Patrick McCabe GCSE success highlights limits of SEND technology in schools

Patrick McCabe, a 16-year-old student with cerebral palsy, has successfully passed seven GCSEs using eye-tracking technology. But his gruelling four-month exam schedule has exposed the steep challenges facing disabled pupils in mainstream British schools.

To complete his assessments at Fallibroome Academy in Macclesfield, Cheshire, Patrick had to sit exams almost every morning from 2 February until 5 June. While his classmates spent the spring term revising, Patrick was already being tested. A single 30-mark question, which other students might answer in minutes, took him up to six hours using his augmentative and alternative communication device.

"Revising for my GCSEs was very exhausting because it took extra time and effort to revise in the first place," Patrick said. He explained that using the eye-tracking system, known as Eyegaze, required immense physical and mental stamina. "I felt I had to work harder to express what I know, even when I understand the subject. This was tiring, both physically and mentally."

Patrick's achievement has allowed him to move into sixth form at his local school, where he is now studying A-levels in French, business, and media studies. But his experience shows how far the current system remains from offering a level playing field. Fallibroome's headteacher, Ross Martland, and Patrick's mother, Jo, spent months lobbying exam boards simply to make the assessments viable.

"All we wanted was for Patrick to have the opportunity to demonstrate his knowledge and be given something resembling a level playing field compared to other students," Martland said. While the headteacher supports the government's goal of educating special needs pupils in mainstream schools, he warned that without proper funding, the policy will place immense pressure on school budgets.

During his exams, Patrick was supported by CandLE, a national organisation that helps pupils use communication technology. Yet outside the exam hall, technology cannot solve every barrier. Patrick noted that classmates are not always familiar with the eye-tracking tools, which can make building friendships difficult. "People are not always willing or able to give it a chance," he said.

Despite the gruelling process, Patrick is looking ahead. After A-levels, he wants to study media at university, with his sights set on Bournemouth University, some 200 miles from home. For now, he believes the assessment system itself must change. Students who rely on eye-tracking technology, he argued, need to be assessed in a way that does not build extra barriers into the process.