How the SCA is marked, in plain English
Twelve cases, three domains, four grades and a pass mark set by borderline regression. This page explains how SCA marking works, from the RCGP’s own published descriptions, and how to use that when you mark your own practice.
Last checked: October 2026The three marking domains
Every SCA case is marked in the same three domains. These are the RCGP's names, from its marking and results page:
Data gathering and diagnosis
Gathering and using the right information, including checking for red flags and drawing out the psychological and social context, then reaching an appropriate working diagnosis.
Clinical management and medical complexity
A safe, appropriate plan for this patient, including follow-up and safety-netting, and handling more than one problem, risk or uncertainty at once.
Relating to others
How you communicate and work with the patient: rapport, exploring their ideas, concerns and expectations, explaining clearly and sharing the decision.
The summaries above are ours. The RCGP publishes the official descriptors for each domain on its marking page, and its SCA consultation toolkit breaks the skills down further. Read the RCGP's own wording before your diet.
How each case is graded
- Four grades per domain. For each case, the examiner gives each domain one of four grades: clear pass, pass, fail or clear fail. They judge against the standard of a newly qualified, independent GP, using the RCGP's published descriptors rather than a tick list.
- A different examiner for each case. The RCGP's SCA adjustments page notes that each of the twelve cases is marked independently by a different examiner. One examiner's view cannot colour your whole exam.
- Clinical management carries more weight. The RCGP weights clinical management and medical complexity more heavily than the other two domains. For the exact weighting: check RCGP.
- A total mark across all twelve cases. Results are reported as a mark out of 126. The RCGP's per-diet results give the highest mark for each diet in that form, for example 118 out of 126 in June 2025.
How the pass mark works
There is no fixed pass mark for each case, and you do not have to pass a set number of cases. The RCGP explains on its marking and results page that, as well as grading the domains, each examiner makes an overall judgement of the case. Those judgements feed a standard-setting process called borderline regression, which sets the pass mark for each case. Your overall result depends on your aggregated mark across the twelve cases compared with the pass mark for that diet.
In plain terms:
- The pass mark can move a little between diets, because it reflects how examiners judged the cases on that occasion, not a fixed percentage.
- One bad case does not fail you. Falling short in a case does not mean you have failed the exam; it is the aggregate that counts.
- Consistent weakness does fail you. Because every case adds to the total, the same domain slipping across several cases costs more than one disaster.
The rules on results, appeals and attempts are in the MRCGP regulations on marking and results.
Feedback statements
After the exam you receive feedback statements linked to the domains. The RCGP's feedback statements page is clear that they are not performance indicators and play no part in marking. The examiner marks the case first and then chooses statements. They are not a justification of the mark, and passing candidates may receive them too. Any domain an examiner fails always receives feedback.
The RCGP advises that a statement appearing more than once should guide your future preparation. If you are resitting, see how to read SCA feedback and plan a resit.
Marking yourself in practice
We have two practice tools for marking. Neither is the RCGP's marking scheme, and neither can predict your result.
Examiner Marking
Examiner Marking lets you grade each case in the three RCGP domains with the same four grades (clear pass to clear fail). It keeps your averages over time, so you can see which domain is holding you back.
The Hot Seat scorecard
Every case in The Hot Seat has a red, amber and green scorecard. It is our own practice tool, not an RCGP document. It borrows the column layout of the RCGP's consultation toolkit (Global skills, Tasks, Relating to others) and holds 7 Global skills items and 11 Relating to others items that are the same for every case, plus 11 Tasks written for that case. Green items add up to a score in each of the three exam domains, with clinical management given the most marks.
To put this into practice, mark every case straight after you finish it, write one line of evidence for each fail grade, and look for the domain that keeps slipping across a full mock exam.
Start free
Five sample Hot Seat cases, the full SCA Guide and one free run of the AI Patient Simulator are open to everyone, with no card needed. The whole SCA suite (all 359 cases, the AI mock circuit, group mocks and the Resit Clinic) is in the Gold plan.
Free means free: no card and no countdown. Paid plans can be cancelled or paused at any time.Frequently asked questions
What are the three SCA marking domains?
What grades are used in the SCA?
What is the SCA pass mark?
Do I need to pass a certain number of SCA cases?
Do feedback statements affect my SCA mark?
Is the Hot Seat scorecard the RCGP marking scheme?
More SCA guides
gpreasoning.uk is not affiliated with or endorsed by the RCGP. The SCA is run by the Royal College of General Practitioners; for anything official (dates, fees, rules, results) always check the RCGP SCA pages. Our cases are original teaching material written for practice: they are not exam recalls and do not predict what you will meet on the day.