SCA pass rate: the RCGP's official figures, diet by diet

The short version

• Per diet (RCGP summary reports): overall pass rates between 59.75% and 77.92% across the 26 diets from November 2023 to June 2026; first-attempt rates between 69.2% and 80.6%.
• Latest published diet (June 2026): 869 sat, 565 passed, overall 65.02%; first attempt 69.7%.
• 2023–24 academic year (RCGP annual report): 4,772 candidates made 5,582 attempts; first-attempt pass rate 74.57%; in-year cumulative pass rate 81.18%.
• UK graduates vs IMGs, first attempt, 2023–24: 94.28% vs 51.56%.
• Not in the RCGP pages and reports we read: a fixed pass mark, resitter pass rates, pass rates by deanery or medical school (an explicit RCGP policy), and UK graduate/IMG rates for single diets.

Pass rate by diet (RCGP summary reports)

From the RCGP's "Marking and results for the SCA" page. "Overall" counts every sitting in the diet (first attempts and resits); "first attempt" counts only candidates sitting for the first time.

Our sum of the table above (not an RCGP figure): 17,573 sittings and 12,140 passes across the 26 diets, which is 69.08% overall. The RCGP's interim report gives the April 2024 diet as 482 of 700 (68.86%); the summary report on the marking page gives 482 of 699 (68.96%). We use the marking page figure in the table.

Results for the September and October 2026 diets weren't in the summary reports we read on Nov 1, 2026.

The 2023–24 annual report: first attempts, UK graduates and IMGs

The RCGP's MRCGP annual report for the 2023–24 academic year covers the first SCA diets (from November 2023). The RCGP has since published a newer report, "MRCGP Annual Report September 2024 - August 2025", on its annual reports page. We couldn't read that PDF directly for this guide, so its figures aren't quoted here; read it on the RCGP site.

The same report gives first-attempt rates by sex: 80.21% for women and 65.96% for men.

The RCGP's interim report on the first eight diets (November 2023 to June 2024) gives 5,582 sittings with "an overall pass rate of 70.01%", and first-attempt rates of 94.27% for UK graduates and 51.52% for IMGs (slightly different from the annual report's 94.28% and 51.56%).

The interim report also compares the SCA with the CSA it ultimately replaced: first-attempt pass rates rose from 90.80% to 94.27% for UK graduates and from 43.03% to 51.52% for IMGs. More: SCA vs CSA.

What the numbers mean for you

• Most candidates pass, and more pass on a later sitting in the same year. In 2023–24, 74.57% of first-time takers passed, and the in-year cumulative pass rate (candidates who passed at any sitting that year) was 81.18%.
• The gap between UK graduates and IMGs is large. 94.28% vs 51.56% at first attempt in 2023–24. The RCGP data doesn't say why. If you trained outside the UK, the consultation style (exploring ideas, concerns and expectations, shared decisions, safety-netting in plain words) is worth practicing on purpose, not only clinical knowledge.
• Diet-to-diet swings are real. Overall rates moved from 59.75% to 77.92%. Because each case's pass mark is set by borderline regression, a harder set of cases doesn't automatically mean a lower pass rate; the RCGP doesn't explain the swings in the summary reports.
• The overall rate includes resits. In almost every diet, the first-attempt rate is higher than the overall rate.

What the RCGP doesn't publish

These are not in the RCGP pages and reports we read (the deanery point is an explicit RCGP policy):

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Confetto isn't affiliated with the RCGP.