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Written question asked by Damian Hinds (Conservative) on Friday, 29 May 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 2 June 2026. It was answered by Georgia Gould (Labour) on Monday, 8 June 2026 on behalf of the Department for Education.

GCE A-level and GCSE

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department provides on the applicability of Normal Way of Working as a criterion for use of a computer for (a) GCSE and (b) A Level, for pupils who do not have a related physical disability or learning difficulty.

Answer

The department does not issue guidance on access arrangements for GCSE, AS or A level examinations. Guidance for access arrangements is set by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), which is the membership organisation for the eight largest awarding bodies.

JCQ’s Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments guidance sets out that centres can provide a word processor, with the spelling and grammar check and predictive text switched off, to a candidate where it is their normal way of working within the centre, unless an awarding body’s specification says otherwise.

The guidance makes clear that access arrangements are intended to meet an individual candidate’s needs, and must not be granted solely on the basis of preference or familiarity.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
4076
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Computers Pupils GCSE GCE A-level
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk