ORE Pass Rates 2024–2025: What the Data Shows and What It Means for Your Preparation

1. How ORE Pass Rates Are Calculated and Published

The GDC publishes pass rates and result distributions for each ORE sitting on its results page. Results are published after candidates have been informed of their individual outcomes. Part 1 results show the overall pass rate as a single percentage. Part 2 results are more detailed — they publish the pass/fail breakdown for each of the four components (OSCE, DM, DTP, ME) individually as well as an overall pass rate, and they show the distribution of how many components each failing candidate failed (one, two, three, or four components).

Neither Part 1 nor Part 2 uses a fixed percentage cut-score. Both use standard-setting — a post-exam process in which the examining board reviews question performance data and applies an expert-judgment method to determine the pass threshold for that specific cohort. This means the effective pass mark can differ slightly between sittings, even when the same percentage would be reported. It also means that a candidate who scored, for example, 63% in April might pass while a candidate scoring 63% in August might fail, if the standard-setting process resulted in different thresholds. The GDC does not publish the per-sitting pass thresholds.

Candidates receive their individual percentage scores for each Part 1 paper. For Part 2, they receive a pass or fail for each component, not a percentage. The GDC does not provide individual item-level feedback. King's College London publishes a post-sitting feedback report approximately 40 working days after each Part 1 sitting, identifying content areas where the cohort performed less well — these reports are among the most useful preparation resources available.

2. ORE Part 1 Pass Rates: 2024 Data

The Part 1 pass rates confirmed by the GDC for 2024 are among the highest recorded in the examination's recent history. April 2024 recorded a 71% pass rate from a cohort of 600 candidates. August 2024 recorded a 70% pass rate from an equivalent 600-candidate cohort. These figures are notably higher than the historical long-run average of approximately 50% reported on the GDC's capacity overview page, and also above the 2016–2019 range of 57–78% from the broader historical dataset.

Part 1 pass rates being consistently around 70% in 2024 is positive news for candidates, but it requires some context. First, the 600-candidate sittings introduced from 2023 onwards represented a tripling of previous capacity from 200 places — and the candidate pool that fills 600 seats inevitably includes a wider range of preparation levels than the more self-selected 200-seat cohorts. Second, passing rates in the 70% range mean that approximately 180 of 600 candidates per sitting did not pass — a substantial absolute number. Third, the long-run 50% figure means that some earlier cohorts, or cohorts under UCLC in future years, may see lower rates if question difficulty or standard-setting thresholds shift.

3. ORE Part 2 Pass Rates: 2024 and 2025 Data

Part 2 pass rates show far more volatility between sittings than Part 1. The four 2024 sittings produced a range from 59% to 74% — a span of 15 percentage points across a single calendar year. This sitting-to-sitting variation is significantly higher than that seen in Part 1, and it reflects the inherently more variable nature of practical clinical assessment: the specific manikin procedures set, the actor scenarios in the OSCE, and the DTP cases presented can all influence cohort performance in ways that written papers typically do not.

The range of 59–74% across 2024 and into January 2025 is historically higher than earlier periods. The 2016–2019 data cited in a British Dental Journal analysis of ORE booking problems recorded Part 2 pass rates as low as 25% in some sittings. The contemporary 59–74% range, while still producing meaningful failure rates, reflects a cohort that is generally better prepared than those of five to ten years ago — likely due to the growth of structured ORE preparation courses and the wider availability of study resources.

4. Component-Level Analysis: Where Candidates Fail Part 2

The GDC's published Part 2 results include a component-level breakdown that reveals far more than the overall pass rate alone. For the January 2025 sitting, the published data shows: OSCE — 138 passed, 6 failed; DM — 109 passed, 35 failed; DTP — 140 passed, 4 failed; ME — 134 passed, 10 failed; Overall — 102 passed all four components, 42 failed at least one component.

The DM component is the clear outlier. A 24% individual failure rate on the manikin — compared with 3–7% on the other three components — makes it the primary differentiator between passing and failing Part 2 in this cohort. The DTP has the lowest failure rate, reflecting the fact that candidates who have reached Part 2 typically have sufficient clinical knowledge to handle a structured treatment planning exercise. The OSCE's low failure rate is consistent with its position as the most familiar format for dentists who have had any structured preparation.

