LONDON: An aspiring Army officer with dyslexia sued the Ministry of Defence (MoD) after being described as “intellectually challenged”.

Keelan Swords failed the commissioning course at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst twice, meaning he could no longer retake the exam to become an officer.

The assessment at the Berkshire institution, which was attended by Princes William and Harry, is mandatory for would-be officers and tests writing, reading and numeracy skills.

Assessors described Mr Swords as “polite but intellectually challenged” following his second failed attempt, which left him feeling “upset” and “embarrassed”.

He then tried to sue the MoD for disability discrimination and harassment relating to his dyslexia, but his claims were dismissed because an employment tribunal ruled that it did not have jurisdiction to consider them.

The tribunal, held in Reading, heard that Mr Swords started working as a university officer training corps cadet at Sandhurst on April 1 2023. He had been an officer cadet in the University of London Officers’ Training Corps and a Group B reservist between the ages of 19 and 23.

He failed the Army officer selection board assessment (AOSB) twice – in August 2022 and October the following year.

The assessment tests “writing, reading and numeracy skills in only one format”. Physical skills are also looked at during the selection process.

The tribunal heard Mr Swords had “always [had] assistance and support during exams throughout his education because of his dyslexia”.

“This has included additional time within an examination, a calculator, a laptop to record notes rather than handwriting and extra paper,” the hearing was told.

The aspiring officer argued that it would have been “reasonable” for “various adjustments to the process” to be made during his AOSB tests.

Mr Swords produced a copy of his service complaint form, describing the treatment he received after his second AOSB assessment.

“In particular, he describes the upset at being labelled ‘polite but intellectually challenged’ and ‘significantly below the standard required for an Army officer’, which he describes as undermining all of his academic and military achievements within the OTC [Officers’ Training Corps],” the tribunal heard.

In his complaint, Mr Swords said: “My self-esteem and self-worth were undermined within my peer and social circles.

“However, the single most detrimental impact was that it took away my childhood dream and the vision of becoming an officer within the British Army, which had been supported and encouraged and supported every single step of my development outside and inside the Army.”

He added that it was “embarrassing and upsetting” when he was asked by colleagues who did not know about his failed tests whether he was going to apply to become an officer.

The tribunal accepted that being blocked from progressing to an officer “affected his social and professional reputation”. However, his claim was dismissed by Employment Judge Sarah George because the relevant part of equality law has an exclusion for service with the Armed Forces, so the tribunal did “not have jurisdiction to consider it”.