GPAtlasMRCGP · Applied Knowledge Test
AKT preparation with the teaching behind every question
A question bank in both AKT item formats, three mock exams timed like the real paper, and the teaching notes that sit behind the answers. No question stands on its own with nowhere to read up, and nothing in the teaching goes untested.
Written by practising UK GPs, and checked against current guidance.
The paper you are sitting
The Applied Knowledge Test is 160 questions in 2 hours 40 minutes. The RCGP blueprints it as 80% clinical medicine, 10% evidence and data interpretation and 10% organisation and admin. That last 20% is the part most candidates leave alone, and it is the part you can actually go and learn.
The paper asks in more than one way. Most questions are single best answer. Some are multiple best answer, where six options carry two right ones and you only score by getting both. Some carry a clinical photograph or a chart you have to read. Meeting any of those for the first time on the day costs marks that have nothing to do with what you know.
What is inside AKT Compass
❓ A 3,500+ question bank
Every AKT item format: single best answer, multiple best answer where six options carry two right ones, and extended matching questions, which we are writing now and will be ready soon. Every question carries its explanation and a citation you can check, and every question is anchored to the teaching note behind it.
⏱ Three mock exams
160 questions in 160 minutes, three times over, under the clock the real paper runs on. Each is a fixed set drawn from its own pool, so nothing you have already practised turns up inside one, and your three scores are comparable.
📝 Teaching notes across 20 chapters
What the guidance actually says, the numbers worth knowing, where candidates commonly slip, a citation you can check and when it was last reviewed. Plus brief one-page sheets for the night before the exam.
📊 Statistics, its own chapter
Sensitivity and specificity, predictive values, NNT, absolute against relative risk, confidence intervals, study designs and their biases. Ten per cent of the paper, and the most self-contained ten per cent on it. Clear statistics in a day
📋 Admin, its own chapter
Fit notes, death certification, DVLA rules, safeguarding, consent and capacity, confidentiality, significant events and the contract. Another ten per cent, and largely recall you can bank. Clear admin in a day
🖼 Real clinical photographs and charts
The mock exams carry real clinical photographs and data charts at the proportion the real exam carries them, so nothing on the day is a format you have never met.
A sensible way to use it
Sit mock exam one cold, early, and take the score on the chin. It tells you which of the 20 chapters are actually costing you marks, which is almost never the list you would have guessed. Work those chapters in the question bank, reading the note behind every question you get wrong rather than moving straight on. Bank statistics and admin in two focused days, because they are small and they do not move. Then sit mock exam two, and keep mock exam three for the fortnight before the real one.
Questions people ask about the AKT
What is in AKT Compass?
A question bank of 3,500+ questions in both AKT item formats, three fixed mock exams of 160 questions in 160 minutes each, and teaching notes across 20 chapters. Statistics and admin get their own chapters, their own questions and spoken audio walkthroughs of every note rather than a footnote, because between them they are 20% of the paper.
Are the mock exams timed like the real paper?
Yes. Each mock exam is 160 questions in 160 minutes, which is the format the RCGP runs. The three are fixed sets, so your three scores are comparable and you can see whether you are actually moving.
Does it cover multiple best answer questions?
Yes. Multiple best answer is the AKT's second item format alongside single best answer, where six options carry two right ones. It rewards a different kind of reading, so it is worth practising rather than meeting for the first time on the day.
How current is the guidance?
Every citation is checked against the body that issued it rather than against a summary of it, and each teaching note records when it was last reviewed.
Do I need the clinical library as well?
The notes are written to stand on their own for the exam. If you want the full clinical library alongside them, AKT Hero is the bundle that pairs AKT Compass with it.
Start with the free questions
There are free questions to answer once you have an account, and mock exam one is free to sit, so you can see the marking and the notes before you decide anything.