Communication Skills
Visit the Communication Skills by online delivery pages for separate instructions.
Designed for digital
Responsive to a changing world, these exams have been designed to support teaching, learning and assessment through a digital medium.
Your performance, your choice
Sitting alongside our face-to-face graded exams, digital exams provide even more choice and flexibility in how a regulated graded qualification can be achieved.
Our solo digital exams in Speech and Drama and Performing Text, solo, pair and group digital exams in Acting, Performance Arts and Musical Theatre and group Young Performers Certificates, enable candidates to record their performance at a place and time of their choice and then submit the video recording via our online platform to be assessed by our expert examiners. The exams have the same academic rigour as our face-to-face exams and candidates gain full recognition for their achievements, with the same certificate and UCAS points awarded as for the face-to-face exams.
Communication Skills graded exams
The newly available digital version of our Communication Skills graded exams has a different format to the exams on this page. See separate information and guidance for these exams.
Digital support content
Comprehensive online resources provide support to candidates and teachers throughout their digital exam journey.
Exam requirements
The table below helps candidates to compare face-to-face and digital exams and helps them to identify what they need to record on their video. See the syllabus specifications for full information. See separate information for Communication Skills graded exams
Exam element
Face-to-face Graded Exams
Digital Graded Exams
Performance
The candidate(s) performs their prepared pieces
The candidate(s) performs their prepared pieces
Reflection/
Discussion
The candidate(s) has a discussion with the examiner about their performance work.
The candidate(s) reflects on their performance work using set questions
Key Skills Task
The candidates(s) are presented with stimuli in the exam to respond to.
The candidate(s) accesses prescribed stimuli from the Trinity website to respond to in their exam.
This stimuli is changed every two weeks. Note that the stimuli are updated on a Thursday and so the validity period is Thursday through to Wednesday of the second week. During the two-week validity period of the stimulus, the candidate(s) must do the following: access the stimulus; use that stimulus for the task; film their performance; and upload the video of their whole exam for assessment.
Download Digital Graded Exams Syllabus Specifications
Visit Communication Skills for separate instructions
Speech and Drama, Acting, Musical Theatre Performance Arts and Young Performers Certificates
For these exams you will need to read:
- The relevant Digital Grades or Young Performers Certificates syllabus specification
- The relevant Key Skills Tasks information – see the relevant syllabus for further information (not required for Young Performers Certificates)
- The relevant set questions and guidance for the Reflection Task – detailed in the Guidance pages of each syllabus (not required for Young Performers Certificates)
- Website guidance and support, including instructions on how to film, upload and submit performances
- Guidance for candidates with special needs and disabilities (if applicable)
Syllabus specifications:
- Speech & Drama/Performing Text Grades
- Acting Grades
- Musical Theatre Grades
- Performance Arts Grades
- Young Performers Certificates
What to do step by step:
- Select the relevant syllabus specification
- Choose your performance pieces according to the specifications
- Access your fortnightly key skills task* from the Key Skills Task page (where relevant)
- Download and complete your submission information form
* Key Skills Tasks
Drama exams require candidates to respond to a stimulus in the Key Skills Task. For these Digital Grades and Diplomas, this stimulus is refreshed every two weeks. To find example tasks and the current key skills tasks go to the Key Skills Task page.