diff --git a/.github/workflows/basictest.yml b/.github/workflows/basictest.yml
index 4cc6b243..2d6a1080 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/basictest.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/basictest.yml
@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@ jobs:
         include:
            #Note: Python 3.13 works (Aug 2024) because of the
            #"allow-prereleases: true" below.
-          - { os: ubuntu-20.04,  CC: gcc,      CXX: g++,        python: '3.7'  }
           - { os: ubuntu-20.04,  CC: gcc-10,   CXX: g++-10,     python: '3.8'  }
           - { os: ubuntu-22.04,  CC: gcc,      CXX: g++,        python: '3.9'  }
           - { os: ubuntu-latest, CC: gcc,      CXX: g++,        python: '3.10' }
@@ -173,17 +172,20 @@ jobs:
         . ${{github.workspace}}/install/ncrystal_unsetup.sh
 
     - name: Checkout ncrystal-notebooks
+      if: matrix.python != '3.7' && matrix.python != '3.8'
       uses: actions/checkout@v4
       with:
         repository: mctools/ncrystal-notebooks
         path: src_notebooks
 
     - name: Extra pip install for notebooks
+      if: matrix.python != '3.7' && matrix.python != '3.8'
       run: |
         set -eu
         python3 -m pip install numpy matplotlib spglib ase gemmi jupyterlab ipympl
 
     - name: Test notebooks
+      if: matrix.python != '3.7' && matrix.python != '3.8'
       run: |
         set -eu
         eval $(${{github.workspace}}/install/bin/ncrystal-config --setup)