The best GPhC question bank is the one that helps you correct the errors you are actually making: setting up a calculation, interpreting a medicines resource, distinguishing plausible clinical answers or applying pharmacy law. A large question count helps only when you can explain why your answer was right and repeat the method on an unfamiliar question.
Start with iatroX’s GPhC CRA bank for question practice, explanations and guided reasoning. Then compare dedicated pharmacy resources according to the additional support you need. This guide is published by iatroX and presents our product first. The comparisons below use official assessment documents and providers’ advertised features, checked on 31 October 2026; they are editorial recommendations about study use rather than results from a comparative trial.
Match your question bank to the Common Registration Assessment
The 2026 Common Registration Assessment framework describes the assessment jointly delivered by the GPhC and Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland. Part 1 contains 40 calculation questions in 120 minutes, with numerical free-entry responses. Part 2 contains 120 questions in 150 minutes: 90 single-best-answer questions and 30 extended-matching questions. Candidates must pass both parts in the same sitting.
Selected questions provide resources to interpret. The framework also makes clear that familiar clinical guidance must be understood, rather than assuming every fact will be supplied. Learning outcome 37, concerning the act of independent prescribing, is not assessed in this CRA. That does not remove medicines decisions from revision.
Keep two records: calculation performance and clinical or professional judgement performance. A strong result in one can conceal a weakness in the other when you combine them into a single practice percentage.
1. iatroX: question practice with a reasoning conversation
The iatroX GPhC hub describes a dedicated question bank, numerical-entry calculation practice and Part 2 SBA and EMQ practice. Timed question sets support practice at the papers’ question counts and pace. After an attempted question, the Socratic Tutor helps you work through the distinction behind your choice.
Use that conversation for a specific task. For a calculation, explain which quantity you are trying to find before discussing the arithmetic. For a clinical question, identify the detail that changes the preferred action. Asking why a tempting alternative is less suitable produces a more useful revision note than copying the answer explanation.
Up to 10 new sample questions per day, shared across exams and subject to availability, with explanations and no account required. One complete guided Tutor session is included with a verified free account; continued Tutor use is included in all-access.
Full bank access and continuing Tutor use are part of all-access. £29/month or £99/year in the UK; US$29/month or US$99/year elsewhere.
One useful buying test is to attempt a question, read its explanation and decide whether you could apply the underlying rule to a changed scenario. Judge the learning process as well as the answer screen.
2. ONtrack: assessment-style practice with a membership benefit
ONtrack is produced by the Royal College of Pharmacy and advertises calculation, single-best-answer and extended-matching practice for the 2026 registration assessment. The College’s assessment preparation page describes over a thousand assessment-style questions and offers RCPharm members 30 days’ access plus 25% off further access.
This is a membership entitlement to check before buying a separate subscription. Confirm how to activate it and whether the remaining access period reaches your sitting. If you already have ONtrack through membership, use an initial set to identify whether your main difficulty is knowledge, reading the question or completing it within time. That gives a reason for any additional purchase.
3. Pre-Reg Shortcuts: a standalone bank as well as teaching
Pre-Reg Shortcuts has a dedicated question-bank product. Its current page separates calculations from clinical practice; the clinical paper includes SBA and EMQ formats. The public demo offers five mixed questions per quiz, while choosing a topic requires the full bank.
It therefore belongs on a question-bank shortlist, including for candidates who are not looking for a taught course. When comparing a bank purchase with a wider training package, check which product is in your basket and which teaching, mock assessments or support it includes. A small mixed demo can show you an explanation style; it cannot establish coverage of every framework area. Inspect both a calculation explanation and a clinical explanation before deciding.
4. PharmAssess: separate calculations and Paper 2 routes
ProPharmace’s PharmAssess offers a calculations plan, a Paper 2 Exam Hub and combined access. The calculations offering includes video tutorials, topic-based timed assessments, a question bank and two full Paper 1 mocks. The Paper 2 offering includes questions, explanations and two full-length mock papers. Its listed plans are paid, with VAT shown separately.
