At ABRSM we appreciate how much the cancellation of our exams has affected you and we’re working hard on solutions to ensure you gain your qualifications at the earliest opportunity.

On 6 May we announced that we would be making special arrangements to offer adapted exams to learners in the UK. These exams are available to learners in their final year of schooling who were expecting to take Grade 6 to 8 (Practical or Music Theory) by summer 2020, and to have their results in time to provide UCAS points for university entrance. The offer of an adapted exam is an exceptional and temporary measure for this specific group of learners. To ensure we can meet the needs of these learners we are restricting these exams to UK candidates to begin with. We will then consider offering them to other candidates and in other countries, and will provide an update on this as soon as we can.

We also announced that we will be offering online practical graded music exams, with a focus on performance, to learners in the UK from August. The exams will be for all instruments and grades (Grades 1-8 and ARSM) and will use our existing repertoire and resources. To begin with, these exams will be available in the UK only. We will then begin rolling them out in stages to learners in other countries later in the year.

The provision of online exams is a new and very exciting step for us and, we hope, for our community of teachers and learners too. I completely understand that many of you will be disappointed that you cannot use these online exams sooner. However, by launching them in the UK with a limited number of candidates, we can make sure that the processes and systems that support the exams are effective and run smoothly.

In the meantime, we are reviewing our Music Theory offer while continuing to plan for the resumption of face-to-face exams in appropriate venues and under strict management of social distancing requirements, once circumstances allow. Please continue to check our website for the latest information.

Whether you are a teacher, learner or parent, you matter to us, and we will continue to do everything we can to support your musical journeys.

Take care and stay safe!

Michael Elliott

Chief Executive, ABRSM