Please review the information in these guidelines before making an exam booking to determine whether a digital Performance Grade or ARSM is the most appropriate qualification for you. It is important to understand that we are not able to make any concessions in the marking – all candidates will be treated equally.

If you have questions or specific requirements that are not covered by these guidelines, please contact ABRSM’s Access Coordinator.

It is important that you select the relevant access option on the online booking form for each exam. You should do this even if you have requested access arrangements or reasonable adjustments previously.

If none of the access options cover your specific needs or you have questions about the reasonable adjustments to which you are entitled, please contact ABRSM’s Access Coordinator as early as possible before making your booking.

Please note that we are unable to provide reasonable adjustments where we are notified after the exam booking has been made.

For the majority of arrangements outlined below, we do not require supporting documentation. This is because we are not making changes to the assessment.

Where we do require supporting documentation, you should send this to supportingdocument[email protected]. Please see the Access Policy for further details.

We are aware that you may need to disclose information that is personal and sensitive. To know how we handle your information, please read our privacy policy and information for candidates with specific needs.

Written comments: Marks will always reflect the standard of your performance. However, examiners will aim to avoid comments that may draw undue attention to your specific needs and any reasonable adjustments.

Introducing yourself and your programme: If you are unable to introduce yourself and your programme, or hold up the programme form and your own-choice repertoire to camera, this may be done by the responsible adult or your accompanist. The examiner will only start their assessment once you start to perform.

You do not need to notify ABRSM and no supporting documentation is required.

If you have specific needs, you can select from the following list when booking a digital exam. Please see the notes below for further details.

• Rest breaks required
• Chaperone required
• Prompter required
• Specific learning difficulties (including dyslexia and dyspraxia)
• Autism
• ADHD
• Visual impairment
• Hearing impairment
• Physical difficulties
• Tics

Extra time is not permitted for your performance. That is, your programme should not exceed the published time limit.

However, you may take rest breaks during the performance if your specific needs make this necessary. For example, you may have a physical condition such as arthritis or Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, or you may have a neurological condition or specific learning difficulty that make it difficult to sustain performance for the duration of your programme.

You may take one long rest, or several shorter rests, up to the maximum amount shown below. Please note the times below are the maximum permitted breaks and you should decide what is the optimum length of break for you in each instance. The video should be left running but the examiner will not assess you during these breaks. However, the examiner may assess how you manage the transitions from your performance into your rest breaks and vice versa.

• Grades 1 to 3: 5 minutes
• Grades 4 and 5: 10 minutes
• Grades 6 and 7: 15 minutes
• Grade 8: 20 minutes
• ARSM: 30 minutes

These roughly equate to 100% extra time.

Please select ‘rest breaks required’ when booking your exam.

You do not need to notify ABRSM and no supporting documentation is required.

A chaperone is someone who can provide support or encouragement to you during your performance. The chaperone may sit next to you and may be on or off camera.

Please select ‘chaperone required’ when booking your exam.

You do not need to notify ABRSM and no supporting documentation is required.

We are aware that some candidates may routinely require prompting to start a particular piece or to play pieces in a particular order. This should be undertaken by the responsible adult or accompanist.

While the continuity, sequencing and pacing of the whole performance does form part of the assessment and may be affected by prompting, there are other elements that the examiner can focus on, such as choice and order of repertoire, balance, variety, instrument management, and engagement with the music.

Please select ’prompter required’ when booking your exam and then write to accesscoordinato[email protected] to explain the nature of support that is required.

No supporting documentation is required.

If you have specific learning difficulties you may have the score available for reference in singing and singing for musical theatre exams.

Please select ‘specific learning difficulties’ when making your exam booking.

You do not need to notify ABRSM but supporting documentation is required.

We recognise that candidates with autism and ADHD may find elements of the exam process challenging and these are covered below. While there are no reasonable adjustments we can offer, selecting either of these two options will make the examiner aware of your condition.

Please select ‘autism’ or ‘ADHD’ when booking your exam.

You do not need to notify ABRSM and no supporting documentation is required.

We are aware that you may not be able to make eye contact with the camera, or that you may demonstrate commitment and engagement with the performance in ways that are not visually obvious.

Eye contact is not something that is specifically assessed, and it is possible to show engagement, conviction and communication without it. That said, it may be helpful for you to be aware of exactly where the camera is located in relation to your performing space and your accompanist.

While there are no relevant reasonable adjustments we can offer, selecting this option will make the examiner aware of your visual impairment.

Please select ’visual impairment’ when booking your exam.

You do not need to notify ABRSM and no supporting documentation is required.

We recognise that some candidates with hearing impairments may experience difficulties hearing an accompaniment if playing to a backing track and may have challenges with balance, intonation and ensemble as a result. Other candidates may experience difficulties with interference between the microphone and any electronic hearing aids. While there are no relevant reasonable adjustments we can offer, selecting this option will make the examiner aware of your hearing impairment.

Please select ’hearing impairment’ when booking your exam.

You do not need to notify ABRSM and no supporting documentation is required.

We are aware that physical difficulties may impact candidates in a number of ways as outlined below.

While there are no relevant reasonable adjustments we can offer, selecting this option will make the examiner aware of your physical disability

Please select ‘physical difficulties’ when booking your exam.

You do not need to notify ABRSM and no supporting documentation is required.

You are welcome to perform sitting down and this will not affect the marking.

You do not need to notify ABRSM and no supporting documentation is required.

All candidates are welcome to alter articulation or breathing marks as part of the process of interpreting the score.

In addition, if you have physical difficulties, you are welcome to make small adaptations to the music such as missing out notes where necessary and changing the registration or voicing of chords.

You should aim to maintain the musical effect and the composer’s intentions as far as possible.

You should send any proposed adaptations to us before making your exam booking in order that they can be reviewed.

We may ask to see supporting documentation, depending on the nature of the adaptations requested.

You are welcome to inform us about any difficulties you have that affect the way you hold or play your instrument, including any technical challenges this poses. We welcome the use of adapted instruments that can meet the technical demands of the programme.

You do not need to notify ABRSM and no supporting documentation is required.

We are aware that the increased stress and anxiety around an exam and making a recording may affect any tics you may have. While there are no reasonable adjustments we can offer, examiners will be sensitive to this and it will not affect your mark.

Please select ‘tics’ when booking your exam.

You do not need to notify ABRSM and no supporting documentation is required.

If you are taking a digital ARSM exam, you can select from the list of access options on the booking form. However, this list relates to face to face exams rather than our digital exams, so some of the options may not be relevant. Please select the relevant option and then write to [email protected] with details.

We do not usually require any further information about your specific needs. Selecting the relevant access option on the online booking form will alert the examiner. Examiners are aware of the challenges you may face and the impact that your specific needs may have on your performance. While we cannot take these into account in the marking, examiners will do their best to ensure the mark form comments are sensitive and do not draw undue attention to factors that are beyond your control.

However, if you feel there is information the examiner should have which is relevant to your performance, please contact the Access Coordinator ahead of making your booking.