21 May 2021
This week’s update includes a reminder about alternative venues and shares our special consideration supplement for the June 2021 series. You can also find updates on the November 2021 series about component exemptions, adjustments and question paper security.
June 2021 series
Alternative venues
If your circumstances unexpectedly change due to the Covid-19 situation and you think a candidate will be unable to sit their exam at the arranged venue, please contact us as soon as possible and mark your request as urgent. If you work with us through a Cambridge Associate or the British Council, please contact them in the first instance.
In some cases, we may be able to help you arrange an alternative venue for your candidate - for example:
- another Cambridge International registered centre
- a college or university
- a school
- a hotel conference room
- a conference centre
- a hall or sporting venue.
Please note that any suggested alternative venues must meet our security requirements as laid out in section 2.6 of the Cambridge Handbook.
Special consideration supplement
We know that many of you have questions about special consideration for the June 2021 series. To support you, we have created a special consideration supplement, which contains extra information and should help to answer your questions. Due to the changes we have made because of Covid-19, you should use this supplement, rather than section 5.5 of the Cambridge Handbook, when deciding whether you should apply for special consideration for your candidates.
November 2021 series
Component exemptions, adjustments and guidance for the November 2021 series
As the pandemic continues to affect candidates in different parts of the world, we can confirm that component exemptions, component adjustments and guidance for components will be available in our November 2021 series. We appreciate you may have questions and will share more details with you in June.
Question paper security
The 72-hour question paper security rule will remain in place for the November 2021 series. All unused question papers and answer booklets must be stored securely until at least 72 hours after the Key Time for the exam. After this time you can dispose of the unused question papers or you can share them with candidates/centre staff.
Staying in touch
You can find all our advice on our Covid-19 information page.
If you have any questions, you can review our frequently asked questions, or contact us via our Help website. For British Council partner schools, please contact your local British Council representative.
We wish everyone in the Cambridge International community well at this time.