This separation is useful when you know which component needs extra work. If the recurring problem is constructing a multi-step calculation, teaching that shows the working may deserve priority over adding another mixed clinical bank. If arithmetic is reliable but you repeatedly confuse clinical options, inspect the Paper 2 explanations instead. Choose the package that addresses the observed problem.
5. PharmacyCPA: a course containing questions and tutor support
PharmacyCPA’s GPhC exam course advertises more than 2,000 mock questions, SBA and extended-matching practice, timed exams, calculation resources, lectures, videos and a designated UK pharmacist tutor. It is a course package containing question practice, rather than merely a question-count alternative.
Candidates who want to bring a recurring difficulty to a human tutor should check how that support is delivered and what is included during their access period. A provider’s published pass-rate claim should not be treated as a comparable measure of effectiveness: groups, response rates and previous attainment can differ. Make the purchase around the support you will use, with its terms clear before payment.
Check a bank with three practical tests
For calculations, work a question without looking at the possible result. Write the target unit, the conversion steps and an estimate of the answer’s scale. Then inspect the explanation. It should help you locate the first wrong step, rather than merely confirm the final number. Recognising a familiar answer is a different skill from generating it.
For clinical judgement, take one incorrect answer and name the decisive patient detail. Was the problem a contraindication, monitoring requirement, symptom requiring referral or an instruction in the supplied information? Change one detail on paper and explain whether the answer would change. This tests whether you learned a rule or memorised a vignette.
For professional judgement, explain the action and its basis separately. Recognising that a situation is concerning does not automatically identify the appropriate next step. Record the point you must verify and the source you would use. Then return to an unfamiliar question on the same topic after a few days.
Build a revision week around the error, not the provider
Begin the week with a manageable mixed set and a short calculation set. Label each mistake as missing knowledge, misread information, wrong method, arithmetic, or time pressure. These labels are your own revision notes; the purpose is to choose the next action precisely.
Spend the next two sessions repairing the most frequent problem. For wrong methods, rewrite the working in a clean sequence. For missing knowledge, read the relevant source and answer a fresh question. For misreading, underline the instruction and the patient detail that changes the decision before answering. If time is the difficulty, practise moving on from a stalled question and returning later.
Later in the week, attempt fresh mixed questions under time pressure. Keep previously seen questions for checking retention, and fresh questions for checking transfer. An improved score on a familiar set may reflect remembering the answer. Your review should say what you can now explain or calculate without that prompt.
For official delivery familiarisation, use the regulator’s examples and walkthrough, signposted in its CRA FAQ. They demonstrate the assessment’s question style and on-screen tools. Commercial practice and official examples serve complementary purposes.
Use medicines reference and reflection for a specific learning need
When a revision error concerns product-specific information, practise finding the relevant section rather than collecting disconnected drug facts. The iatroX medicines library supports UK medicines reference, and the Datapharm partnership concerns emc SmPC content within iatroX’s clinical answering workflow. That is clinical reference support; it does not establish what tools or information will be available during your assessment.
For ongoing professional learning, iatroX CPD connects focused question activity with reflection and evidence export. Where the available activity matches your learning need, record the gap, the evidence you reviewed and the change you intend to make. Apply your own professional scheme’s requirements when selecting evidence. Exam revision does not become a universally accredited activity simply because it took time.
Frequently asked questions
Which GPhC question bank should I try first?
Start with iatroX if you want question practice linked to explanations and a reasoning conversation. Use the sample to inspect that process, then compare any extra need for calculation videos, human teaching or membership-provided access against the other products above.
Do I need separate preparation for Part 1 and Part 2?
Yes. The official assessment uses numerical-entry calculations in Part 1 and SBA and EMQ questions in Part 2. Track the two components separately and practise both. A combined subscription can support that plan, but a combined score should not hide a persistent calculation weakness.
Are free demos the same as full question-bank access?
No. iatroX’s daily sample allowance is shared across banks, Pre-Reg Shortcuts currently offers five mixed questions per free quiz, and ONtrack’s 30-day benefit depends on RCPharm membership. Check the full product’s access period, inclusions and renewal terms when choosing paid preparation.
Practise one pharmacy decision
Open the iatroX GPhC CRA hub, attempt a question and explain the decisive step before reading the answer. Use that step to choose your next revision session.