Oriel mock exams
Oriel mock exams and sample papers
Oriel is two papers in one sitting: a 10-question numeracy test, then 52 situational judgement scenarios. A mock is only useful if it runs to those lengths and that clock — so ours do. Here is what each paper actually contains, and what a realistic mock should look like.
What the two papers are
The numeracy test is sat first: 10 questions in 20 minutes. You enter numerical answers only — units are not required.
The SJT follows: 52 scenarios in 104 minutes, which is 2 minutes a scenario. That pace is the single most useful thing to rehearse, and the reason a ten-question taster tells you almost nothing about how you will cope on the day.
Both are sat at a Pearson Professional Assessments test centre. A glossary of asterisked terms is available throughout the test, so an unfamiliar term in a stem is not meant to be the obstacle.
The two SJT question formats
There are exactly two, and a mock that invents a third is not a mock:
- Ranking — put 5 responses in order, most to least appropriate.
- Best answer — choose the 3 most appropriate actions from 8.
Every option is answerable on judgement alone. None of them require you to recall a specific clinical or pharmacological fact — a scenario may be set anywhere in practice, but the stem gives you what you need.
How your rank is actually decided
This is the part most candidates have wrong. Your SJT total score determines your rank. Numeracy is reported separately, on 1–10, and does not count towards it.
Numeracy matters as a tie-break. Tied SJT scores are separated in this order:
- SJT Trial Item Total Score
- Person-Centred Care SJT Score
- Professional Integrity & Ethics SJT Score
- Problem Solving, Clinical Analysis & Decision Making SJT Score
- Multi-Professional Collaboration & Leadership SJT Score
- Numeracy Test Score
Person-Centred Care being the first attribute tie-break is worth knowing when you decide what to practise. And thresholds are set per cohort by standard setting — they are not a fixed pass mark, and falling below one does not by itself make you ineligible for an offer.
What numeracy can and cannot ask
The scope is published, and it is narrower than most revision material assumes. Practising outside it is wasted time.
In scope
- Doses and dose regimens
- Dosage and unit conversions
- Concentrations (e.g. expressed as w/v, % or 1 in x)
- Dilutions
- Using provided formulae
- Quantities to supply
Not in scope
- Estimations of kidney function
- Displacement volumes and values
- Molecular weight
- Infusion rates
- Pharmacokinetics
- Health economics
Those right-hand topics belong to the GPhC registration assessment. If a mock paper asks you to estimate kidney function, it is not an Oriel mock.
Which calculator you may take
Only these models are approved:
- Aurora DT210
- Aurora HC133
- Casio HS-8VA
- Casio MX 8B-WE / MX 8B (no longer sold; approved if you already own one)
- Casio MX-8S-WE, also known as MX-8S (no longer sold; approved if you already own one)
- Casio SL-300SV
- Catiga CD-8185
The mocks we run
Three, matched to the real papers rather than to a round number. Each is timed, marked, and broken down by the attributes the SJT actually scores.
- Numeracy paper10 questions · 20 min
- Half SJT26 questions · 52 min
- Full SJT52 questions · 104 min
Start with the free scenarios if you would rather see the question style before creating anything.