Exams Management and Administration Records
TitleExams Management and Administration Records
ReferenceRCS-EXA/1
Level of descriptionsub-fonds
Date1800-
Admin./ biographical historyAfter the formation of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1800, the membership exams were administered and carried out by the Court of Examiners. The Court consisted of ten men, who were elected for life by the College’s governing body the Court of Assistants (later this became the Council). The examiners always included the Master and the two Wardens of the Company, and were usually elected in order of seniority. By the 1850s new rules had been introduced to allow examiners to retire at 65 or 70, though this was not enforced and not all of them did so.
In 1872 the Royal Colleges of Surgeons and Physicians formed a ‘committee of reference for an English examining board’ to discuss the practical details of creating a joint exam. In 1884 they formed the ‘committee of management for an Examining Board in England’, which ran the conjoint exams. However, the Court of Examiners continued to meet, and to be responsible for setting the MRCS part of the conjoint MRCS LRCP exam.
Speciality diplomas, such as midwifery, anaesthesia and dental surgery, were set by their own examiners, but their overall management was run by the conjoint examining board.
In 1872 the Royal Colleges of Surgeons and Physicians formed a ‘committee of reference for an English examining board’ to discuss the practical details of creating a joint exam. In 1884 they formed the ‘committee of management for an Examining Board in England’, which ran the conjoint exams. However, the Court of Examiners continued to meet, and to be responsible for setting the MRCS part of the conjoint MRCS LRCP exam.
Speciality diplomas, such as midwifery, anaesthesia and dental surgery, were set by their own examiners, but their overall management was run by the conjoint examining board.
Extent64 volumes, 1 bundle, 1 file
LanguageEnglish
Conditions governing accessBy appointment only. See College website for contact details of the Archives.
