Girl wins right to listen to iPod during exams to help her concentrate

A schoolgirl has won the right to listen to an iPod while sitting her exams after threatening to sue her school. The pupil claimed listening to music helps her concentrate during exams. At first the sixth former's demand was rejected by Edinburgh's Mary Erskine School and the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).

But they were forced to back down after being threatened with legal action under the Equalities Act. The pupil, who hasn't been named, suffers from autism and attention deficit disorder. She'll sit in a separate area so the noise doesn't disturb other pupils. Teachers will load her favourite tracks on to a new iPod to ensure it doesn't contain study notes.



A source at the private £10,000-a-year school said: "The implications of this are massive. It would be a nightmare if we had to put music on every pupil's iPod." Nick Seaton, of the Campaign for Real Education, added: "This is ridiculous. Exams lose their integrity if some children are treated differently from the others."

Linda Moule, deputy head of Mary Erskine School, said they lifted the restriction due to a "special arrangement". An SQA spokesman said: "This decision sets no precedents. The candidate has a disability and could be disadvantaged if not able to listen to music during exams. We treat all requests for special arrangements on their individual merits."