Where are Newcastle and Peninsula (Plymouth) located, and how does that affect cost?

Newcastle is in Newcastle, UK. Peninsula (Plymouth) is in Plymouth, 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?

Newcastle typically releases medicine decisions March onwards. Peninsula (Plymouth) releases medicine decisions Not available. 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

Newcastle vs Peninsula (Plymouth)

Newcastle and Peninsula (Plymouth) 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. Their A-Level requirements (AAA vs A*AA) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers.

Newcastle is the older institution (founded 1834); the other (founded 2000) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Newcastle and Peninsula (Plymouth).
Comparison field	NewcastleNewcastle	Peninsula (Plymouth)Plymouth
Quick comparison
Location	Newcastle, UK	Plymouth, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level (excluding Use of Mathematics, World Development, Communication and Culture). Practical pass required for Biology, Chemistry and Physics.	A*AA or AAA at A-level (offer depends on strength of applicant pool - historically usually AAA prediction required) including A in Biology and A in a second science from Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics or Psychology
TrueScore	Newcastle TrueScore 1950	Peninsula (Plymouth) TrueScore 1900
UCAT home cut-off	No cut-off - UCAT is converted to points on a published table and added to your academic score. 2,400 and above scores the maximum 60 points, falling by one point per 10 UCAT points down to 1 point at 1,810 and below.	Not published in advance. Peninsula states the threshold alters each year with the number and quality of applications, and that it cannot confirm the cut-off until all applications have been received and assessed.
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	International: 82/88 = 93% (2025); Graduate Entry: 46/86 = 53%; Home Non-Contextual: 418/577 = 72%; Home Widening Participation: 194/350 = 55%	All Applicants: 434/761 = 57% (2025)
Decision date	March onwards	Not available

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level (excluding Use of Mathematics, World Development, Communication and Culture). Practical pass required for Biology, Chemistry and Physics.	A*AA or AAA at A-level (offer depends on strength of applicant pool - historically usually AAA prediction required) including A in Biology and A in a second science from Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics or Psychology
Contextual A-Level offer	ABB at A-level for contextual / Partners applicants. BBB for those entering through supported entry programmes.	AAB at A-level for UKWPMED widening-access applicants
Required A-Level subjects	Subjects including Maths and sciences considered in scoring (no specific science requirement; AAA must come from accepted subjects)	Biology required at grade A, plus a second science from Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics / Psychology at grade A
A-Level resit policy	Resits acceptable if the score increases	Resits accepted with ABB at first attempt (ABC for widening access). If achieved A-level resit grades held, first-sitting requirements waived.
GCSE requirements	Best 8 GCSEs scored - applicant must have achieved at this level for academic competitiveness. Not used if academic A-level criteria are met.	Seven GCSEs at grade 4/C or above, including English Language, Mathematics and two science subjects (or Dual Award)
GCSE scoring methodology	Best 8 achieved GCSEs scored out of 40 - Newcastle names no compulsory GCSE subjects. 9/A* = 5 pts, 8 = 4 pts, 7/A = 3 pts, 6/B = 1 pt, 5/C = 0 pts. National 5: A = 5, B = 1, C = 0. Resat GCSEs are sc…	Used only as minimum threshold - wholly UCAT-based shortlisting once academic minimums met. Personal statement and work experience explicitly NOT considered.
Scottish Highers	Scottish qualifications are accepted and may be taken in more than one sitting; National 5s are scored on the same Level 2 table (A = 5 points, B = 1, C = 0). Confirm the current Higher grade profile directly with the School of Medicine, as Newcastle publishes only its A-level and IB headline offers.	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	AA at Advanced Higher Grade	-
International Baccalaureate	36 points overall. Newcastle publishes only this headline figure; because its A-level rule requires Biology or Chemistry plus a second science, IB applicants should confirm the required Higher Level subjects with the School of Medicine before choosing their subjects.	36 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level - including Biology and a second science / Maths / Psychology
Graduate-entry degree requirement	A 2:1 honours degree at minimum. Predicted or achieved classifications are scored as part of the academic screen: a first class scores 40 points and a 2:1 scores 36. Applicants whose degree was awarded more than five years ago must show continued engagement with education, such as postgraduate study, or they will not be considered; Masters and PhD qualifications are not themselves scored.	-
Alternative qualifications	-	-

