The Acute Medicine SCE pass mark is a scaled score of 460. The Federation lowered it from 493 after a standards review in April 2025, and its 2025 report says 460 will be used for all future sittings until the standard is reviewed again. At the December 2025 sitting, 460 corresponded to 61.7%, or 121 correct answers out of 196 scored questions.
Three figures are often mixed together: the scaled passing score, the raw percentage needed in a particular sitting and the proportion of candidates who pass. This guide separates them, using only the Federation’s published reports.
Official information checked on 31 October 2026; the figures below describe sittings from 2022 to 2025.
What is the Acute Medicine SCE pass mark?
The Federation’s 2025 examination report states that the standards were reviewed in April 2025 and the pass score was decreased from 493 to 460, based on the performance of UK resident doctors at the March 2025 sitting. The new score was first applied in December 2025.
The pass mark is a scaled score, not a percentage. The Federation uses test equating, linking each paper to earlier ones through a set of reused anchor questions, so the raw percentage needed can change between sittings. Its pass-marks explanation says the SCE Examination Board reviews standards every three years, or sooner if needed.
| Sitting | Passing score | Raw equivalent in that sitting |
|---|---|---|
| November 2022 | 493 | 61.5% (123/200) |
| August 2023 | 493 | 62.9% (122/194) |
| May 2024 | 493 | 58% (113/195) |
| March 2025 | 493 | 61.6% (122/198) |
| December 2025 | 460 | 61.7% (121/196) |
The denominators differ because questions that perform poorly are removed from scoring after the exam: six in 2023 and five in 2024, for example. Sources: the 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 reports.
Notice that the raw equivalent has stayed between 58% and 63% across these sittings, even though the scaled score fell. Treat any single percentage as a description of a past paper, not as the target for May 2027.
What are the pass rates?
The reports give two pass rates each year: one for self-declared UK trainees (called UK resident doctors from 2024) and one for all candidates.
| Year | Candidates | UK cohort pass rate | All candidates pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 (November) | 318 (91 UK) | 63.7% | 45% |
| 2023 (August) | 270 (83 UK) | 56.6% | 37.4% |
| 2024 (May) | 323 (114 UK) | 88.6% | 68.7% |
| 2025 (March and December) | 531 (199 UK) | 69.8% | 47.8% |
The 2025 report combines the March and December sittings and does not give a pass rate for each one separately. Earlier reports, from 2014 to 2021, do not state pass rates at all. Results for the September 2026 sitting will appear in the next annual report, usually published early in the following year.
The reports group candidates who did not declare training details, together with an “OTH” group, as “Other”. That group should not simply be relabelled “international doctors”.
What do these numbers mean for my revision?
A cohort pass rate describes that group in that sitting. It is not your personal probability of passing. The swing from 56.6% to 88.6% for UK candidates between 2023 and 2024 shows how much a single year can vary.
The topic data is more useful. In 2025, UK resident doctors scored highest in renal medicine (70.3%) and lowest in clinical pharmacology and poisoning (51.6%). In 2024 the lowest category was infectious diseases (52.9%). These are areas many candidates find harder than they expect, and both are worth early attention.
A rising overall score can hide a neglected category. Keep a tally of questions attempted in each of the 13 blueprint categories beside your score record.
What score should I aim for in a question bank?
No commercial question bank score converts reliably into an SCE result. Banks differ in difficulty and topic mix, and a repeat score measures something different from a first attempt. Track your first-attempt score on unfamiliar, mixed questions, and look at trends over several weeks rather than single sessions.
When a block goes badly, decide why: missing knowledge, misreading the stem, choosing between two options or running out of time. Each needs a different fix. Our question bank guide explains what to look for in a resource, and the syllabus and blueprint guide helps you check breadth.
If you are preparing for a resit
Start with your official feedback. The Federation’s candidate-feedback guidance explains the topic-level information available through MyMRCP(UK). Combine it with your own account of the day, then plan for the next sitting on 5 May 2027.
Practise against the blueprint
Revision Pro’s Acute Medicine SCE course has 1,766 best-of-five questions across all 13 categories, with explanations and a timed Mock Mode. See what is included.
Frequently asked questions
Is 460 a percentage?
No. It is a scaled score produced by equating. In December 2025 it corresponded to 61.7% of scored questions, but the raw percentage can differ in another sitting.
Was the pass mark lowered?
Yes. The scaled passing score fell from 493 to 460 after the April 2025 standards review. The raw equivalent in December 2025 (61.7%) was similar to March 2025 (61.6%) because each paper is equated separately.
Does the overall pass rate predict my result?
No. It describes a previous cohort. Use your category coverage, first-attempt scores and official feedback to decide what to do next.
