Scheme of Reasonable Accommodations at Certificate Examinations (RACE)

If you are a post-primary school student with special educational needs, you can get special arrangements for doing State examinations such as the Leaving Certificate and Junior Cycle.

These arrangements are called “reasonable accommodations”. Reasonable accommodations are designed to remove, as far as possible, the impact of a disability on your performance, so that you can access the State exams on an equal basis with other students.

You apply for these through your school, through the Scheme of Reasonable Accommodations at Certificate Examinations (RACE scheme).

Your school applies for reasonable accommodations on your behalf (unless you are an external candidate with no links to a school or centre – see ‘How to apply for the RACE scheme’ below).

The State Examinations Commission (SEC) oversees the RACE scheme.

You can apply for the RACE scheme if you have a disability or condition that stops you sitting State exams in the normal way. Generally, this is the case if your disability or condition interferes with either:

• Your ability to understand what you are being asked to do, or
• Your ability to show that you can do it.

Examples of disabilities that you can get reasonable accommodations for include visual or physical impairments, or learning difficulties (like dyslexia).

Your school will explain what reasonable accommodations they think you need and will assess if you meet the conditions for those accommodations to be granted.

Examples of reasonable accommodations you may get include:

• Enlarged, modified or Braille versions of exam papers, if you have a visual impairment
• A reader or reading assistance so questions can be read to you
• Voice-activated computers, recording devices or scribes (other people to do the writing)
• Assistive technology to access exam papers, for example exam reading pens, magnifiers or screen readers
• Being able to take your exam in a hospital, or somewhere else in exceptional circumstances
• An exemption from the aural part of the exam if you are deaf or hard of hearing

Reasonable accommodations do not give you an unfair advantage over other students in the same exam. You will still need to demonstrate the same standard of achievement as other students.

Read more about the different accommodations available in the SEC’s guide on reasonable accommodation for exams in 2025 (pdf).

If you have a disability or condition, your school can make special arrangements for you during State exams to help you cope with the exam environment.

Depending on your situation, your school can let you:

• Take medicine, food or drinks into the exam centre if you need to for medical reasons
• Use a special desk or chair that you normally use in the classroom
• Use low-vision aids that you normally use in the classroom
• Sit close to the exam superintendent, if you are deaf or hard-of-hearing
• Take breaks or rest periods if you need them because of a medical condition – the time you take to rest is added to the end of your exam and you can’t take a rest for more than 20 minutes per exam

Read more about different environment and timing arrangements that can be made in the SEC’s guide on reasonable accommodation for exams in 2025 (pdf). 

If you are unhappy with the arrangements

You or your parents or guardians can ask your school to refer your application to the SEC for a decision if:

• You don’t agree with the arrangements your school intends to apply for on your behalf, or
• You don’t agree with the decision to not apply for any arrangements for you.

If you then disagree with the SEC’s decision, you can appeal to an Independent Appeals Committee.

Read more about making an appeal if you are unhappy with arrangements in the SEC’s guide on reasonable accommodation for exams in 2025 (pdf). 

You and your parents or guardians should talk to your school if you have special educational needs and need reasonable accommodations to take State exams.

You apply for the RACE scheme through your school. Your school applies to the SEC on your behalf.

In your application, you must provide information about:

• Your disability or condition and how it affects your schoolwork
• Your educational needs

You will need to sign a form to give your school permission to give your information to the SEC.

When to apply for the RACE scheme

School applications for the RACE scheme closed in November 2024 for the Leaving Certificate 2025 and in January 2025 for the Junior Cycle. Late applications closed on 4 April 2025.

If you get injured or sick, or have another emergency that could not have been foreseen, your school can make an emergency application to the SEC. Emergency applications open from May 2025 and there is no closing date for these.

External candidates and reasonable accommodations

If you are an external candidate completing your exams through a school, Back to Education Initiative (BTEI) or Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS), they will handle your application for the RACE scheme.

If you are an external candidate and you don’t have any links to a school or centre, you should apply for the RACE scheme directly to the SEC – you do this at the time you are applying to take the State exams.

Read more about how applications for reasonable accommodations for State exams are considered on the SEC website and in the SEC’s Principles of Framework.