Realistic stations, full mock exams, and instant feedback — built specifically around the current 16-station CASC format.
Every CASC station type, organised by specialty and skill area, so you can drill your weak spots instead of practising at random.
Voice-based consultations with AI patients trained to behave like real CASC station actors — practise history taking, examination, and management discussions under realistic time pressure.
Timed, 16-station mock exams built to the real CASC blueprint, scored station-by-station across History, Examination, and Management.
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What the CASC is, how it is structured, and how to prepare for it.
The CASC (Clinical Assessment of Skills and Competencies) is the practical, in-person clinical component of the MRCPsych exams, run by the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych). It is a 16 station Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), delivered across two sessions on the same day.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Total stations | 16, across two sessions on the same day |
| Morning session (8 stations) | Six management stations, one history-taking station, one examination station — each 7 minutes with 4 minutes reading time beforehand |
| Afternoon session (8 stations) | Four history-taking stations and four examination stations — each 7 minutes with 90 seconds reading time beforehand |
| Communication skills | Assessed in every single station, not as separate stations |
| Format | In-person OSCE with simulated patients (trained actors) |
| UK venue | The English Institute of Sport, Sheffield |
| Frequency | Twice a year in the UK — typically one sitting around January and one around September |
Every CASC sitting is guaranteed to include, at minimum:
The CASC blueprint organises stations into four skill domains, each with its own marksheet:
| Skill Domain | Stations |
|---|---|
| History taking | 5 stations |
| Examination | 5 stations |
| Patient Management | 6 stations |
| Communication | Assessed within all 16 stations, not counted separately |
Each station's marksheet scores a small number of specific analytic domains for that station (rated from Very Poor to Excellent), plus one overall global judgement — Severe Fail, Fail, Borderline Fail, Borderline Pass, Pass, or Excellent Pass. Across the exam as a whole, RCPsych's published exam criteria describe what examiners are looking for under six broad headings:
RCPsych sets the pass standard for each sitting using the Borderline Regression Method — a recognised statistical standard-setting approach that derives a station's pass mark from the relationship between candidates' domain scores and their global judgement. To pass the CASC overall, you must reach the pass mark set for that exam sitting and pass at least 12 of the 16 stations.
The CASC runs twice a year in the UK — typically one sitting around January and one around September. In 2026, for example, the UK CASC ran in January, with the College adding a one-off extra sitting on 12–13 February to accommodate candidates affected by oversubscription of the January diet, and the main September diet running 15–18 and 21–23 September in Sheffield. Exact sitting dates, application windows, and closing times are published on the RCPsych exams pages and can shift from year to year, so always check there rather than relying on a fixed date.
To be eligible to sit the CASC, you must meet all of the following:
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Maximum attempts | 6 attempts at any single MRCPsych component (Paper A, Paper B, or CASC) |
| Yearly CASC limit | No more than 2 CASC attempts per calendar year, regardless of venue |
CASC results are published through your RCPsych examinations account. Because each station is marked on a domain-based marksheet, unsuccessful candidates receive feedback broken down by skill domain and station — use this to target your preparation for a resit, rather than revising everything equally.
The CASC has its own fee, separate from Paper A and Paper B, paid per attempt. For 2026 examinations, the published fees are:
| Sitting | PMPT Trainees & Affiliates | Non-PMPT Trainees & Affiliates |
|---|---|---|
| CASC (UK) | £1,129 | £1,254 |
| CASC (Singapore) | £1,465 | £1,628 |
| CASC (Middle East) | £1,465 | £1,628 |
Pre-Membership Psychiatric Trainees (PMPT) and College Affiliates pay the lower rate; everyone else pays the higher rate. Fees are reviewed annually and can change from year to year.
Additional costs to factor in if you're travelling to sit the exam:
There's no single right way to prepare, but most candidates build their revision around the same few habits, layered on top of each other rather than done in isolation:
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“The case bank is organised exactly the way the real exam is structured, by specialty and by History/Examination/Management. That made it much easier to know what I still needed to drill before my sitting.”
“Practising against the AI patient under real timing, seven minutes with the reading time beforehand, is what actually got me comfortable with the pace. Reading about the format isn't the same as living it station by station.”
“What I liked most was getting feedback broken down by domain straight after each station, instead of a single vague score. It made it obvious which stations to go back and redo.”
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