Please bear in mind that the nature of the training cycle means that candidate cohorts differ considerably. The results for a particular diet should not therefore be used to draw any conclusions about the likely pass rates for other cohorts.
Summary of results for the July 2020 RCA examination
The results for the first RCA in July were split into two cohorts; prioritised in order to process CCTs for candidates in order of urgency.
The first set of results took in 9 days of examining for 607 candidates.
468 candidates were successful resulting in an overall pass rate of 77.1%. It is not a straightforward comparison to the previous CSA diet as this is a new exam and would represent a cohort who may have sat the previous CSA during March, April or May 2019. However, it can be noted that the overall CSA pass rate for academic year 2018-19 was 76.8%.
The proportion of candidates sitting the clinical skills examination for the first time was 72.2% and the pass rate for this particular group was 82.2%.
The mean score on this occasion was 158 out of 234 and the highest score was 207. A further 5 candidates obtained overall scores of 200 marks or more.
This second set of results took in 7 days of examining for 510 candidates.
369 candidates were successful resulting in an overall pass rate of 72.4%. It is not a straightforward comparison to the previous CSA diet as this is a new exam and would represent a cohort who may have sat the previous CSA during March, April or May 2019. However, it can be noted that the overall CSA pass rate for academic year 2018-19 was 76.8%.
The proportion of candidates sitting the clinical skills examination for the first time was 73.3% and the pass rate for this particular group was 78.6%.
The mean score on this occasion was 157 out of 234 and the highest score was 211. A further 4 candidates obtained overall scores of 200 marks or more.
Summary of results for the August 2020 RCA examination
The August RCA comprised 9 days of examining for 457 candidates.
337 candidates were successful resulting in an overall pass rate of 73.7%.
It is not a straightforward comparison to the previous CSA diet as this is a new exam and would represent a cohort who may have sat the previous CSA during March, April or May 2019.
However, it can be noted that the overall CSA pass rate for academic year 2018-19 was 76.8%. The pass rate for August was slightly up on that of the combined RCA in July which was 72.4%.
The proportion of candidates sitting the RCA for the first time was 78.1% and the pass rate for this particular group was 78%.
The mean score on this occasion was 158 out of 234 and the highest score was 204.
Summary of results for the November 2020 RCA examination
The November RCA comprised 15 days of examining for 883 candidates.
620 candidates were successful resulting in an overall pass rate of 70.2%.
The pass rate for November was slightly down on that of the RCA exams run in July and August in July. The combined pass rate for July and August was 74.6%
The proportion of candidates sitting the RCA for the first time was 84.03% and the pass rate for this particular group was 73%, although it should be noted that these figures are high due to the emergency exams not officially counting as an attempt towards the final four.
The mean score on this occasion was 154 out of 234 and the highest score was 203.
Summary of results for the February 2021 RCA examination
The February RCA comprised 10 days of examining for 494 candidates.
395 candidates were successful resulting in an overall pass rate of 80.0%.
The pass rate for February was higher than that of the RCA exams run previously, where the overall pass rate for all previous diets was 73%.
The proportion of candidates sitting the RCA for the first time was 77.73% and the pass rate for this particular group was 85%. The overall pass rate for this cohort from previous diets was 77%.
The mean score on this occasion was 159.9 out of 234 and the highest score was 208.
Summary of results for the March 2021 RCA examination
The March RCA comprised 20 days of examining for 1151 candidates.
920 candidates were successful resulting in an overall pass rate of 79.9%.
The pass rate for March was higher than that of most of the RCA exams run previously, but just less than February (80.0%)
The proportion of candidates sitting the RCA for the first time was 88.18% and the pass rate for this particular group was 84%. The overall pass rate for this cohort from previous diets was 79%.
The mean score on this occasion was 160.72 out of 234 and the highest score was 208.