (typically 18pt or 24pt) for students with visual impairment
• Coloured overlays or coloured paper — used for students with visual stress or Meares-Irlen sensitivity

Many students are granted a combination of arrangements. A student with dyslexia and significant anxiety might receive 25% extra time, use of a word processor, and a place in a separate room — all applied together.

What happens on exam day?

Once access arrangements are confirmed, the school's exams officer handles all logistics. Students with extra time typically sit in a smaller room or a dedicated access arrangement room separate from the main examination hall, both to preserve the integrity of the arrangement and to avoid disturbing other candidates.

The exam paper is identical to the one used by all other students; only the conditions differ. If a student has a reader or scribe, that person is provided by the school and briefed on JCQ rules about what assistance is and is not permitted. Any technology (such as a word processor) must be pre-approved and must be set to offline mode with autocorrect and grammar-check disabled, unless those tools have themselves been approved as separate arrangements.

What should parents do if they think their child needs support?

If you believe your child has a learning difficulty, disability, or medical condition that is affecting their performance in timed assessments, the best first step is to contact the school's SENCO directly. Explain your concerns and ask:

• Whether your child has already been identified as having additional needs on the school's SEND register
• What evidence the school currently holds from classroom observation or internal assessments
• Whether a specialist assessment has been arranged or can be recommended
• What the school's timeline is for submitting access arrangement applications

Act early. The 21 February deadline for summer exam series applications arrives faster than most families anticipate. Specialist assessments can take weeks or months to arrange, and the school needs time to build the documented evidence of normal classroom use before it can submit. Starting this conversation in Year 9 or early Year 10 — not in the spring term before GCSEs begin — gives the school enough lead time to support a strong application.

Frequently asked questions

How much extra time does a student typically get?

The most common allocation is 25% additional time. For a 1 hour 30 minute paper, that means an extra 22 minutes and 30 seconds, bringing the total to 1 hour 52 minutes 30 seconds — in practice usually rounded to 1 hour 53 minutes. In some cases, where a student has a more significant disability or need, 50% extra time may be granted. The amount is determined by the SENCO based on assessment evidence and JCQ guidelines, not by parental request.

Can parents apply for extra time themselves?

No. All access arrangement applications must be submitted by the school through JCQ's Access Arrangements Online system. Parents cannot contact exam boards directly about individual students. However, parents play an important role in the process: raising concerns early, sharing medical or psychological assessment reports the family holds, and ensuring the school has a full picture of their child's needs at home as well as in lessons.

How early should we start the process?

Ideally, begin the conversation with the school's SENCO by the end of Year 9 at the latest — earlier if concerns have been present since primary school. Applications for summer GCSE series access arrangements must be submitted by 21 February of the exam year. Working backwards from that date, the school needs time to gather evidence, commission or carry out a specialist assessment, and document the student's normal way of working across subjects and internal assessments.

Does extra time apply to mocks as well as real exams?

Schools are strongly encouraged to apply confirmed access arrangements in internal mock examinations, partly because doing so helps build the documented history of normal classroom use that formal applications require. However, this is at the school's discretion for internal assessments — it is not a JCQ-regulated requirement for mocks. If your child's access arrangements have been confirmed, ask the school explicitly to apply them in all mocks as a matter of routine, both for fairness and to build familiarity with the extra time before real exams.

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