Where are Buckingham and Worcester Medical School located, and how does that affect cost?

Buckingham is in Buckingham, UK. Worcester Medical School is in Worcester, UK. Tuition is £9,250/year at both for UK home applicants; the main cost difference is accommodation (London accommodation typically runs 30-50% above the national average).

When does each school release decisions?

Buckingham typically releases medicine decisions March onwards. Worcester Medical School releases medicine decisions March onwards. If one is earlier than the other, you may need to hold a decision while waiting for the second school — be ready to compare in real time.

Medical school comparison

Buckingham vs Worcester Medical School

Q: How are GCSEs weighted at Buckingham vs Worcester Medical School?

Buckingham — At least grade 4 in GCSE English and at least grade 4 in GCSE Mathematics (or equivalent). Worcester Medical School — GCSE (or equivalent) at grade C/4 or above in Maths and English. Non-science graduates additionally need two science subjects at C/4 or above.

Buckingham and Worcester Medical School are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Both sit in England, so location and clinical-placement breadth are similar — the differentiation comes from selection methodology, interview style and curriculum philosophy.

The interview formats diverge — MMI vs Panel — and the prep approaches for the two are fundamentally different.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Buckingham and Worcester Medical School.
Comparison field	BuckinghamBuckingham	Worcester Medical SchoolWorcester
Quick comparison
Location	Buckingham, UK	Worcester, UK
A-Level offer	Minimum ABB at A-level including Chemistry OR Biology - both are not required.	Graduate entry - 1st or 2:1 in any subject (or 2:2 plus a Master's/Doctorate)
TrueScore	-	Worcester Medical School TrueScore 1900GEM
UCAT home cut-off	-	-
Interview format	Three-stage selection: academic screening, digital Multiple Mini Assessment (MMA), then an MMI/OSSE task circuit	Casper SJT + two panel interviews
Post-interview chance	Refused to state	-
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

A-Level offer	Minimum ABB at A-level including Chemistry OR Biology - both are not required.	Graduate entry - 1st or 2:1 in any subject (or 2:2 plus a Master's/Doctorate)
Contextual A-Level offer	-	-
Required A-Level subjects	Chemistry or Biology (one of the two, not both)	-
A-Level resit policy	Resits considered.	Resits accepted.
GCSE requirements	At least grade 4 in GCSE English and at least grade 4 in GCSE Mathematics (or equivalent).	GCSE (or equivalent) at grade C/4 or above in Maths and English. Non-science graduates additionally need two science subjects at C/4 or above.
GCSE scoring methodology	-	-
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	Total score of at least 32 points including three Higher Level subjects, with at least HL6 in Chemistry or Biology and at least HL5 in the other.	-
Graduate-entry degree requirement	-	1st or 2:1 undergraduate honours degree in any subject, held or predicted in the year of application. A 2:2 is acceptable when topped by a Master's or Doctoral degree.
Alternative qualifications	-	Graduate-entry only (4-year MBChB), taught at the Three Counties Medical School. UCAT or GAMSAT accepted - the applicant submits the better score. Applicants who have previously started a medical degree in the UK or overseas are not eligible. International applicants are welcome.

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	-
Graduate cut-off	-	~1900+ /2700 (most recent shortlisted applicants scored above 1870 on UCAT)
SJT band	UCAT not used - uses MMA computer-based test instead	-
UCAT notes	UCAT not used. Selection is by Buckingham's own computer-based MMA (Multiple Mini Assessment). Private university, applied to directly outside UCAS.	Graduate-entry programme accepting UCAT OR GAMSAT (applicant submits the better score). Partnership with Swansea University Medical School for degree accreditation while completing GMC accreditation.

