If a candidate is allowed extra time, their listening exam must be delivered in a separate room or (subject to continuous supervision) at a different time from other candidates. You may need an additional device to enable listening exams to happen simultaneously, in different rooms.

All candidates allocated 25% extra time may sit in the same room to take their exam. 

The only exception is where a candidate requires a reader. In this instance, they need to sit the exam in a room on their own to avoid disturbing others. 

Where a candidate is entitled to extra time, this must be used to write or dictate their answer. 

During the exam, the audio track may be paused at any time during the silences. The exact pausing of the track will depend on the needs of the candidate. 

The invigilator should be aware of the requirements of the exam so they can act in the best interest of the candidate. 

To support your students with extra time we produce a track timings document for the GCSE (J536/05) listening and appraising test.

When deciding how to allocate extra time, you may like to consider the following:

• All questions require some candidates to write and/or notate music and could require extra time
• Part of one question will require a piece of extended writing. This part-question will be identified by an asterisk at the beginning of the question
• One question will require the candidate to notate some music onto an adjacent skeleton score
• One question will require the candidate to compare two pieces of music and may require the responses to be tabulated
• Concentrated listening is taxing for all candidates so the extra time may be used for preparation, before the next question.

At AS and A Level, candidates control the listening device themselves and can use the guidelines provided above to decide how to best allocate their extra time.