General

Assessment review enters a decisive autumn. RCPCH's rolling assessment-review page confirms September–October 2026 milestones: consultation on the redesigned MRCPCH Clinical exam this month, GMC submission to follow, and staggered implementation of new workplace-based assessments (OACS, Professional Conversations, PEAC) from October 2026, with START phased out by summer 2027. RCPCH, updated Aug–Sep 2026

Top 5 in paediatrics & neonatal medicine this week

Sharp rise in young children attending A&E in mental health crisis. New RCPCH analysis of NHS England data shows 75,491 attendances by 6–17-year-olds in 2025 — up 36% since 2019 — with a 62% rise among 6–9-year-olds and a 217% increase in waits over 12 hours. RCPCH urges prevention-focused investment. RCPCH, 2 Sep 2026

RCPCH backs the new "Babies Bill". The College joined leading health organisations asking MPs to support legislation strengthening support in the first 1,001 days of life — a period repeatedly emphasised in child public health and development curricula. RCPCH, 3 Sep 2026

Baby food pouches "more like sugary drinks than food". An Archives of Disease in Childhood analysis of UK commercial spouted pouches found them high in sugar, low in key nutrients and too thin in texture for infants over six months, prompting calls for tighter labelling regulation. BMJ Group, 26 Aug 2026

Azithromycin fails in preschool wheeze. A New England Journal of Medicine randomised trial found azithromycin no better than placebo for moderate-to-severe wheezing episodes in preschool children presenting to emergency departments — a practice-changing negative result reinforcing antimicrobial stewardship. NEJM, late Aug 2026

DFTB's September evidence round-up lands. Bubble Wrap PLUS digests the month's notable papers, including a JAMA Pediatrics trial of prophylactic dexamethasone for retinopathy of prematurity and data linking parental smartphone use to slower toddler vocabulary growth. DFTB, 1 Sep 2026

Clinical Exam

Redesigned Clinical exam reaches consultation this month. Following pilots in December 2025 and June 2026, RCPCH plans a September 2026 consultation on a proposed 12-station OSCE with standardised 10-minute stations using simulated patients, with GMC submission targeted for September–October and implementation planned for 2027. Current candidates sit the existing format.

Evergreen tip: Read the official candidate guidance early. Building practice around the published anchor statements and marking domains remains the highest-yield preparation strategy.

AKP

AKP 2026.3 sits on Wednesday 16 September. Results are released to online accounts six to seven weeks after the sitting, with detailed feedback emailed a week later. Missed this diet? AKP 2027.1 runs on 20 January 2027, with applications opening 2 November 2026.

TAS

No new TAS-specific announcements this week.

Evergreen tip: TAS 2026.3 is six weeks out — 14 October. Registered candidates should focus revision on the science underpinning practice: physiology, pharmacology, genetics and evidence-based medicine.

FOP

No new FOP-specific announcements this week.

Evergreen tip: FOP also sits on 14 October 2026. Structure revision around the syllabus domains on RCPCH's theory exams hub, and rehearse timing with single-best-answer practice papers.

MRCPCH Weekly — 1 September 2026

Weekly briefing for MRCPCH exam candidates · Covering 25 August – 1 September 2026

Dates at a glance: 21 Sep 2026 — RCPCH Clinical exam preparation course, London (hybrid) · 10–25 Oct 2026 — MRCPCH Clinical 2026.3 exams, UK centres · 14 Oct 2026 — FOP/TAS 2026.3 exam day · 20 Jan 2027 — AKP 2027.1 exam day

General

The Red Book edges toward digital — RCPCH and Harlow Printing signed an agreement on 27 August to explore a digital future for the Personal Child Health Record. For candidates, the parent-held record remains a favourite discussion point in communication and community paediatrics contexts, so watch how a digital PCHR might reshape health surveillance. (RCPCH press release)

Wellness at work, from RCPCH's 30th-anniversary series — a College blog published 28 August under the "Your Paediatrics, Your Future" banner offers practical advice on protecting wellbeing during training. Worth a read if revision is colliding with rota pressures: sustainable preparation beats last-minute cramming for every diet. (RCPCH blog, 28 August)

Top five papers & studies this week

Baby food pouches resemble sugary drinks more than food — an Archives of Disease in Childhood analysis of UK commercial pouches (press-released 26 August) found 49% had liquid textures unsuited to learning solid feeding, only 8.5% met all complementary-feeding criteria, and 61% exceeded breast milk's sugar content. Prime material for nutrition and community stations. (BMJ Group / ADC)