The number-of-components-failed distribution from January 2025 is also instructive: approximately 71% of candidates passed all four components; 18% failed exactly one component; 10% failed exactly two; 1% failed three or four. The large majority of failures are single-component failures — and in light of the DM component data, a significant proportion of those single failures will be manikin. The practical implication is direct: for most candidates sitting Part 2, the exam is won or lost on the manikin.

5. What Drives Sitting-to-Sitting Variation in Part 2

The 15-percentage-point swing between the January and April 2024 sittings at 59% and the September 2024 sitting at 74% invites an obvious question: what is different between high-pass and low-pass sittings? The GDC does not publish a breakdown of contributing factors. However, the structure of Part 2 itself provides the most likely explanations.

The DM component is the most technically demanding and the most variable in terms of what procedures are set. A sitting where two complex crown preparations and one intricate restoration are required will challenge operative skills differently than one with more straightforward Class II work. Similarly, the OSCE circuit's 24 stations include actor-based communication scenarios whose specific clinical content is new at each sitting.

The DTP exercise also varies. Cases range from straightforward planning for a partially dentate patient to complex periodontal and restorative cases with significant medical history. Standard-setting post-exam also contributes. If a particular sitting's exercises were objectively more challenging, the standard-setting process should in principle adjust the pass threshold accordingly. But in practice, sitting-to-sitting variation in both question difficulty and standard-setting introduces genuine performance variation that candidates cannot control but can partially mitigate through thorough preparation across all four components.

6. Pass Rates in Context: What They Mean for the Backlog

Pass rates have direct implications for the ORE backlog problem. With approximately 5,000 candidates on waiting lists and only around 354 completing both parts annually in 2024, the mathematics of the situation is stark. Even if Part 2 pass rates hold at the 70% level and Part 1 rates stay around 70%, a significant proportion of each sitting's cohort must wait — having used one of their four attempts — to rebook at the next available sitting.

Part 2 pass rates are particularly critical to the backlog because Part 2 has fewer places. With current annual Part 2 capacity, a 30% failure rate means a large group of unsuccessful candidates stay in the system and compete again for future seats. The waiting list does not shrink simply because capacity exists; it shrinks only when completions outpace new applications and resit demand.

Under the UCLC contract, Part 2 capacity rises significantly. If pass rates remain around 70%, completions could increase meaningfully. But that still depends on the full pipeline holding together, from Part 1 entry to Part 2 throughput.

7. What the Pass Rate Data Means for Your Preparation

The pass rate data, read carefully, gives candidates a precise preparation roadmap. For Part 1, the 70% sitting pass rates in 2024 suggest that most well-prepared candidates pass on their first attempt, but UK-specific content — law, ethics, pharmacology, radiography regulations, and NICE guidelines — remains the area where underprepared candidates lose marks. The KCL post-sitting feedback reports identify these areas explicitly and should be read by every candidate, not just those who failed.

For Part 2, the DM component data is the single most important finding in the published results. A 24% individual fail rate on the manikin, compared with 3–7% on the other three components, tells you unambiguously where preparation needs the most emphasis. Candidates who book Part 2 without adequate supervised manikin practice are the ones who generate this failure statistic.

For resit planning, the variation between sittings means that an unsuccessful result does not automatically prove you were badly prepared. But the component-level data for your sitting still tells you where to focus. Resit planning should follow the failed component, not a blind restart from zero.

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References

• General Dental Council — ORE preparation and results | Official results page listing Part 1 and Part 2 sitting pass rates and result PDFs.
• General Dental Council — ORE Part 2 results January 2025 | Component-level pass/fail data for January 2025.
• General Dental Council — Capacity of the ORE | GDC overview stating the long-run overall Part 1 pass rate is approximately 50%.
• British Dental Journal — Problems in booking to sit the dental ORE | Historical context for older Part 1 and Part 2 pass-rate ranges.
• General Dental Council — More details on new ORE contract | Confirms 354 ORE completions in 2024 and future capacity expansion.
• Dentistry.co.uk — Overseas registration exam: all dentists need to know | Additional context on pass rates, application growth, and backlog.