How the FOP is marked and when DCH results arrive

The FOP pass mark is set afresh for each paper by the modified Angoff method, so there is no fixed percentage and no quota. Results reach your RCPCH online account about six to seven weeks after the exam. The DCH Clinical is marked differently: examiners grade each station and you need 160 out of 192. Here is how both work, when 2027 results should land and how to use a breakdown after a fail. Checked against rcpch.ac.uk on 16 October 2026.

How the FOP pass mark is set

A panel of Angoff judges, all subject experts, goes through the paper question by question. Each judge estimates how many out of 100 borderline candidates would answer it correctly. The RCPCH defines the borderline candidate as “a fictitious trainee who has a 50% chance of passing the exam”. For the FOP, the panel has in mind a competent medical graduate with four to six months of paediatrics.

From the 2025.2 diet (April 2025), the judges make two judgements per question: the first alone, the second after discussion. A third round, made after seeing how candidates performed, was dropped with GMC approval. The final judgements are averaged for each question. The mean across the paper, taken to the nearest achievable mark, is the pass mark. A result review meeting can then remove questions that the statistics or candidate feedback show to be unsuitable.

What that means for you

You are measured against the standard, not against other candidates. The RCPCH says no number or percentage of candidates is set in advance to pass or fail. The pass mark can move from paper to paper to keep the standard consistent. Every question is worth one mark and wrong answers lose nothing. The results page does not give the FOP pass mark, but the RCPCH’s standard setting page explains the method.

What your FOP results show

You get an overall mark plus your percentage score in each category, set against the average for UK trainees who passed. The category scores do not add up to your overall mark, because some questions sit in more than one category. Categories also differ in size, so averaging them will not give your overall score. There is no re-mark, review of marks or appeal for the theory exams. Complaints about the day must go in within seven days of the exam.

When FOP results arrive

Results go into your RCPCH online account about six or seven weeks after the exam, without a notification. Log in and look under Your exam results. The results letter follows by email about a week later.

The RCPCH publishes no results dates for 2027. Counting six to seven weeks from each paper gives these rough windows, which are our arithmetic, not RCPCH dates.

Each of the first three lands within days of the next application window opening. The October 2026 result is due as the February 2027 window opens on 30 November. The letter may come after that window closes. If a resit is possible, settle your plan before results day.

How the DCH Clinical is scored

There is one examiner at each of the eight stations. Each station is marked in two parts, Part A and Part B, giving 16 judgements. Each judgement is graded:

• Clear pass: 12 marks.
• Pass: 10 marks.
• Bare fail: 8 marks.
• Clear fail: 4 marks.
• Unacceptable: 0 marks, for unprofessional or dangerous behaviour or extremely poor performance.

The maximum is 192 and the pass mark is currently 160. That is an average of 10, a Pass, on every judgement. Each Clear pass makes up for one Bare fail; a Clear fail needs three Clear passes to balance it. One poor station will not fail you on its own unless there is unprofessional behaviour of sufficient severity. The candidate guide adds that the pass mark can be raised after each exam period.

When DCH Clinical results arrive

The RCPCH’s results page gives only one general timing: six to seven weeks after the exam. It has no separate timetable for the clinical. Feedback comes as a results letter with marksheets. If you think a mark was added up or recorded wrongly, you can ask for a review of marks within 10 days of that email. It covers up to three stations and costs £350, refunded only if the outcome changes to a pass.

Using your category breakdown after a fail

1. Wait for the letter. Plan from the detailed feedback, not the headline mark.
2. Compare with those who passed. Set each category against the average for UK trainees who passed. The biggest gaps come first.
3. Weigh the size of each category. A poor score in a small category may cost fewer marks than a middling one in a large category.
4. Change the method, not just the hours. Turn each gap into timed blocks of questions.
5. Talk to your supervisor. The RCPCH suggests it. Many candidates do not pass the theory exam first time.

How this fits the platform

The DCH hub has the question bank of 661 best-of-five questions across all 26 syllabus areas. There is a timed 100-question mock in two hours, the shape of the FOP. The twelve-chapter revision guide ends with a chapter on the DCH Clinical. Access is £49.99 for 12 months as a one-off payment. You can try ten questions free first.

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