We sincerely apologise for any distress this may have caused candidates who were affected. We are actively engaging with our exam delivery partners to establish the root cause of the problems. We understand that of the 244 candidates registered to sit the exam, 49 candidates reported technical issues. 45 of these 49 candidates were able to continue and complete the exam, whilst four withdrew due to unresolvable technical issues in the running time of the exam. Of those four, three are in a UK training programme. We are liaising with all four candidates directly and are actively looking to arrange an opportunity to sit the exam again, at no cost to them, as soon we can. We have also contacted all other candidates who reported a technical issue.
Our delivery partner has advised us that there was no failure with the IT platform delivering the exam. A detailed log of all reported incidents will be reviewed by the examining board as part of the results process. This will be considered when results are being calculated. We will also investigate each of the technical issues that occurred and work with our delivery partner in order to minimise future disruption wherever possible.
We recognise the significant time and effort candidates invest in preparing for these exams, and we understand how disruptive such issues can be.
If you are a candidate who experienced a technical issue during the Rheumatology SCE and have not heard from us, please email: policy.officer@thefederation.uk