As a regulated exams board, Trinity is committed to ensuring its exams are fair and accessible to all whilst maintaining the integrity and assurance of its qualifications.
In particular situations, requests may be made in order to account for particular circumstances affecting a candidate’s ability to perform. These are wide ranging but generally fall into the following three categories:
- Circumstances beyond the candidate’s control that occurred shortly before or during the exam, such as bereavement, temporary injury or incidents during the exam itself (eg equipment or instrument malfunction, or missing assessment materials). Please follow the Special Consideration Policy, which explains how special consideration can be applied following the exams.
- Special needs, disabilities and health conditions, for instance visual impairments, hearing loss, learning difficulties, autistic spectrum disorders etc. Trinity offers reasonable adjustments to ensure exams are accessible to all, including extra time, modified examiner materials and alternative supporting tests. Please see the Music Special Needs page, noting that forms and evidence for face-to-face exams should be submitted at least 28 days prior to the exam, and amended exam materials require at least 6 weeks’ notice to produce. Applications for adjustments to digital grade and diploma exams should be submitted at the time of enrolment.
- Other circumstances that will not lessen the demands of the exam or compromise the validity of the assessment, but require a change to the requirements stated in the syllabus or repertoire list. These fall under this pre-assessment adjustment process, and some examples are shown below.
Examples of valid Pre-assessment adjustments for Music
- Singing:
- seeking permission to present an alternative edition of a song where a particular edition is specified in the syllabus, if it is not available to purchase in the candidate's country. A copy will need to be provided so that Trinity can verify if there are any significant differences
- Strings:
- bowed strings duets – the second part being played on an alternative single-line instrument, similar in range and pitch to the primo instrument.
- Harp – at low grades, adjustment to pitches of notes for technical work and/or pieces in order to accommodate the range of a smaller harp, or transposing a piece in its entirety up a 5th to allow a smaller candidate to reach all notes comfortably at Initial grade.
- Drum Kit & Percussion:
- Drum Kit – floor-tom rim part to be played on rim of snare drum, for an open-handed player.
- Note that for candidates using electronic drum kits (accepted at particular grades, see syllabus) candidates should only choose pieces/songs that fit the capabilities of their particular kit. It is vital that the instrument is capable of producing all timbral and dynamic variety demanded by the score, as well as any particular effects that individual pieces may call for.
- Timpani – transposing a piece down by a tone in order to accommodate the range of the top drum.
- Tuned percussion – adjustment to pitches of notes for technical work and/or pieces in order to accommodate the range of a particular instrument, eg 4.3 octave marimba in place of a 5 octave instrument.
- Woodwind:
- Clarinet – playing a piece on a ‘B♭’ instrument instead of an ‘A’ instrument – as this does not change the technical demand significantly (provided that any accompaniments can be transposed)
- Group A pieces – performing one piece with harpsichord accompaniment in place of piano accompaniment
- Brass:
- B♭ euphonium – performing on B♭ baritone, as instrument has become damaged shortly before exam (as syllabus requirements are near-identical)
- Cornet – presenting pieces and technical work from E♭ tenor horn lists on E♭ soprano cornet at low grades, as soprano cornet syllabus starts at Grade 6
- Trombone – presenting pieces on mini pBone at low grades, with any accompaniments transposed up a perfect 4th accordingly.
Applying for a pre-assessment adjustment
The pre-assessment adjustment form should be completed and sent to the Trinity representative. Each application will be reviewed by a specialist, Lead Senior Examiner or Senior Examiner to determine whether it will be approved or rejected.
Pre-assessment adjustment form
If approved, a letter will be created which should be uploaded with the performance video in MyTrinity (for digital exams) or handed to the examiner on the day of the exam (for face-to-face exams).
Syllabus Infringements
In general, Trinity is unable to approve pre-exam adjustments regarding potential syllabus infringements (eg presenting an item that is not on the syllabus) – we encourage candidates to defer/convert to a digital exam at a later date to allow time for this to be corrected or resolved. Pre-exam adjustments regarding potential syllabus infringements can only be approved if there is a valid and exceptional reason to do so, such as an accident or other unforeseen occurrence prior to the performance, and in certain cases the Special Considerations policy may be applicable.
Candidates should consult the music syllabus infringements page which details the referral process. These procedures are in place to ensure that all candidates are treated fairly across the board.
Following a syllabus infringement referral, feedback is usually provided in the outcome letter, which is intended to assist teachers and candidates to avoid future errors. However, on occasion, the referral may result in a mark deduction or in extreme cases, invalidation of the exam.
In the case of any infringement or referral, once the referral has been processed, should the candidate be unhappy with the results, they have the option to apply for a formal results review.