Contextual cut-off	Same points table, but contextual applicants are ranked as a separate stream from standard applicants.	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	International and A101 applicants are ranked on total UCAT score alone - their academic results are not scored.	-
Graduate cut-off	A101 applicants are ranked on total UCAT score alone, like international applicants.	-
SJT band	SJT band 4 is rejected; SJT band contributes to interview score (B1=5, B2=3, B3=1)	No use of SJT
UCAT notes	Academic screen = academic points (max 40) + UCAT points (max 60). The academic score uses your MOST RECENT achieved qualification, so achieved A-levels replace GCSEs in the calculation; degrees score…	Shortlisting is UCAT-led once the academic minimum is met, and the Admissions Advisory Panel reserves the right to consider any aspect of the UCAT when shortlisting. The personal statement and work ex…

Degree awarded	MB BS	BMBS
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Case-based learning	Case-based learning
Anatomy teaching	-	-
First patient contact	Year 3	Year 1
Placement geography	The north east of England	The south west of England
Named placement sites	-	-
Intercalation	A broad range of Biomedical Science BSc degrees and master's degrees.	-
Course highlight	Year 2 students can take a Malaysia exchange at the NUMed campus.	Plymouth graduates consistently report the highest measures of feeling prepared for professional practice in GMC Foundation doctor surveys.

Interview window	December - January	Not available
Interview details	Home A100 and A101 applicants generally sit Multiple Mini Interviews on campus, assessed by an individual selector at each station using a mix of role play and interview questions. Applicants classed…	Five stations of around 5 minutes each, with a single assessor at each station. Total interview lasts about 50 minutes. Stations cover communication, ethical reasoning, GMC-aligned values and motivati…

Specialities	Medicine, Dentistry, Biomedical Sciences	Medicine, Dentistry, Community Medicine
Established	1834	2000
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Newcastle publishes an unusually explicit scoring model: academic points out of 40 plus UCAT points out of 60, combined into one ranked academic-screen score. The UCAT table is published in full, so y…	Plymouth publishes the qualities they assess: communication, decision making, reflection and self-insight, motivation and commitment, integrity and inclusivity, resilience and adaptability, and teamwo…
Official course page	https://www.ncl.ac.uk/undergraduate/degrees/a100/	https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/bmbs-bachelor-of-medicine-bachelor-of-surgery

Newcastle

Quick comparison

Location: Newcastle, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level (excluding Use of Mathematics, World Development, Communication and Culture). Practical pass required for Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
TrueScore: Newcastle TrueScore 1950
UCAT home cut-off: No cut-off - UCAT is converted to points on a published table and added to your academic score. 2,400 and above scores the maximum 60 points, falling by one point per 10 UCAT points down to 1 point at 1,810 and below.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: International: 82/88 = 93% (2025); Graduate Entry: 46/86 = 53%; Home Non-Contextual: 418/577 = 72%; Home Widening Participation: 194/350 = 55%
Decision date: March onwards

A-Level offer: AAA at A-level (excluding Use of Mathematics, World Development, Communication and Culture). Practical pass required for Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
Contextual A-Level offer: ABB at A-level for contextual / Partners applicants. BBB for those entering through supported entry programmes.
Required A-Level subjects: Subjects including Maths and sciences considered in scoring (no specific science requirement; AAA must come from accepted subjects)
A-Level resit policy: Resits acceptable if the score increases
GCSE requirements: Best 8 GCSEs scored - applicant must have achieved at this level for academic competitiveness. Not used if academic A-level criteria are met.
GCSE scoring methodology: Best 8 achieved GCSEs scored out of 40 - Newcastle names no compulsory GCSE subjects. 9/A* = 5 pts, 8 = 4 pts, 7/A = 3 pts, 6/B = 1 pt, 5/C = 0 pts. National 5: A = 5, B = 1, C = 0. Resat GCSEs are sc…
Scottish Highers: Scottish qualifications are accepted and may be taken in more than one sitting; National 5s are scored on the same Level 2 table (A = 5 points, B = 1, C = 0). Confirm the current Higher grade profile directly with the School of Medicine, as Newcastle publishes only its A-level and IB headline offers.
Scottish Advanced Highers: AA at Advanced Higher Grade
International Baccalaureate: 36 points overall. Newcastle publishes only this headline figure; because its A-level rule requires Biology or Chemistry plus a second science, IB applicants should confirm the required Higher Level subjects with the School of Medicine before choosing their subjects.
Graduate-entry degree requirement: A 2:1 honours degree at minimum. Predicted or achieved classifications are scored as part of the academic screen: a first class scores 40 points and a 2:1 scores 36. Applicants whose degree was awarded more than five years ago must show continued engagement with education, such as postgraduate study, or they will not be considered; Masters and PhD qualifications are not themselves scored.
Alternative qualifications: -

