Over a quarter of students with dyslexia who sat for the English and Maltese O level exams last year were successful, a report by the Matsec board shows.

A total of 384 students with the learning difficulty sat for the Sec exams in May, the large majority of them registering for the English language exam. According to the report, 349 students chose English, 331 registered for maths and 323 for Maltese.

Two other subjects – religious knowledge and physics – were also popular among students with dyslexia, a trend that was also noted for all other students in the subjects attracting the most candidates.

Of the 384 students, 27.5 per cent obtained a pass in English and were given a grade between one and five. For Maltese language, the successful students were slightly fewer, at 25.4 per cent. However, in both maths and religious knowledge, the figures were higher. Over 31 per cent of the students who sat for their maths O level exam obtained a pass, the report showed, the figure rising to 33.8 per cent for religious knowledge. The best performance, however, was in the case of those sitting for the physics exam, with 38 per cent obtaining a pass mark.

The report also shows more than 80 per cent of dyslexic students who registered for home economics, Italian, graphical communication, textiles and design, European studies and design and technology achieved grades of between one and seven.

Students with other learning difficulties also sat for the May exams, including 78 students with attention deficit disorder, 27 with autism spectrum disorder and 22 with dyspraxia.

A total of 572 candidates – 9.81 per cent of the total registrations – applied for special access arrangements, which included being allotted extra time and rest periods, as well as having test papers with larger print.

Amanuenses, communicators and readers were also made available to such students. In their case, special instructions were issued to examiners for the oral components, invigilators and paper markers.