Access arrangements are requested through your exam centre, which works with Cambridge under Cambridge’s rules. Your exam centre applies for them and confirms them. We can explain the route and help you prepare questions.
This page sets out who is responsible, what to bring to the conversation and how it fits with your revision. If you are entering independently, the private-candidate readiness checklist lists what to ask your independent centre. The page sits within the exam guidance section.
What are access arrangements?
They are adjustments that may be approved so a candidate can show what they know in an exam. Which adjustments exist, who can receive them and how to apply are decided by Cambridge. Your centre applies the rules for you.
Check the current Cambridge documents or ask your centre. Your exam centre is the safest source, because it can point you to the current documents.
Who is responsible for what?
- Cambridge: sets the rules, decides what is available and publishes its guidance.
- Your exam centre: receives your request, tells you what is needed, applies on your behalf where the rules allow and confirms the outcome to you.
- You and your family: raise the question early, share relevant information with the centre and keep copies of what you send.
- Your tuition teacher: helps you practise under the conditions your centre confirms.
What should you prepare before you speak to the centre?
- Write down your experience in exams. Use your own words and real situations, for example “I run out of time in long reading passages” or “I find it hard to concentrate in a large hall”. You are describing what happens, not labelling yourself.
- List your subjects, codes and intended series. Your statement of entry is the most reliable source once it exists.
- Collect anything the school already holds. Teachers may have notes about how you work in class tests.
- Write your questions. Short lists work well.
- Find the Cambridge information your centre refers you to. Start from the Cambridge subject catalogue if you want to look at your subject, and ask the centre for the document that covers arrangements.
What should you ask your exam centre?
- What is the process for requesting an arrangement in my subjects?
- Who at the centre handles it, and who should I speak to?
- What information will you need from me and from my family?
- By when does the centre need it for my exam series? (Ask for the date in writing.)
- How will I be told the outcome, and where will I see it recorded?
- Can I practise with the same arrangement before the exam?
A worked example of a short preparation note
A student writes this before a meeting.
| Item | Example note |
|---|---|
| Subjects and codes | Listed from the entry form |
| What happens in exams | “I read slowly under time pressure and lose my place” |
| What I have tried | “Highlighting key words, practising timed papers” |
| Questions | Process, contact person, information needed, timing, outcome |
This gives the centre a clear starting point, so the student does not have to explain everything from memory in the meeting.
A common mistake
Some families wait until close to the exam to ask. Others assume a school-test arrangement carries over automatically. Whether it does depends on Cambridge’s rules and your centre, so do not assume.
Ask early, ask in writing where possible, and keep a copy of what you were told.
How does tuition fit in?
If your centre confirms an arrangement, you can practise under the same conditions, for example reading with a timer and breaking a long task into parts. A teacher can watch how you work and suggest ways to use the time you have.
We do not assess needs or decide arrangements. Your centre and Cambridge do that.
If you would like practice in your exam conditions, a paid one-hour trial lets an assigned teacher work on your subject with you. See how our tuition works and the subject tuition pages.