The 2,804 students who took the first sitting of the regulator's new-look exam last month (June 30) achieved a pass rate of 95%, the highest June pass rate since 2012, when the same percentage of students passed the exam.

The results are a stark improvement on last year's June pass rate of 74% – the lowest for six years.

Changing format

The students who sat the June exam were the first to take the regulator's revamped assessment, which was designed to focus on "patient-facing pharmacy practice" and "evaluate if trainees can demonstrate the knowledge and skills required by early career pharmacists to practise safely and effectively". 

The regulator made a "host of resources" available to pre-registration students, tutors and training providers last year to help them prepare for the new exam format, it said.

GPhC chief executive Duncan Rudkin congratulated the candidates who passed the exam and "wished them well" for the future. 

The pass list for the June registration exam can be seen here.

This year's pre-reg trainees can pick up tips on working as a newly-qualified pharmacist in C+D's podcast, below.

Those due to sit the exam in September can pick up revision tips in another C+D podcast, below.