Pearson Extends UKCAT Consortium Contract


London, UK, Aug. 22, 2016 – Pearson, the world’s learning company, has renewed a key UK professional assessment contract to carry out computer based clinical aptitude tests for medical and dental degree applicants across the UK.

Pearson VUE, the professional assessment business of Pearson and global leader in computer-based testing, has run the contract since 2006, and will continue to deliver the test on behalf of the UKCAT Consortium of 26 UK universities. The Consortium is formed to develop and deliver an admission test for medicine and dental education to complement existing university admissions systems.

The test, which is compulsory at those universities who form part of the Consortium, has seen strong growth in recent years. More than 230,000 candidates have sat the UKCAT since 2006 and currently around 23,500 candidates take the test annually.

Matthew Poyiadgi, vice president of Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Pearson VUE, said: “This test is important as it is a stepping stone for thousands of talented candidates seeking to build and sustain a future career in healthcare professions. We are proud that we have again been entrusted by UKCAT to deliver this test for such a critical vocation and look forward to continuing to provide a highly secure and efficient service for years to come.”

Rachel Greatrix, chief operating officer of UKCAT, said: “This test enables us to provide an additional tool for Universities to use in the selection of the very best candidates for high demand university courses. We continue to be impressed with the consistency of the service Pearson VUE provides for candidates, the availability of its testing network, its test development expertise and overall customer experience.”

The computer-based aptitude test is available to students through a network of test centres – enabling candidates to locate a centre close to home or work and removing the need to travel long distances to sit the test. The UKCAT Consortium also make the test available to international candidates looking to study in the UK. The test is designed to be safe, highly secure and efficient with an online booking system allowing tests to be booked on-demand.

The test explores the cognitive powers of candidates and other attributes considered to be valuable for healthcare professionals. It measures a range of abilities including verbal, quantitative abstract reasoning and situational judgement.

About the UKCAT Consortium
UKCAT is a charity and limited company managed by a Consortium of Universities who require the test for entry to their medical/dental programmes. Established in 2006 in response to University concerns about the difficulties of selecting fairly from increasing numbers of high achieving applicants UKCAT’s aims to achieve greater fairness in selection by helping schools discriminate between candidates with equivalent qualifications; widen participation in medical and dental training of under-represented social groups; and identify the characteristics in applicants which will make them good dentists and doctors.


Media contact

Damien Fletcher
+44 (0)20 7010 2582
damien.fletcher@pearson.com