EXCLUSIVE

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is "not in a position" to explain the wide variation in pass rates between pharmacy schools for this June's registration exam, it has told C+D.

GPhC chief executive Duncan Rudkin told C+D that the regulator and pharmacy schools "need to better understand the issues" that could have caused this year's varied success rates, which saw six universities achieving pass rates of below 70%.

The University of Hertfordshire produced the lowest pass rate of 48%, while the University of Bath had the highest at 90%, according to a report presented to the GPhC by its board of assessors last week (September 10).

"There are lots of factors at play [and] it would be rash of me to think that I understand that we've got to the bottom of what those numbers tell us," Mr Rudkin told C+D in an exclusive interview yesterday (September 15).

The exam performance of the "vast majority" of graduates is affected by their pre-registration placements, and this is "not within the control" of pharmacy schools, he stressed.

Some variation between university pass rates is "inevitable", said Mr Rudkin. The GPhC speaks to every school of pharmacy “on an ongoing basis”, and pass rates are an issue that “needs to be explored further”, he added.

The average pass rate for June's exam was 74% - the lowest for six years - and Mr Rudkin said this drop "needs to be explored". "We all need to get a better understanding of what that tells us about performance and that will inform policy, development and improvements for tutors, universities [and] employers," he said.

Last month, Mr Rudkin urged universities and other stakeholders to “reflect” on failing students after union the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists attacked pharmacy schools for creating a "conveyor belt" of students.

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