The GPhC has announced a pass rate of 69.2% for those taking the September 2019 registration assessment.
There were 1057 candidates who sat the registration assessment on 26 September 2019, with 731 candidates who passed the assessment; a pass rate of 69.2%.
There were 346 candidates who sat the assessment for the first time; 627 for the second time and 84 for the third time.
Pre-registration trainee pharmacists are permitted three attempts at the registration assessment. The full analysis from the September 2019 registration assessment will be discussed by the Council in December.
This year’s pass rate of 69.2% compares with the 65.2% pass rate for the September 2018 registration assessment.
GPhC Chief Executive Duncan Rudkin said:
“Congratulations to all trainees who have passed this year’s autumn registration assessment; we look forward to them joining our register.
Assessments are carefully set so that only the candidates who demonstrate the required knowledge and understanding can pass and be eligible to join the register. By only registering those who pass this challenging assessment, we can provide assurance to patients and the public that the pharmacists on our register can practise safely and effectively.”
Further information and statistics
September 2019 pass mark per paper
- The pass requirement for part 1 was 26 questions out of 40 questions.
- The pass requirement for part 2 was 83 questions out of 119 questions.
In order to pass, candidates must pass both papers in the same sitting.
September 2019 summary statistics
| Candidate numbers | Number | % of total |
|---|---|---|
| Total number of candidates | 1057 | 100% |
| Number of first sitting candidates | 346 | 32.7% |
| Number of second sitting candidates | 627 | 59.3% |
| Number of third sitting candidates | 84 | 7.9% |
| Candidate performance – pass rates | Number | % of total |
| Overall pass | 731 | 69.2% |
| Overall fail | 326 | 30.8% |
| First sitting candidates - pass | 211 | 61.0% |
| Second sitting candidates - pass | 477 | 76.1% |
| Third sitting candidates - pass | 43 | 51.2% |
*Pass rates are rounded to the nearest whole number
Quality Assuring the registration assessment
The Registration Assessment papers are developed by experienced pharmacists and assessment experts. Questions are written by practising pharmacists, then the standard of each question is set by standards setters, all of whom are practising pharmacists with current knowledge of pre-registration trainees and/or recently registered pharmacists.
Papers are then set by an appointed body of pharmacists and assessment experts, the Board of Assessors. Without exception, all questions and papers are mapped on to the GPhC’s Registration Assessment Framework to ensure they reflect the practice of a day 1 pharmacist.
After a sitting, the performance of all questions and papers as a whole are analysed and, using statistical methods applied across health professional examinations, the pass mark for each paper is confirmed and candidates are awarded passes or fails. Candidates who pass both papers pass overall.
Further information on how papers are created and marked can be found on the registration assessment pages of our website.