Best MRCPCH Question Bank in 2026: An Honest Comparison

Quick comparison (MRCPCH FOP and TAS banks)

The table is a snapshot for planning, not a scorecard. FOP and TAS are separate exams with separate syllabi. Some products bundle both; others make you buy twice.

• MedPrep: about 2,500 SBA questions in one combined FOP/TAS bank; £34.99 (3 months), £49.99 (6 months), £64.99 (12 months); 100 free questions, no card; one subscription covers both papers; UK clinician-written explanations; no video textbook or AI tutor.
• PassPaeds (Passmedicine engine): FOP about 1,500+ questions, TAS about 2,900+ questions, sold separately; £20 (4 months) or £30 (6 months) per module; free demo; histogram benchmarking, revision notes under questions, knowledge tutor (spaced repetition); budget option if you buy both modules.
• Pastest: FOP 1,396 questions and TAS 2,417 questions (vendor-reported), sold separately; £59.99 (3 months), £99.99 (6 months), £119.99 (12 months) per module; five past papers per module; 48-hour trial; online textbook, analytics and AI tutor mode; established brand.
• Passmedicine: no MRCPCH bank on the main catalogue; paediatrics is referred out to PassPaeds rather than sold in-house.
• RCPCH and e-Learning for Healthcare: official syllabus and free NHS-linked learning; not a timed mock-exam product, but useful baseline coverage.

What MRCPCH FOP and TAS actually test

FOP is the clinical written paper: common paediatric presentations, investigation, management and safeguarding, in best-of-five format. The same FOP exam sits on the DCH pathway as well as MRCPCH, which is why many GP trainees encounter it before the full membership route.

TAS is the science paper: physiology, pharmacology, statistics, genetics, immunology and related topics applied to paediatrics. It rewards mechanistic understanding, not just clinical pattern recognition.

AKP and the MRCPCH clinical exam come later in the pathway. None of the banks below replace bedside skills, communication stations or the AKP scenario format. Budget your revision accordingly.

PassPaeds

PassPaeds is the specialist paediatrics site most UK trainees know, built on the same engine as Passmedicine: revision mode, timed tests, peer histograms and short notes under questions. FOP and TAS are separate subscriptions with separate question pools.

Best for: trainees who want the Passmedicine workflow at the lowest cash outlay, especially if you only need one paper at a time (for example FOP while preparing for DCH).

Weaknesses: you pay twice to cover FOP and TAS, so a full six-month run of both modules (£60 combined) still undercuts Pastest but is no longer dramatically cheaper than a combined bank once you add both. The interface is functional rather than polished. There is no large integrated textbook like Pastest's.

Pastest

Pastest runs dedicated FOP and TAS products with separate question counts, five past papers per module, performance analytics and an AI tutor layered on top. It is the incumbent premium brand for many UK postgraduate exams.

Best for: trainees who want a familiar name, structured textbook content and past papers, and who will use analytics and tutor features rather than just clicking through questions.

Weaknesses: highest price at every duration we compared in September 2026, and you buy FOP and TAS separately. Covering both papers for six months costs about £200 before any bundle discount. Question totals per module are smaller than PassPaeds TAS, though Pastest adds past papers and textbook depth.

Passmedicine

Passmedicine sells MRCP Part 1, Part 2, PLAB, MSRA and several other UK exams directly, but it does not list an MRCPCH bank. Visitors looking for paediatrics membership preparation are pointed to PassPaeds instead.

If someone tells you to "just use Passmedicine for MRCPCH", they usually mean PassPaeds, or they are thinking of a different exam. Worth knowing before you search the wrong catalogue.

Free and official resources (use these anyway)

The RCPCH publishes exam formats, syllabi and dates on rcpch.ac.uk. Use them to check that a commercial bank still matches the current blueprint.

e-Learning for Healthcare hosts paediatric modules accessible to many UK trainees with NHS login. It is not a replacement for a large SBA bank, but it anchors syllabus coverage to NHS-linked material at no cost.

• Pair one paid bank with official syllabus reading, not three paid banks at once.
• If you are on the DCH route, remember FOP is shared: a DCH-focused revision plan still needs FOP-level clinical paediatrics.

MedPrep (disclosure: this is us)

MedPrep's MRCPCH bank combines FOP and TAS in one product: about 2,500 SBA questions across 14 paediatric topics, with structured, guideline-referenced explanations. Subscriptions are £34.99 for three months, £49.99 for six months or £64.99 for twelve months as of September 2026. You can answer 100 questions free with full explanations and no card.

One subscription unlocks both papers. That matters if you are revising for FOP and TAS in the same six-month window: PassPaeds costs £60 for both modules at six months; Pastest costs about £200. MedPrep sits between them on price with a single combined bank rather than two checkout flows.

Best for: trainees who want both FOP and TAS in one place at a lower six-month price than Pastest, and who learn by question volume plus explanation rather than video textbooks or AI chat.

Weaknesses: fewer total questions than PassPaeds if you add FOP and TAS together (~4,400). We do not sell AKP or clinical exam preparation. We are a smaller brand than Pastest or PassPaeds, so you are trading familiarity for price and combined access. We had two paying customers at the time of writing, so treat our claims as things to verify yourself in the free tier.

How to choose in practice

• If budget is the main constraint: start with PassPaeds demos on FOP and TAS, use RCPCH syllabus docs, then buy one module at a time aligned to your exam date.
• If you want one premium established product: Pastest is the safe default name, at a premium price, bought per paper.
• If you want both FOP and TAS in one subscription at a mid price: compare MedPrep's free 100 questions against PassPaeds on the same topics (neonatology, safeguarding, pharmacology).
• If you are on the DCH route: prioritise FOP first; TAS can wait until you commit to full MRCPCH.
• Whatever you pick, plan AKP and clinical preparation separately. No FOP/TAS bank covers them.

Try before you buy

Every provider above offers either a free tier or a short demo. Use the same checklist on each: pick 20 FOP-style clinical questions and 20 TAS-style science questions, read every explanation, and note whether wrong options are taught or just marked incorrect. Then run one timed mixed session if available. The bank you stick with is the one whose explanations you trust when tired.

MedPrep: start 100 free MRCPCH questions on the exam hub below. For DCH trainees, we also run a separate DCH bank that overlaps with FOP clinical topics.