Special consideration

What is special consideration?

Special consideration is a post-exam adjustment that we make to a candidate's mark. We do this to make allowances for some adverse circumstances, for example illness, bereavement, temporary injury or disruption to an exam.

What types of special consideration are available?

You can submit applications for different categories of special consideration:

Present but disadvantaged candidates. Apply within seven days of the last exam affected.
Candidates absent from a component for acceptable reasons. Apply within seven days of the last exam affected.
Coursework-related special consideration (unrelated to the published component adjustments for June 2021). Apply before the exam, by the coursework submission deadline.

How do I apply?

The following instructions apply to these categories of special consideration:

Present but disadvantaged candidates.
Candidates absent from a component for acceptable reasons.
Coursework-related special consideration.

To apply:

Log in to Cambridge International Direct (Direct).
Go to the ‘special consideration’ area.
Complete the relevant form(s).
Submit them to us by the deadline.

Alternatively, you can download and then complete the relevant form(s) from the 'Support Materials' area of Direct. Email these to info@cambridgeinternational.org

What is being ‘absent from a component for acceptable reasons’?

If a candidate is absent from a component for an acceptable reason we may calculate and award an assessed mark for the missing component.

For the June 2021 series we are also expanding our special consideration process for candidates who, for an acceptable reason, miss some components they were entered for. As long as these candidates have taken at least one component, they can receive a grade. This is a temporary measure in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

For example, you may have candidates taking a syllabus that has three components:

Component 1: You apply for an exemption.
Component 2: Your candidates sit the exam for this component at your centre.
Component 3: Your centre then closes at short notice because of Covid-19.
Candidates are unable to sit the exam for component 3. You apply for special consideration – absent for an acceptable reason.

Apart from in June 2021, the minimum requirements for calculating an assessed mark are that the candidate should:

Have covered the whole course.
Have completed 50 per cent of the total assessment by component weighting in the relevant exam series. Carry-forward marks do not count. If the candidate has completed less than 50 per cent you should still apply and we will consider whether we can calculate an assessed mark.

We cannot calculate an assessed mark for the following:

Cambridge International A Levels where a candidate has not completed any A Level components in the exam series.
Any component that does not have a weighting e.g. an endorsed component.

You can find more information, including some of the unacceptable reasons for special consideration, in section 5 of the Cambridge Handbook.

I am an Associate Centre – how do I apply for special consideration?

You should apply for special consideration using the relevant form rather than via Direct:

Log in to Cambridge International Direct (Direct) and go to ‘Support Materials’.
Download the relevant form(s).
Complete and send them to your Cambridge Associate.
You Cambridge Associate should check your form and email it to us within seven days of the last exam of the syllabus affected.

If you need help you can refer to section 5.5 of the Cambridge Handbook.