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 of the syllabus affected.
• Candidates absent from a component for acceptable reasons. Apply within seven days of the last exam of the syllabus affected.
• Coursework-related special consideration. Apply before the exam, by the coursework submission deadline.

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

If a candidate is absent from an eligible component for an acceptable reason, we may calculate and award an assessed mark for the missing component. You can find more information, including some of the unacceptable reasons for special consideration, in section 5 of the Cambridge Handbook. We cannot calculate an assessed mark for all components, see below.

What special consideration is available?

Candidates entered into the November 2023 series must:

• have covered the whole course and
• have completed a minimum of 15 per cent of the total assessment by component weighting in the relevant exam series. Carry-forward marks do not count.

Our usual minimum requirements for calculating an assessed mark are that the candidate must:

• have covered the whole course and
• have completed 50 per cent of the total assessment by component weighting in the relevant exam series. Carry-forward marks do not count.

We cannot calculate an assessed mark for the following:

• Cambridge International A Levels where a candidate has not completed any A Level components (A2 Level components) in the exam series
• Any component that does not have a weighting e.g. an endorsed component.
• Syllabuses where a candidate has only completed a component that does not have a weighting e.g. an endorsed component.

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:

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

If your centre does not have access to the ‘Special Consideration’ area of Direct, you can download and then complete the relevant form(s) from the ‘Support Materials’ area of Direct. Email these to info@cambridgeinternational.org

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:

1. Log in to Direct and go to ‘Support Materials’.
2. Download the relevant form(s).
3. Complete and send them to your Cambridge Associate.
4. 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.

Special consideration supplement

We know many of you have questions about special consideration and we have created a supplement (PDF, 122KB) to support you with this and help answer your queries.

Frequently asked questions