Additional support

ACCA is committed to ensuring that no student is disadvantaged in their examinations because of any special educational need, disability or temporary injury. In order to ensure this we make special access arrangements to enable all students to access our exams.

Requests for access arrangements will be considered in accordance with the UK Equality Act 2010. This requires reasonable adjustments to be made where a disabled person or a person who has suffered accidental injury or acute illness (whether short or long term) would be at a substantial disadvantage in taking an examination compared to someone who is not disabled.

An adjustment may not be considered reasonable if it involves unreasonable costs, timeframes or affects the security or integrity of the examination. In most cases it will not be reasonable for adjustments to be made to assessment criteria within an exam (the learning outcomes we wish to assess) as to do so would undermine its integrity and effectiveness in providing a reliable indication of the knowledge, skills and understanding of the student. An example of an adjustment that may be considered unreasonable, would be the provision of a paper based exam in place of a computer-based exam where students are required to demonstrate skills in the use of technology. To make this provision would mean changing the assessment criteria for the exam and would, therefore, undermine its integrity. Further information on ACCA’s transition to computer-based exams can be found in How ACCA exams have evolved over time (PDF, 97kb).

In line with the Act, disability includes people who have:

  • Cognition and learning needs
  • Communication and interaction needs
  • Sensory and physical needs
  • Social, mental and emotional needs
  • Unforeseen medical circumstances.

To help all students demonstrate their competence in the areas being assessed in our examinations, each request will be considered on an individual basis by our experienced team. ACCA also works with a number of external agencies to ensure our awareness and assessment capability is both relevant and up to date, allowing us to make adjustments that are both appropriate and work in the best interests of our students.

How to apply

Acceptable forms of documentation must be up to date and relevant, for example:

  • A headed letter signed and dated from your GP or hospital, Maternity Notes or Maternity Certificate
  • Certificate of Registration on your local council’s register of Blind or Partially Sighted people
  • Psychological Report: A psychological or a Diagnostic Assessment Report 

All of the above must contain:

  • Your diagnosis
  • Whether it is a short or long term condition
  • Recommendations of what support you require for your examinations

Please note: To protect you and ACCA, we no longer accept word documents. Word documents are not secure as they are editable.  Please upload your document in a supported format.  We also cannot accept copies of medication, fit notes and/or prescriptions as medical documentation.

Requests should be submitted, along with the required supporting documentary medical evidence via the additional support portal on MyACCA. 

To help you submitting your request we have a short video to show you.

Access arrangement requests must generally be submitted to ACCA by the standard entry closing date although there are some instances where a request is needed earlier. Requests received after this date may not be able to be processed in time for you to sit your examinations at that session. Requests relating to unforeseen accidental injury or acute illness should be submitted as soon as possible.

If you advised us of any specific needs during your initial registration we should already have a record of your requirements.

Outlined below are the types of additional support which may be appropriate for specific groups of individuals along with any specific exam conditions which may apply. They are examples for illustrative purposes only and not intended to be exhaustive.

The following addiitonal support may be appropriate for students falling into the following categories of need:

Evidence required

Students should note that the following types of evidence are required to support any application for additional support:

  • Headed letter signed and dated by your medical practitioner.
  • Certificate of registration on your local council’s Register of Blind or Partially Sighted people.
  • A psychological or a Diagnostic Assessment Report.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)