Cardiff University is Great Britain’s most successful pharmacy school for summer 2024, after 93% of its 82 first-time candidates passed the June registration assessment, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) revealed today (September 10).

It is closely followed by the Universities of Birmingham (92%), Strathclyde (91%), Nottingham (89%) and Sunderland (also 89%) as the five leading pharmacy schools in this year’s summer sitting, according to GPhC papers prepared for its September 12 council meeting.

Read more: UPDATED: June registration exam pass rate drops to 75%

Meanwhile, the University of Nottingham’s four-year degree programme saw the largest number of students pass in June, with 137 of its 154 first-time candidates qualifying (89%).

The University of Wolverhampton produced the least successful cohort this June, with just 37 of its 72 candidates (51%) passing the registration exam first time.

The remainder of the five worst performing pharmacy schools were the University of Central Lancashire (57%), the University of Hertfordshire (58%), Keele University (59%) and the University of Bradford’s five-year programme (60%).

The GPhC’s data shows the pass rates for 28 MPharm degree programmes in England, Wales and Scotland that had 15 or more students sit as candidates for their first attempt at the registration assessment.

But the regulator said that it was “concerned” that the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI) was “unable to provide [it] with a full set of statistics for Northern Irish candidates”. 

C+D has approached the PSNI for comment.

 

Up and down

 

Last June’s most successful school, the University of Bath, dropped to tenth place in the league table, with 83% of its candidates passing the registration exam.

In 2023, Bath achieved a 96% pass rate, with 53 of its 55 candidates qualifying. It also ranked highest in 2022, with 99% of its candidates passing.

The University of Lincoln registered the lowest pass rate for the June 2023 exam, with only half (50%) of its candidates passing. 

Read more: What to buy for a newly qualified pharmacist?

But it registered an improved pass rate this year, as 64% of its candidates were successful.

And the University of Portsmouth was the most improved pharmacy school compared to the previous year - in 2024, 82% of its students passed, compared to 58% in June last year.

 

Crunching the numbers

 

In July, the GPhC and the PSNI jointly announced that 75% (or 2,081 students) out of “a total of 2,776 candidates” had passed the June assessment. This was a drop from the 77% pass rate in June 2023.

Of those sitting for the first time, 77% of the 2,358 candidates passed. The pass rate for second-time sitters was 53%, while the pass rate for third-time sitters was 59%.

In 2024, 1,625 female students (78% pass rate) sat the registration assessment for the first time in June compared to 711 male students (75% pass rate), according to the new data.

Students that did their foundation year training in the community were the largest cohort sitting the June exam for the first time, with 68% of 1,182 candidates passing. 

But students that did their foundation year in other settings were more successful.

Community/GP setting saw 73% of 203 candidates pass, hospital saw 89% of 606 candidates pass, hospital/GP saw 93% of 189 candidates pass, and multisector settings saw 80% of 137 candidates pass.

Last month, the GPhC revealed that it is “seeking experienced providers” to fulfill a four-year-long, multi-million-pound registration examination contract.