Dispensing optics (DO) course admissions rose by 46 per cent in the 2025/26 academic year, the General Optical Council’s (GOC) annual report on optical education and training across the UK has found.
The annual report reviews key trends, risks and developments in GOC-approved qualifications and routes to registration, and early findings were shared at a recent GOC council meeting.
The report found that student recruitment remained strong, with optometry admissions increasing by 16.3 per cent for 2025/26 compared with 2024/25 admissions data, while DO admissions rose by 46.6 per cent.
Optometry admissions remained competitive, while new qualifications, including two new optometry Masters’ degrees and the ABDO DO apprenticeship, would support further growth – the report found.
The report also identified the importance of ensuring sufficient placement opportunities, supervision capacity and academic staffing to support this expansion.
An increase in trainees undertaking independent prescribing qualifications, but a decline in uptake of contact lens qualifications, were also revealed.
Elsewhere, the report noted significant progress in implementing the GOC’s education and training requirements, and the start of long placements in 2025, which provide students with supervised patient-facing clinical experience as part of their degree programmes.
The GOC council discussed statistically significant differences in progression and attainment between some demographic groups, and highlighted the importance of continuing to improve EDI data to support future analysis and workforce planning.
The GOC said it planned to publish its final report this month.