Examination Growth, Capacity Expansion and International Development
Record Candidate Growth Across RCPI Examinations
The 2025/26 academic year was characterised by continued growth across the RCPI examination portfolio, with candidate demand reaching record levels in several specialties and examination components. Between July 2025 and June 2026, a total of 7,016 candidates sat examinations across six Membership specialties, representing an increase of 18% compared to the 5,943 candidates who sat examinations during 2024/25. This is the highest number of candidates recorded across the examination portfolio to date.
Growth was driven principally by General Medicine, Paediatrics and Occupational Medicine, reflecting both increasing demand for RCPI qualifications and the continued expansion of examination delivery capacity. Even when accounting for the additional Part II General Medicine Written sitting moved from July 2026 to June 2026, total candidate numbers would still have increased by approximately 11% year-on-year, demonstrating that growth is being driven by sustained demand rather than changes in examination scheduling.
Candidate Growth by Specialty
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+852 (+21%) - *adjusted 10%
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*extra sitting Part II GM for academic year due to scheduling change.
*The 2025/26 General Medicine total includes an additional Part II General Medicine Written sitting (427 candidates) brought forward from July 2026 to June 2026. Excluding this scheduling adjustment, General Medicine candidate numbers increased from 4,095 to 4,520 (+10%).
General Medicine Continues Strong Upward Trajectory
General Medicine remains the largest examination specialty within RCPI and continued to demonstrate significant growth throughout 2025/26 (+10%).
A record 2,463 candidates sat the Part I General Medicine Written examination, representing an 8% increase compared with the previous year. This continues a trend of consistent year-on-year growth and reflects strong national and international demand for the qualification.
Part II General Medicine Written examinations also achieved record candidate numbers. During 2025/26, 1,771 candidates sat the examination. This figure includes a June 2026 sitting that was brought forward from July 2026 to better support candidates and medical workforce planning within hospitals. The additional sitting contributed 427 candidates to the academic year total and enabled improved scheduling; study leave planning and alignment with trainee changeovers. The October 2025 Part II Written examination achieved the highest candidate numbers on record for that sitting, representing 19% growth compared with the previous year's corresponding examination.
Demand also continued to increase for the Part II General Medicine Clinical examination. A total of 509 candidates sat the examination during 2025/26, representing a 12% increase compared with the previous year and the highest clinical candidate volume recorded to date. To accommodate this growth, examination capacity was expanded by introducing additional examination places across the January and June 2026 diets and extending delivery to an additional examination day, resulting in a total of eight examination days.