Is the AKT getting harder?

Short answer. Pass rates have moved around between recent sittings, but "harder" is hard to prove from pass rate alone, because the pass mark is reset each sitting using standard-setting methodology, not a fixed percentage. A lower pass rate in one sitting does not by itself mean the questions got harder; it can reflect the candidate cohort, question mix, or standard-setting outcome for that specific sitting.

Last checked 15 Oct 2026. By The Medexia Team, who make AKT Navigator.

What the official pass-rate data shows

According to RCGP's published AKT feedback reports:

In each of these four sittings, UK-graduate first-time candidates passed at a higher rate than all candidates: 88.84% (October 2025), 89.2% (January 2026), 88.68% (April 2026) and 86.15% (July 2026). The pass mark was 109, 108 and 107 out of 160 from October 2025 to April 2026, and 112 in July 2026.

Source: RCGP AKT feedback reports for October 2025, January 2026 and April 2026 and July 2026, checked 15 Oct 2026.

Why "it felt harder" doesn't prove it was harder

Public posts frequently describe the AKT feeling tougher from one sitting to the next (example thread, checked 15 Oct 2026). This is a real and common perception, but it is not evidence on its own: the same cohort of questions can feel different depending on your own preparation, the specific domain mix you happened to be weak in, and exam-day pacing. RCGP does not publish a running difficulty index comparing sittings; it publishes a pass rate and pass mark per sitting, which already account for relative difficulty through standard-setting.

Don't let a question-bank percentage become your target pass mark

Several revision providers' own mock exams report a "pass rate" or recommended target score. These are the provider's own benchmark, not RCGP's actual pass mark for your sitting, which is set after the exam using candidate performance and is not known in advance. Treat a question-bank mock score as a rough proxy for your current readiness, not a guaranteed real-exam outcome.

Where AKT Navigator fits

AKT Navigator (by Medexia). Free syllabus-mapped questions, mocks and structured explanations for every AKT domain, plus an optional Full Audio Pass (£79/4 months). Our mock scores are a practice signal, not a predicted real-exam mark. RCGP alone sets the pass mark for each sitting. Not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the Royal College of General Practitioners.

The Medexia Team