Peninsula (Plymouth)

Plymouth

Quick comparison

Location: Plymouth, UK
A-Level offer: A*AA or AAA at A-level (offer depends on strength of applicant pool - historically usually AAA prediction required) including A in Biology and A in a second science from Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics or Psychology
TrueScore: Peninsula (Plymouth) TrueScore 1900
UCAT home cut-off: Not published in advance. Peninsula states the threshold alters each year with the number and quality of applications, and that it cannot confirm the cut-off until all applications have been received and assessed.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: All Applicants: 434/761 = 57% (2025)
Decision date: Not available

Newcastle vs Peninsula (Plymouth) - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Newcastle requires AAA at A-level (excluding Use of Mathematics, World Development, Communication and Culture). Practical pass required for Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

Peninsula (Plymouth) requires A*AA or AAA at A-level (offer depends on strength of applicant pool - historically usually AAA prediction required) including A in Biology and A in a second science from Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics or Psychology.

Peninsula (Plymouth) is the stricter A-Level offer; Newcastle is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Newcastle carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Newcastle: Best 8 GCSEs scored - applicant must have achieved at this level for academic competitiveness. Not used if academic A-level criteria are met.

Best 8 achieved GCSEs scored out of 40 - Newcastle names… Peninsula (Plymouth): Seven GCSEs at grade 4/C or above, including English Language, Mathematics and two science subjects (or Dual Award). Used only as minimum threshold - wholly UCAT-based shortlisting once academic…

Interview formats

Both Newcastle and Peninsula (Plymouth) use MMI interviews, so the underlying prep approach is the same — practise ethics frameworks, NHS hot-topic answers and (for MMI) structured station responses against a timer.

Interview windows: Newcastle interviews in December - January; Peninsula (Plymouth) in Not available.

Curriculum and teaching style

Newcastle runs a Case-based curriculum; Peninsula (Plymouth) runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Newcastle leans on small-group case-based learning from year 1, while Peninsula (Plymouth) centres learning around clinical cases.

Specifics: Five-year MBBS with case-based learning. Clinical placements across Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust and partner sites in the North East. Five-year MBBS with PBL and case-based learning. Distinctive rural/coastal placement strand across Devon, Cornwall, Somerset.

Intake size: Newcastle — Newcastle does not publish an A100 intake figure in its admissions policy. Note that NUMed Malaysia, the branch campus teaching the same MBBS, runs its own separate admissions route and is not part of the Newcastle intake.; Peninsula (Plymouth) — ~140 home + ~25 international places per year (Plymouth University Peninsula MBChB)..

A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Post-interview offer rate

Post-interview odds give you the clearest signal of how competitive each school is at the final stage — a school with a 60% post-interview success rate is structurally easier to convert than one at 25%, even if the interview thresholds look identical on paper.

What makes each distinctive

Newcastle: Newcastle publishes an unusually explicit scoring model: academic points out of 40 plus UCAT points out of 60, combined into one ranked academic-screen score. The UCAT table is published in full, so you can read your own score straight off it.

Standard and contextual applicants are ranked as separate streams, and PARTNERS is Newcastle's supported-entry route with its own eligibility conditions and a compulsory summer school.