Vital signs reveal three stages of preterm maturation — analysing continuous physiological data from 251 infants born before 30 weeks, researchers at TU Eindhoven and Máxima Medical Center (Pediatric Research, 1 September) identified three distinct maturation stages; deviation from the expected trajectory predicted cognitive and motor impairment at age two. (Pediatric Research)

VR "digital defocus" training slows myopia progression — in a six-month randomised trial of 120 children aged 6–12 reported in JAMA Ophthalmology, 15 minutes of nightly virtual-reality defocus training alongside spectacles roughly halved axial elongation (0.147 mm vs 0.254 mm) with no adverse events — a novel, drug-free approach to a growing problem. (JAMA Ophthalmology; Medical Xpress)

Hidden aggressive cells in "lower-risk" childhood cancer — work reported 28 August identifies concealed aggressive cell populations in rhabdomyosarcoma that explain why some children with apparently lower-risk tumours deteriorate, pointing toward better risk stratification. A useful reminder that histological risk grouping underpins paediatric oncology questions across the theory exams. (Medical Xpress)

Childhood trauma leaves a molecular "scar" in brain cells — a Neuron study from Washington University and Princeton shows early-life stress alters DNA packaging via the enzyme SETD7, priming stress-related genes; blocking the effect prevented later anxiety-like behaviour. Mechanistic backing for what safeguarding teaches about adverse childhood experiences. (ScienceDaily, 26 August)

Clinical Exam

Clinical 2026.3 runs 10–25 October in the UK — with applications closed, booked candidates should re-read the College's how-to-apply guidance: you may hold only one Clinical application at a time, the UK sitting costs £925, and a score of 52 or below triggers automatic deferment of one diet before reapplying. Overseas centres run on staggered timelines. (RCPCH)

College-run preparation course, 21 September, London — RCPCH's hybrid preparation course for 2026-3 Clinical candidates still has spaces (£365): six to seven hours of self-paced online content plus a full in-person day of practice stations covering communication, child development, video and history-taking, with examiner-experienced faculty giving feedback on technique. (RCPCH courses)

AKP

No new AKP-specific announcements this week.

Next AKP sitting: 20 January 2027 (AKP 2027.1) — the College's theory exam calendar confirms three AKP diets in 2027 (20 January, 26 May, 22 September). Applications for 2027.1 have not yet opened, so keep an eye on the upcoming-dates page; theory application windows are short — typically only one week. (RCPCH)

Evergreen tip: RCPCH's free AKP online learning resource walks through question styles — including extended matching and best-of-five built around clinical scenarios — with worked examples from examiners. Doing timed mixed-topic question blocks, then auditing errors by syllabus area, remains the highest-yield AKP habit. (RCPCH resource)

TAS

No new TAS-specific announcements this week.

TAS 2026.3 is six weeks away — 14 October — candidates who secured places in the July application window sit alongside FOP on the same exam day, with test centres across the UK, Middle East, South Asia, Malaysia, Singapore and Trinidad and Tobago. The 2027 TAS diets fall on 17 February, 23 June and 13 October. (RCPCH)

Evergreen tip: Revise TAS from the official structure and syllabus — TAS rewards first-principles understanding of physiology, pharmacology, genetics and evidence-based medicine rather than pattern recognition, so map weak syllabus domains early and prioritise the science topics that underpin everyday clinical decisions. (RCPCH structure & syllabi)

FOP

No new FOP-specific announcements this week.

FOP 2026.3 also sits on 14 October — FOP shares its exam day with TAS, and many candidates take both together. The College notes higher-than-usual demand at India and Middle East centres following post-pandemic backlogs, so booked overseas candidates should confirm centre arrangements well ahead of exam day. (RCPCH)

Evergreen tip: Use RCPCH Learning's exam-preparation modules — FOP tests safe, day-one clinical judgement: recognising the sick child, initial management and child protection basics. Anchoring revision in common presentations and national guidance, then testing yourself against single-best-answer questions under time pressure, pays off more than textbook re-reading. (RCPCH Learning)

Compiled 1 September 2026 from RCPCH, BMJ Group and journal press sources. Every headline links to its original source; exam dates and fees should be confirmed on rcpch.ac.uk before making arrangements.