Some religious days or festivals will fall during the May/June exam period and we understand that students may wish to observe these. We will therefore make every effort to avoid timetabling exams or assessments on such dates where a religious observation request has been made ahead of the deadline.

Please note that religious observation requests are only able to be considered for mandatory events; we will not take into account casual preferences or social/domestic reasons. We are not able to consider observance requests for Ramadan where the normal expectation is that daily activities (including exams) continue as usual. You can find more information on the University Ramadan guidelines, provided by the Canterbury Mosque. However, if the effect of fasting significantly affects your health and/or you have a medical condition which may impair your performance or prevent you from attending an exam you may submit an extenuating circumstances request.

The deadline for submitting a religious observation request for the 2025 exam period is Friday 31 January 2025.  

If you wish to observe a religious commitment on a particular day during the published exam periods, please complete the Religious observation request form (button below).

If you have missed the deadline or a request change has not been possible, you can submit an extenuating circumstances request.

Extenuating circumstances, also known as mitigating circumstances or concessions, are unforeseen or unpreventable circumstances which negatively affect your performance in assessed work. You can request to have these circumstances taken into account in relation to your assessed work.