Omen writes

Despite the brave words from the College of Optometrists, there must be disappointment in Craven Street and at the General Optical Council that the results of the second round of the Pre-Registration Period (PRP) assessment have shown such a substantial drop from last year.

Given the time it has taken to develop this new assessment, the human resources and enormous financial commitment, it is to be hoped that Bryony Pawinska, chief executive of the College, is right when she says that this should not be taken as a trend as percentage pass rates vary from year to year. However, given the close regulation that is applied by universities to the standard of entry to university, the approval of courses by the GOC, the entry standard for entry to the PRP set at a 2.2 degree, a university certificate of clinical competence, the continuous supervision of PRP students by supervisors and College assessors and a competency based examination to round it off, one does wonder if there is a weak link in the chain.