Degree awarded	MB ChB	MBChB
Course length	4.5 years	4 years (graduate entry)
Teaching style	Integrated	Problem-based learning
Anatomy teaching	-	Imaging and models
First patient contact	-	Year 1
Placement geography	Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Cheshire	Worcestershire and the Three Counties
Named placement sites	Milton Keynes University Hospital, St Andrew's Hospital, Northampton, South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Macclesfield General Hospital (East Cheshire Trust), Leighton Hospital (Mid Cheshire Hospitals)	-
Intercalation	-	-
Course highlight	Buckingham is an independent, privately funded university — tuition is £41,500 a year for UK students and £47,000 for international students.	Open to graduates of any discipline.

Interview window	December - March	January - March
Interview details	Buckingham selects in three stages for January 2027 entry: academic screening, a digital Multiple Mini Assessment (MMA), then an MMI/OSSE — a series of tasks assessing Good Medical Practice attributes…	Shortlisted applicants sit the Casper online situational-judgement test and attend two panel interviews; SJT and interview performance are combined into a single ranking for offers.

Specialities	Medicine, Accelerated Medicine	Medicine, Community Healthcare, Primary Care, Patient-Centred Care
Established	1976	2023
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	UCAT is not used - Buckingham selects with its own computer-based MMA (Multiple Mini Assessment). Private university: fees rise to £41,500/year for UK and £47,000/year for international applicants (£1…	Partnership with Swansea University Medical School (provides degree accreditation while Worcester completes GMC accreditation). Emphasis on community-based learning and serving local populations in th…
Official course page	https://www.buckingham.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/mb-chb-medicine-4.5-year-degree/	https://www.worcester.ac.uk/courses/medicine-graduate-entry-mbchb

Buckingham

Quick comparison

Location: Buckingham, UK
A-Level offer: Minimum ABB at A-level including Chemistry OR Biology - both are not required.
TrueScore: -
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Three-stage selection: academic screening, digital Multiple Mini Assessment (MMA), then an MMI/OSSE task circuit
Post-interview chance: Refused to state
Decision date: March onwards

Worcester Medical School

Worcester

Quick comparison

Location: Worcester, UK
A-Level offer: Graduate entry - 1st or 2:1 in any subject (or 2:2 plus a Master's/Doctorate)
TrueScore: Worcester Medical School TrueScore 1900GEM
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Casper SJT + two panel interviews
Post-interview chance: -
Decision date: March onwards

Buckingham vs Worcester Medical School - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Buckingham requires Minimum ABB at A-level including Chemistry OR Biology - both are not required.

Worcester Medical School requires Graduate entry - 1st or 2:1 in any subject (or 2:2 plus a Master's/Doctorate).

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Buckingham: At least grade 4 in GCSE English and at least grade 4 in GCSE Mathematics (or equivalent). Worcester Medical School: GCSE (or equivalent) at grade C/4 or above in Maths and English. Non-science graduates additionally need two science subjects at C/4 or above.

Interview formats

Buckingham uses MMI (Three-stage selection: academic screening, digital Multiple Mini Assessment (MMA), then an MMI/OSSE task circuit); Worcester Medical School uses Panel (Casper SJT + two panel interviews). These two formats reward different skills — MMI emphasises breadth, station-recovery and structured answers under time pressure, while Panel rewards depth and consistency.

If your strengths lie in conversational depth, Worcester Medical School may suit you more. If you prefer discrete capsule answers under time pressure, Buckingham is the better fit.

Interview windows: Buckingham interviews in December - March; Worcester Medical School in January - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

Buckingham runs a Integrated curriculum; Worcester Medical School runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Buckingham delivers more didactic lectures with structured systems-based progression, while Worcester Medical School centres learning around clinical cases.

Specifics: Four-and-a-half-year accelerated MB ChB (no UCAT required). Clinical placements at Milton Keynes, Stoke Mandeville and partner NHS sites. Five-year MBChB. Worcester-based with West Midlands NHS placements (Worcestershire Acute Hospitals).

