"Fred, what's your pass rate?"
It's one of the most common questions I get asked, and when I tell students, I'm sometimes met with, "But I've seen another training provider advertising 99%!"
And yes, I've seen those claims too. All I can do is smile 😊
My pass rate in 2025 was 94%, and so far in 2026 it's 93%.
Am I proud of that? Absolutely. MCA oral exams are tough, and anyone who's sat one will tell you that.
Would I like my pass rate to be higher? Of course! Every year I look for ways to improve my courses, develop new teaching techniques and make the learning process more effective for my students. Nothing like a challenge!
What Do the MCA's Own Figures Say?
Every year, I obtain the MCA's official oral exam statistics through Freedom of Information requests. These show how many candidates sat their exams and how many passed.
Here's what they show:
These are the MCA's own statistics, not mine. And they show just how challenging these exams really are.
So when I see training providers advertising 98% or 99% pass rates, I can't help raising an eyebrow!
I'm not saying it's impossible, but I'd certainly like to see how they've calculated it!
Do My Students Ever Fail?
Of course they do!
(And they're dead to me. Only joking… or maybe not!)Did I mention these are hard exams?
Some students try to prepare while working full-time. Others underestimate the amount of study required, despite my recommendation of six weeks of full-time preparation.
And unfortunately, some simply don't put in the preparation needed.
I've always believed in being upfront with my students. These are tough exams, and I don't want anyone going into one with a false sense of confidence. I'd rather they know exactly what's expected of them and how much work they need to put in.
Would my pass rate be higher if I excluded those students? Almost certainly!
But that's not how I operate.
I'm a pretty black-and-white person when it comes to figures. I know my students, monitor their progress and record their exam results.
Every exam sitting counts, pass or fail. And if someone needs a resit, that counts too.
I don't remove failures to make my statistics look better.
So, What About Those 99% Claims?
I also have students come to me after failing their oral exams, having previously prepared with other training providers.
It does make me curious, though, about how some of these impressive pass rates are calculated.
Does 99% mean every exam sitting was a pass? Or that 99% of students eventually passed, perhaps after several attempts?
There's quite a difference!
If a training provider advertises a 98% or 99% pass rate, ask them to show you how they arrived at that number.
I can show you mine. I have an active spreadsheet, the results and the figures to back it up.
Would I love to achieve 100%? Absolutely! And I'll keep working to improve my courses and help more students pass.
But for now, I'm pretty proud of my 94%.
So, don't just ask a training provider what their pass rate is. Ask how they calculated it.
There’s a big difference!
Happy studying!
- Fred
Sources
Maritime and Coastguard Agency, FOI 4507 (20 February 2024) and FOI2026/00148 and FOI2026/00228 (8 July 2026).
Fred's Oral Prep student records, updated November 2026. Overall: 2,681 passes from 2,885 exam sittings (92.9%). The full breakdown is on my Pass Rates page.