The GPhC Common Registration Assessment (CRA) is the exam that determines whether you can practise as a pharmacist in the UK. It replaced the pre-registration exam in 2024, introducing a new format with three question types and a failure rate that hit 42% in the November 2024 sitting. The stakes are high. The preparation market is thin. And no other platform offers AI-adaptive learning for GPhC preparation.
iatroX is building the most comprehensive AI-adaptive GPhC Q-bank available.
Three Question Types
The CRA tests three distinct question formats — and your preparation must cover all three.
SBA (Single Best Answer). The standard multiple-choice format: a clinical scenario or pharmaceutical question with 5 options, one best answer. This is the format most pharmacists are familiar with from MPharm assessments. The iatroX adaptive engine adjusts SBA difficulty based on your performance — if your therapeutics SBAs are consistently correct, the engine increases difficulty and shifts focus to your weaker areas (calculations, pharmacology, legislation).
EMQ (Extended Matching Questions). A set of 8 options (A-H) with multiple themed stems — each stem has one correct answer from the shared option set. EMQs test broader pattern recognition and discrimination between similar options. They are harder than SBAs because the option set is larger and multiple stems share the same options, requiring you to differentiate precisely between similar answers. The iatroX Q-bank includes EMQs across all CRA domains — therapeutics, pharmacology, pharmaceutical science, and pharmacy practice.
CALCULATION (numeric free entry). The question presents a clinical scenario requiring a pharmaceutical calculation. You type the numeric answer — no multiple choice, no safety net. An acceptable range accounts for rounding differences. The expected answer unit is displayed. After answering, a worked solution walks through the calculation step by step.
Calculation questions are the most feared component of the CRA — and justifiably so. In multiple-choice format, you can sometimes eliminate implausible options or work backwards from the answers. In free-entry format, you must calculate correctly from scratch. The iatroX calculation questions replicate this pressure exactly.
SmPC Resource-Provided Questions
The real CRA includes questions that present an SmPC (Summary of Product Characteristics) extract or formulary data and require you to interpret or calculate from that resource. These questions test whether you can extract relevant information from a pharmaceutical data source — a core competency for practising pharmacists.
iatroX includes SmPC resource-provided questions in the Q-bank — presenting the same format the real exam uses. You receive the SmPC extract, read the clinical scenario, extract the relevant data (dosing, interactions, contraindications), and answer the question. This is not something you can practise with a standard multiple-choice Q-bank.
How iatroX Is Different
Every other GPhC preparation resource is static — the questions are served in the same order regardless of your performance. If you are already strong in therapeutics, a static Q-bank still gives you the same proportion of therapeutics questions. If your calculations are weak, a static Q-bank does not automatically increase your calculation exposure.
The iatroX adaptive engine analyses your performance across all CRA domains after every question. If your SBA accuracy in pharmacology is 80% but your calculation accuracy is 45%, the engine serves more calculation questions and fewer pharmacology SBAs — automatically, on every session. Spaced repetition ensures that previously-weak topics resurface at optimal intervals, preventing the common pattern of "I revised it last month but forgot it by exam day."
No other platform offers adaptive learning for GPhC preparation. This is not a minor differentiator — it is the difference between practising randomly and practising systematically.
The CRA Format in Detail
The Common Registration Assessment replaced the old pre-registration exam in 2024, fundamentally changing the format and the preparation required. The CRA Part 1 tests clinical and pharmaceutical knowledge through SBAs and EMQs. Part 2 tests calculation and interpretation through free-entry calculation questions and resource-interpretation questions. Both parts are sat on the same day under timed conditions.
The failure rate has been notably high since the new format launched — 42% failure in the November 2024 sitting, improving to 23% in June 2025 but still representing nearly one in four candidates failing. The new calculation format (free numeric entry rather than multiple choice) is widely cited as the factor most candidates underestimate. The EMQ format, which requires discriminating between 8 options across multiple themed stems, is also more demanding than the SBA-only format of the old exam.
The Market Gap
The GPhC preparation market is dominated by a handful of platforms — PharmX, Coditioning, Focus Pre-Reg — none of which offer AI-adaptive learning. These platforms provide static question banks and structured revision content. They are functional — many candidates pass using them. But they do not adapt to your individual performance profile, they do not schedule review at optimal intervals, and they do not tell you when you are ready for the exam.
For a high-stakes exam with a 23-42% failure rate, the preparation tool should be doing more than serving random questions from a static bank. It should be identifying your specific weak areas and concentrating practice there. It should be scheduling reviews of previously-weak topics before you forget them. And it should be providing mock exams under real conditions so you discover time-management problems before exam day — not during it.
iatroX is the only GPhC preparation platform that does all of this. The adaptive engine, spaced repetition, and mock exams are not features borrowed from another product — they are the same AI-adaptive architecture that serves PLAB, MRCGP, MRCP, and 29 other exam specifications.
Preparation Strategy
Months 1-3 (foundation). Start with untimed SBA and EMQ practice on iatroX. Let the adaptive engine identify your weakest pharmacy domains — therapeutics, pharmacology, pharmaceutical science, pharmacy practice, law and ethics. Review every explanation thoroughly. Use Ask iatroX to verify BNF and guideline details when explanations raise questions.
Months 3-5 (application). Shift focus to calculation questions. Start untimed — build accuracy before speed. Work through every calculation type: dosing, infusion rates, dilution, unit conversions, percentages. Review every worked solution. Once untimed accuracy exceeds 80%, start timing yourself — 2-3 minutes per calculation question.
Months 5-6 (performance). Mock exams under timed conditions. Full-length mocks mixing SBAs, EMQs, and calculations. The study planner schedules mocks at increasing frequency. The readiness score tells you whether you are on track.
Q-Bank Size and Growth
The GPhC Q-bank currently contains approximately 536 questions with a target of 1,000+. The bank is growing continuously with new questions across all three formats (SBA, EMQ, calculation) and all CRA domains. Early adopters benefit from the adaptive engine's targeting capability even with the current bank — the engine's value comes from intelligent question selection, not just question volume. A smaller bank with adaptive targeting produces more efficient learning than a larger bank with random selection — because every question you see is selected to address your specific weakest area.
Subscription
The GPhC Q-bank is a paid vertical on iatroX — included in the same subscription (£29/month or £99/year) that covers all specialist diploma banks, mock exams, the AI study planner, and all premium features. One subscription covers everything.
Start practising GPhC questions at iatrox.com/quiz-landing.