Intake size: Buckingham — ~70 home + significant international places per year (UK's only private medical school).; Worcester Medical School — ~30-50 places per year (small newer cohort).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

What makes each distinctive

Buckingham: UCAT is not used - Buckingham selects with its own computer-based MMA (Multiple Mini Assessment). Private university: fees rise to £41,500/year for UK and £47,000/year for international applicants (£186,750 and £211,500 across the 4.5 years). Apply directly, outside UCAS.

Worcester Medical School: Partnership with Swansea University Medical School (provides degree accreditation while Worcester completes GMC accreditation). Emphasis on community-based learning and serving local populations in the West Midlands.

Which is right for you?

Both schools sit in the same England foundation-programme catchment, so post-graduation training paths overlap heavily. If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer Worcester Medical School; if you prefer lecture-led foundations, the other suits better.

Your firm/insurance choice should ultimately weight: where your UCAT and predicted grades sit relative to each school's threshold, which interview format you can prepare for most credibly, and where you'd actually want to live for five or six years.

Common questions

Neither school publishes a single fixed UCAT cut-off; both use UCAT as part of a composite shortlisting score alongside GCSE and personal-statement weighting. Buckingham guidance: UCAT not used. Selection is by Buckingham's own computer-based MMA (Multiple Mini Assessment). Private university, applied to directly outside UCAS.. Worcester Medical School guidance: Graduate-entry programme accepting UCAT OR GAMSAT (applicant submits the better score). Partnership with Swansea University Medical School for degree accreditation while completing GMC accreditation..

Buckingham uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Three-stage selection: academic screening, digital Multiple Mini Assessment (MMA), then an MMI/OSSE task circuit. Worcester Medical School uses Panel interview: Casper SJT + two panel interviews. The two formats reward different skill sets. Plan separate prep streams for each, with at least 3 full mock interviews per format before sitting either. Interview windows: December - March (Buckingham); January - March (Worcester Medical School).

Buckingham requires ABB including Chemistry or Biology (4.5-year MBChB). Worcester Medical School requires Graduate entry - 1st or 2:1 in any subject (or 2:2 plus a Master's/Doctorate). Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Buckingham — Resits considered.. Worcester Medical School — Resits accepted..

Buckingham's selection methodology: Buckingham does not require UCAT or BMAT. Selection by interview + academic profile + personal statement. Annual fees ~£40,000+ (private school, no NHS bursary). Worcester Medical School's selection methodology: Newer programme (first cohort planned). UCAT + academic + interview. Strong widening-participation focus. Understanding each school's exact algorithm is the single highest-leverage piece of pre-application research — it tells you whether your profile is competitive before you spend an application choice.

Buckingham runs a Integrated curriculum. Worcester Medical School runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies differ — pick the style that matches how you learn best. Buckingham specifics: Four-and-a-half-year accelerated MB ChB (no UCAT required). Clinical placements at Milton Keynes, Stoke Mandeville and partner NHS sites. Worcester Medical School specifics: Five-year MBChB. Worcester-based with West Midlands NHS placements (Worcestershire Acute Hospitals).

You can — UCAS allows 4 medicine/dentistry choices in total, so listing both is feasible if your profile fits each school's selection algorithm. Apply to both only if your UCAT, GCSE and predicted-grade profile is competitive against each school's published weighting. A common mistake is using two of your four slots on similar schools when a more spread-out portfolio (one safe + one stretch) would maximise overall offer probability.

Where to go next

BuckinghamEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Worcester Medical SchoolEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Other medical school comparisons

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 19 September 2026.

Buckingham vs Worcester Medical School

Side-by-side comparison

Buckingham vs Worcester Medical School - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Interview formats

Curriculum and teaching style

What makes each distinctive

Which is right for you?

Common questions

What UCAT score do I need for Buckingham vs Worcester Medical School?

How do interviews differ between Buckingham and Worcester Medical School?

What A-Level grades do Buckingham and Worcester Medical School require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Buckingham vs Worcester Medical School?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Where are Buckingham and Worcester Medical School located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Buckingham and Worcester Medical School use?

Should I apply to both Buckingham and Worcester Medical School?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons