During your period of study any number of circumstances may affect your ability to perform well in assessments (this includes essays, class tests and final examinations).
"Extenuating circumstances" (formerly known as "mitigations") is the process of informing your School of circumstances that have affected you throughout the year. Depending upon the nature and severity of these circumstances your School may wish to take them into account when the Board of Examiners meet to decide what your progress decision should be.
To ensure that details of your extenuating circumstances are handled with the utmost sensitivity, privacy and confidentiality, discussions about the validity of requests for extenuating circumstances will take place at Extenuating Circumstances Panels, rather than the full Examination Board. The Examination Board will not discuss details of the extenuating circumstances you present.
Any extenuating circumstances that you wish to have taken into account must be presented to your School Extenuating Circumstances Officer before the meetings of the relevant Boards of Examiners. Specific deadlines are set by individual Schools, and it is your responsibility to make sure that you know what these deadlines are. You can contact your School Extenuating Circumstances Officer for further details or if you are unsure what to do.
You should use the forms and guidance below to ensure that you correctly submit your request for an extenuating circumstance to be taken into account.
As a registered student, you may request a deferral of one or more centrally co-ordinated examinations based on Extenuating Circumstances using the Fit to Sit Procedure. If your request is granted by the School, your sitting of the examination(s) will be deferred to the next appropriate opportunity.
By being present at an examination, you are deemed to declare yourself ‘Fit to Sit’. There will be an announcement made by the Senior Invigilator or nominee at the start of each examination that by remaining in the examination room after that announcement, a Registered Student is declaring him/herself ‘Fit to Sit’ and that the mark achieved in that examination will stand.
Extenuating circumstances and fit-to-sit procedure:
Medical certificates:
Counselling and Guidance Service users:
