Livid trainees have launched a petition demanding the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) review “unfair practices” in the “exceedingly difficult” 2024 registration assessment exam.

The petition calls on the GPhC to review the toughness of the June exam as well as adopt a “more realistic and fair assessment system” moving forward.

The anonymous petitioner has already gained support with 608 signatures.

It comes after a GPhC registration assessment in Highbury, London was delayed for hours after a major power cut.

The petition says exam questions “exceeded the curriculum's scope”.

It also says a “disparity” existed between what students had studied and what came up in the assessment, leaving many “confused”.

Read more: GPhC June registration exam delayed for hours by ‘major’ power cut

Other complaints added to the petition said the exam was “too wordy”, “extremely long”, and “not reflecting real pharmacy”.

Mark Voce, chief strategy officer at the GPhC, said the registration assessment is “one of the ways we test that trainee pharmacists can demonstrate they understand how to apply knowledge appropriately and in a timely way, to make professional judgements in pharmacy practice.

“It also tests trainees’ number sense and that they are able to perform the calculations necessary to practice as a pharmacist.

“We assess these skills to provide assurance to patients and the public that the pharmacy professionals on our register can practice safely and effectively. Passing the registration assessment is one of the criteria that trainees need to meet to be eligible to apply to become a registered pharmacist. 

Read more: Petition racks up 800 signatures as trainees rail against ‘unjust’ GPhC exam

“The Board of Assessors, which sets and quality assures the papers, uses an assessment method in which the pass mark is based on the difficulty of papers to ensure the standard across different years. Further information about what we test in the registration assessment is contained in the registration assessment framework on our website.

“We appreciate that this can be a stressful time for candidates. The charity, Pharmacist Support, have lots of free information, guidance and dedicated support services available to support wellbeing.”

Last year the Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA) published a memo regarding the exam after concerns “including the high level of difficulty, a lack of clarity of wording, and a feeling that some questions were outside the scope of the curriculum”.

The June 2023 exam pass rate dropped to 77%, while the November exam pass rate increased to 66%.