Examiner insights · 2027 preparation
FRCR Physics examiner advice: a practical plan for 2027
Turn general exam advice into a repeatable way to study: explain a decision, inspect the uncertainty, repair the gap and see whether the explanation survives a new question.
Published and checked . Source advice published 28 September 2026.
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What the official advice says
Understand the reason for each decision
In his 28 September 2026 article, CR1 Physics chief examiner Dr Gaurav Sundar encourages gradual preparation, understanding the principles behind answers and connecting revision to imaging work. He recommends learning with radiographers and sonographers, paying attention to qualifying words, avoiding extra assumptions and investigating mistakes. He also advises answering every statement because the paper has no negative marking. This is general preparation advice, not an analysis of performance in a named sitting. Read the RCR chief examiner's article.
The Physics Bank's suggested workflow
Make each practice block produce a next step
The steps below are our practical interpretation. They are choices you can adapt to your rota and starting knowledge, rather than an RCR-prescribed study schedule. Use one small topic block to try the process before expanding it across the syllabus.
1. Explain before you reveal
Make your True/False decision, then give a one-sentence reason before opening the explanation. Name what changes, what stays fixed and which relationship determines the answer. Mark uncertainty honestly. If you guessed correctly, retain that statement for review: the mark tells you the decision happened to be right; your explanation tells you what still needs work.
After reading the explanation, close it and try again in your own words. If you can only repeat the wording, change one condition and ask whether your conclusion still follows. A question has done useful work when it changes what you can explain.
2. Identify the kind of mistake
Use a simple label to choose the repair. These categories are a suggested review tool, not measured national causes of failure. Several may apply to one answer; start with the one that most directly changed your decision.
Knowledge
You cannot explain the relationship, even after reading the statement carefully.
Revisit the concept and rebuild the explanation before doing another set.
Reading
You know the principle but answered a different claim or missed a condition.
Name the qualifier or fixed condition that changed the decision, then rewrite the claim precisely.
Pacing
You left decisions unfinished or spent too long revisiting the same uncertainty.
Practise a shorter timed block with a planned review point, then inspect where time went.
3. Keep a short error log you will revisit
Write three brief entries for an important gap: the misconception, the corrected rule and a new example to test later. Include any condition the rule depends on. Avoid copying a long explanation into a growing document; aim for a note you can cover, answer and check in a minute.
- My misconception
- What did I assume, confuse or overlook?
- The corrected rule
- What relationship decides the answer, and what must remain fixed?
- A fresh example
- What different statement would show that I can apply the rule?
4. Retest after a gap, then mix the topics
Put a review date beside the note. A few days later, answer a fresh question about the same relationship before rereading the explanation. If the gap remains, revisit the concept or discuss the point with a teacher. Once you can explain it reliably, place it among unrelated topics so the heading no longer supplies the clue. Keep first encounters separate from repeat scores when judging progress.
5. Practise completing a whole paper
Use an uninterrupted timed mock to examine your process: which statements were unfinished, where you reread without gaining information and whether your final review checked unanswered items. The published format is 40 five-part questions in two hours. Check the official format. Set a review point that suits your pace and aim to record a decision for every statement. Afterwards, give uncertain correct answers the same reasoning review as errors.
A weekly rhythm you can adapt
Choose the size of each session around your available time. One possible pattern is a concept session, a fresh topic block, a delayed check of previous gaps and a mixed timed block. Each session should leave a small, visible output: an explanation, an error-log entry or a decision about what to revisit.
Add one question from clinical work to the week's list. Ask an appropriate member of the imaging team to explain a parameter choice or trade-off you observed, then connect that explanation to your notes.
At the end of the week, choose the next topic from the gaps you can describe. If the same misconception keeps appearing, reduce question volume briefly and work on that explanation. If understanding is sound but completion is inconsistent, give the next timed block a specific pacing goal.
A mock supplies feedback about that practice session; it cannot guarantee an official result. Our pass-rates analysis explains why national results and individual mock percentages need different interpretations.
Sources and the limits of this review
We did not find a public sitting-specific CR1 Physics examiner report in the RCR resources checked on 7 November 2026. The public radiology examiners' reports collection describes Final FRCR Part B. This page therefore uses the current Physics chief examiner's general advice; it makes no claim about topic-level weaknesses in a recent Physics sitting or the content of the 2027 papers.
- RCR: Examiner tips for the CR1 Physics exam — Dr Gaurav Sundar, 28 September 2026
- RCR: CR1 candidate guidance and current Physics format
The revision workflow is The Physics Bank's independent teaching advice. The Physics Bank is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Royal College of Radiologists.
