Eye-tracking GCSEs: what exam access arrangements can do

A 16-year-old with cerebral palsy has passed all seven of his GCSEs after sitting them with eye-tracking technology, in an exam series that took him four months to complete. Patrick McCabe, a pupil at Fallibroome Academy in Macclesfield, Cheshire, told the Guardian in a report published on 2 October 2026 that school had been a good experience overall, and he has now started A-levels in French, business and media studies.

His story is remarkable. It is also a useful prompt for any family with a child who has special educational needs or a disability. Exams can be adapted, the adaptations are called access arrangements, and the latest official figures suggest they are far more common than many parents realise.

What happened with the eye-tracking GCSEs?

According to the Guardian, Patrick communicates with an augmentative and alternative communication device, usually shortened to AAC, and used Eyegaze technology to answer his papers. While his classmates spent the first part of the year revising, his exams began on 2 February and ran every morning until 5 June. The paper reports that a 30-mark question, which might be just one element of an exam, could take up to six hours.

He was supported throughout by CandLE, an organisation that helps students who use AAC technology to access education across the UK, and by a team of teaching assistants at the school. He passed all seven GCSEs and achieved the grades he needed for sixth form.

Patrick told the paper that revising was very exhausting because it took extra time and effort, that he felt he had to work harder to express what he knew even when he understood the subject, and that he needed extra breaks to rest. His headteacher, Ross Martland, said the school had only wanted Patrick to have the chance to demonstrate his knowledge on something resembling a level playing field. The Guardian reports that the school and Patrick's mother, Jo, battled with the exam boards to try to make sure he was given a fair chance.

What are exam access arrangements?

Ofqual, the exams regulator for England, describes access arrangements as provisions agreed before a candidate takes an assessment, so that they can be validly assessed and are not unfairly disadvantaged because of a disability, a temporary illness or injury, or because their first language is not English. Arrangements granted for disabled candidates are provided as reasonable adjustments, which students with disabilities are entitled to under equalities legislation.

The purpose, in Ofqual's words from November 2025, is to let students show their knowledge, skills and understanding without changing what is being assessed or giving an unfair advantage. Exam boards administer the system through the Joint Council for Qualifications, known as JCQ. Schools and colleges identify the arrangements a student needs, based on individual need and the student's normal way of working.

That last phrase matters. An arrangement is meant to mirror the support a pupil already uses in lessons, which is why the conversation needs to start well before exam season. Our guide to exam access arrangements for dyslexia covers the most familiar examples, such as extra time, a reader or a scribe.

How common are access arrangements?

Ofqual published revised statistics for England on 27 November 2025, covering GCSE, AS and A level students assessed in the 2024 to 2025 academic year. It reports the figures as ranges, because its data cannot always confirm which exam year an approval was for. On that basis, between 18.0% and 27.7% of students had at least one approved access arrangement, which is between 256,790 and 394,785 students.

The breakdown by type shows how the system is used in practice:

• 25% extra time was approved for 16.6% to 25.5% of students, the most common arrangement by a wide margin.
• A computer reader or reader was approved for 4.8% to 7.7% of students.
• A scribe or speech recognition was approved for 1.7% to 2.7% of students.
• Extra time of more than 25% was approved for 0.3% to 0.4% of students, between 4,070 and 5,860 young people.
• Exam boards fulfilled 65,910 requests for modified papers in summer 2025, and the most requested format was 18-point bold print, with 25,850 requests.

What do the figures not show?

Ofqual is careful about the limits of its own data. The statistics are labelled official statistics in development, they count only arrangements approved by exam boards, and some arrangements are approved by schools themselves and so do not appear. The regulator also says the data cannot show whether an approved arrangement was actually used in the exam hall.

There is a gap between sectors too. Ofqual reports that 22.4% to 32.1% of students in independent schools and colleges had 25% extra time, compared with 14.6% to 22.0% in state-funded secondary schools. Overall, it says the revised rate of 25% extra time is broadly in line with the rate of special educational needs in the student population.

Patrick's experience sits at the far end of this picture. Extra time beyond 25% is rare, and an exam series lasting four months is rarer still. The Guardian reports that his family and school say vital expertise is not always available and that funding is never enough. Patrick himself told the paper he thinks students with physical disabilities who use eye-tracking technology should be assessed in a more appropriate way, so that they do not face additional barriers.

What can parents ask the school?

Nothing in the reporting or the statistics changes the rules for next summer, so the practical route is the existing one. If your child has an education, health and care plan, check that the support described in it lines up with what is being requested for exams. Our EHCP application guide explains how the plan is put together.

These questions are a sensible starting point for a meeting with the school's special educational needs coordinator:

• Which kinds of support does my child already use in lessons and tests, and is that recorded as their normal way of working?
• What evidence does the school already hold, and what does it still need to collect?
• When does the school plan to apply, and what are its own internal deadlines? Arrangements have to be agreed before the exam.
• Will the same arrangements be in place for mock exams, so my child can practise with them?
• If my child uses assistive technology, who in school knows how to set it up for an exam, and has the exam board been contacted early?
• Can I have the outcome confirmed in writing once the arrangements are approved?

Is the system likely to change?

Possibly, but slowly. In November 2025 Ofqual asked the exam boards to review the access arrangements system, improve the clarity and quality of the information and data they provide about it, make sure their requirements take account of school and college workload, and strengthen their monitoring. The regulator expects its own statistics to keep developing and has said the release may not be stable until 2028.

The Guardian notes that the government's forthcoming SEND reforms are built on keeping children in local mainstream schools with the right expertise and support on hand. Patrick's headteacher told the paper he thinks those plans are right, but he is concerned they will add significant pressure to schools if they are not resourced properly. Families weighing up settings may find our guide to the SEND versus mainstream decision helpful.

Neither source describes a new rule for students who use eye-tracking technology. For now, Patrick's case shows what determined families and schools can achieve within the current system, and how much effort it can take.

Where does tutoring fit?

A tutor cannot grant an access arrangement, and should never promise one. What a good tutor can do is help a student practise with the arrangements they already have, for example pacing a paper with extra time, working with a reader or building stamina across a longer session. Our guides on what to look for in SEND tutoring and the SEND private tutor checklist set out the questions worth asking.

Patrick, for his part, is already looking ahead. He told the Guardian he wants to study media at university after his A-levels and that he feels excited about the experience. If your child would benefit from one-to-one support that works alongside the school's plans, you can book a tutor or read more about our GCSE tutoring.