Exam
20 January 2027. Online delivery.
Part 1 FRCOphth · written exam
How the written exam is set
Paper 1 is 90 single-best-answer questions in two hours. After a one-hour break, Paper 2 is another 90 questions in two hours. The pass decision uses the combined exam. A fail means resitting the whole examination. The College uses the Ebel method. There is no permanent pass percentage.
January 2027 sitting
Taken from the College calendar as recorded for this 2026/27 cycle. Recheck the live calendar before you book.
Results
19 February 2027.
Also listed
The College has also listed an April 2027 sitting. Confirm dates on the exam calendar.
In the room
No calculator. No books or notes. One sheet of white paper and a pencil for rough work. Questions can be skipped and revisited.
Recent pass marks
These are published marks for those sittings. They are not a rule for the next paper. This site scores practice against a 70% readiness target and labels it as a site target.
January 2026
115/179 = 64.2%. Pass rate 41.2%.
October 2025
117/180 = 65.0%.
April 2025
113/180 = 62.8%.
January 2025
113/179 = 63.1%.
What the mocks copy
A half mock is 90 questions in 120 minutes. A full mock is 180 questions in 240 minutes of testing. Category shares follow the January 2026 report: optics about 25%, pathology about 19%, miscellaneous about 16%, anatomy and embryology about 15%, physiology about 10%, investigations about 8%, pharmacology and genetics about 7%. Use them to plan revision. They do not predict the next paper’s exact counts.