Peninsula (Plymouth): Plymouth publishes the qualities they assess: communication, decision making, reflection and self-insight, motivation and commitment, integrity and inclusivity, resilience and adaptability, and teamwork. Personal statement and work experience are NOT considered in interview selection.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, Newcastle is the lower-risk academic option. 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 Newcastle; 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. Newcastle guidance: No cut-off - UCAT is converted to points on a published table and added to your academic score. 2,400 and above scores the maximum 60 points, falling by one point per 10 UCAT points down to 1 point at 1,810 and below.. Peninsula (Plymouth) guidance: Not published in advance. Peninsula states the threshold alters each year with the number and quality of applications, and that it cannot confirm the cut-off until all applications have been received and assessed..

Newcastle uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Peninsula (Plymouth) uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). The format is the same, so the same prep approach applies — practise ethics frameworks, NHS hot topics, and (for MMI) structured 5-7 minute station answers. Interview windows: December - January (Newcastle); Not available (Peninsula (Plymouth)).

Newcastle requires AAA (excluding Use of Mathematics, World Development, Communication and Culture). Peninsula (Plymouth) requires A*AA or AAA including Biology and a second science from Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics or Psychology. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Newcastle — Resits accepted if A-Level score increases.. Peninsula (Plymouth) — Resits accepted..

Newcastle — Best 8 GCSEs scored - applicant must have achieved at this level for academic competitiveness. Not used if academic A-level criteria are met. Best 8 achieved GCSEs scored out of 40 - Newcastle names no compulsory GCSE subjects. 9/A* = 5 pts, 8 = 4 pts, 7/A = 3 pts, 6/B = 1 pt, 5/C = 0 pts. National 5: A = 5, B = 1, C = 0. Resat GCSEs are scored on the most recent grade. Peninsula (Plymouth) — Seven GCSEs at grade 4/C or above, including English Language, Mathematics and two science subjects (or Dual Award). Used only as minimum threshold - wholly UCAT-based shortlisting once academic minimums met. Personal statement and work experience explicitly NOT considered.

Newcastle's selection methodology: Three stages: academic screen, interview, offers. The academic screen scores your most recent achieved qualification out of 40 and your UCAT out of 60, combines them, and ranks applicants - standard and contextual as separate streams. International and A101 applicants are ranked on UCAT alone. Those above the points threshold are invited to interview. Peninsula (Plymouth)'s selection methodology: UCAT + academic + Multiple Mini Interview. Strong South-West focus with rural/community placement strand. 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.

Newcastle: International: 82/88 = 93% (2025); Graduate Entry: 46/86 = 53%; Home Non-Contextual: 418/577 = 72%; Home Widening Participation: 194/350 = 55%. Peninsula (Plymouth): All Applicants: 434/761 = 57% (2025). Post-interview odds tell you how competitive each school is at the final stage. Two schools with similar UCAT thresholds can have very different post-interview rates — a school with a 60% post-interview success rate is structurally easier to convert than one at 25%.

Newcastle runs a Case-based curriculum. Peninsula (Plymouth) runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies differ — pick the style that matches how you learn best. Newcastle specifics: Five-year MBBS with case-based learning. Clinical placements across Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust and partner sites in the North East. Peninsula (Plymouth) specifics: Five-year MBBS with PBL and case-based learning. Distinctive rural/coastal placement strand across Devon, Cornwall, Somerset.

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

NewcastleEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Peninsula (Plymouth)Entry 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.

Newcastle vs Peninsula (Plymouth)

Side-by-side comparison

Newcastle vs Peninsula (Plymouth) - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Interview formats

Curriculum and teaching style

Post-interview offer rate

What makes each distinctive

Which is right for you?

Common questions

What UCAT score do I need for Newcastle vs Peninsula (Plymouth)?

How do interviews differ between Newcastle and Peninsula (Plymouth)?

What A-Level grades do Newcastle and Peninsula (Plymouth) require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Newcastle vs Peninsula (Plymouth)?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Which has a higher post-interview offer rate, Newcastle or Peninsula (Plymouth)?

Where are Newcastle and Peninsula (Plymouth) located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Newcastle and Peninsula (Plymouth) use?

Should I apply to both Newcastle and Peninsula (Plymouth)?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons