What A-Level grades do North Wales (Bangor) and St George's require?

North Wales (Bangor) requires AAA including Biology and one further science. St George's requires A*AA or AAA including Chemistry and Biology/Human Biology (offer depends on cohort strength). Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school.

Where are North Wales (Bangor) and St George's located, and how does that affect cost?

North Wales (Bangor) is in Bangor, UK. St George's is in London, 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?

North Wales (Bangor) typically releases medicine decisions March onwards. St George's releases medicine decisions Rolling-basis after Interviews have finished. 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

North Wales (Bangor) vs St George's

Q: How are GCSEs weighted at North Wales (Bangor) vs St George's?

North Wales (Bangor) — English or Welsh Language at grade B/6, and Double Science at BB/66. St George's — Minimum 5 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or 6-6 Dual Award Science). GCSE resits accepted. Used only as minimum threshold - wholly UCAT-based shortlisting once met

North Wales (Bangor) and St George's are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. North Wales (Bangor) is based in Bangor (England) while St George's sits in London (London), and the regional context shapes everything from fee status to NHS-deanery destination.

Their A-Level requirements (AAA vs A*AA) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers. St George's is the older institution (founded 1733); the other (founded 2020) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: North Wales (Bangor) and St George's.
Comparison field	North Wales (Bangor)Bangor	St George'sLondon
Quick comparison
Location	Bangor, UK	London, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Biology and one further science.	A*AA or AAA at A-level (offer depends on cohort strength). Predicted AAA required including Chemistry and Biology / Human Biology.
TrueScore	North Wales (Bangor) TrueScore 1700	St George's TrueScore 1950
UCAT home cut-off	-	No predictable threshold. City St George's states that it is not possible to predict what the UCAT thresholds will be in any given year, nor to use previous years' data to predict them. The cut-off is set annually against the strength of that year's scores.
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	Refused to disclose. New medical school, has been in clearing in past years.	Home Undergrad (2024): 247/677 = 36% (or 423/686 = 62% inc. deferred); Overseas Undergrad: 25/146 = 17% (or 58/152 = 38% inc. deferred)
Decision date	March onwards	Rolling-basis after Interviews have finished

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Biology and one further science.	A*AA or AAA at A-level (offer depends on cohort strength). Predicted AAA required including Chemistry and Biology / Human Biology.
Contextual A-Level offer	AAB for Welsh-speaking applicants (who must also hold a first-language Welsh GCSE) and for others meeting Bangor's contextual criteria.	-
Required A-Level subjects	Biology required, plus one further science	Chemistry and Biology (or Human Biology) both required
A-Level resit policy	A-level resits are NOT accepted. GCSE resits are accepted only if completed within 12 months of the original sitting and before application.	Resits or third year of study accepted with extenuating circumstances only
GCSE requirements	English or Welsh Language at grade B/6, and Double Science at BB/66.	Minimum 5 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or 6-6 Dual Award Science). GCSE resits accepted.
GCSE scoring methodology	-	Used only as minimum threshold - wholly UCAT-based shortlisting once met
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	36 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including Biology and one further science	37 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including HL Chemistry and HL Biology
Graduate-entry degree requirement	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above in any honours degree (A101 graduate-entry route)	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above in any discipline. Graduate for Undergraduate Programme available - UCAT cut-off applies (~2100+ /2700).
Alternative qualifications	-	-

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	-
Graduate cut-off	-	~2100+ /2700 (Graduate for Undergraduate Programme)
SJT band	Refused to disclose how SJT is used (avoid with B4)	SJT used post-interview in offer making. Combined with MMI score → B1=15 pts, B2=10, B3=5, B4=none.
UCAT notes	Bangor requires the UCAT but publishes NO minimum threshold - it states only that the score is used in selection. No cut-off should be inferred or estimated.	Once the entry criteria are met, applicants are ranked by UCAT score and interview places are allocated from the top down until they run out. A minimum of 500/900 is required in each individual cognit…

Degree awarded	BMBS	MBBS
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Integrated	Problem-based learning
Anatomy teaching	-	Prosection
First patient contact	Year 1	-
Placement geography	North Wales	-
Named placement sites	-	-
Intercalation	-	-
Course highlight	The programme is bilingual — most components can be studied in Welsh as well as English, and students use Welsh on placement.	The MBBS puts unusual weight on clinical communication — drawing out a patient’s history, giving clear explanations, and negotiating with patients and relatives.

Interview window	December - March	November - February
Interview details	MMI format spread across several stations. Each station gives 3 minutes' preparation for two questions and 3 minutes to answer each. Topics include motivation, ethics and reflection on experiences.	A six-station MMI, each station around five minutes with a 60-second break between, delivered through SAMMI (Scalable Automated Multiple Mini Interviews) software. Each station is assessed separately…

Specialities	Medicine, Community Medicine	Medicine, Biomedical Sciences, Healthcare Sciences
Established	2020	1733
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Bangor publishes no UCAT threshold and has declined FOI requests on its shortlisting weighting, so no cut-off can be quoted. A-level resits are not accepted. Welsh-speaking applicants (with a first-la…	Strong holistic-care and soft-skills emphasis. SJT used post-interview in offer making (B1 = 15 pts, B2 = 10, B3 = 5, B4 = nothing). St George's is also generous with deferred-entry offers, often made…
Official course page	https://www.bangor.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/a100-medicine-bmbs	https://www.citystgeorges.ac.uk/prospective-students/courses/undergraduate/medicine

North Wales (Bangor)

Bangor

Quick comparison

Location: Bangor, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Biology and one further science.
TrueScore: North Wales (Bangor) TrueScore 1700
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: Refused to disclose. New medical school, has been in clearing in past years.
Decision date: March onwards

St George's

London

Quick comparison

Location: London, UK
A-Level offer: A*AA or AAA at A-level (offer depends on cohort strength). Predicted AAA required including Chemistry and Biology / Human Biology.
TrueScore: St George's TrueScore 1950
UCAT home cut-off: No predictable threshold. City St George's states that it is not possible to predict what the UCAT thresholds will be in any given year, nor to use previous years' data to predict them. The cut-off is set annually against the strength of that year's scores.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: Home Undergrad (2024): 247/677 = 36% (or 423/686 = 62% inc. deferred); Overseas Undergrad: 25/146 = 17% (or 58/152 = 38% inc. deferred)
Decision date: Rolling-basis after Interviews have finished

North Wales (Bangor) vs St George's - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

North Wales (Bangor) requires AAA at A-level including Biology and one further science.

St George's requires A*AA or AAA at A-level (offer depends on cohort strength). Predicted AAA required including Chemistry and Biology / Human Biology.

St George's is the stricter A-Level offer; North Wales (Bangor) is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, North Wales (Bangor) carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — North Wales (Bangor): English or Welsh Language at grade B/6, and Double Science at BB/66. St George's: Minimum 5 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or 6-6 Dual Award Science). GCSE resits accepted. Used only as minimum threshold -…

Interview formats

Both North Wales (Bangor) and St George's 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: North Wales (Bangor) interviews in December - March; St George's in November - February.

Post-interview offer rate

North Wales (Bangor): Refused to disclose. New medical school, has been in clearing in past years. St George's: Home Undergrad (2024): 247/677 = 36% (or 423/686 = 62% inc. deferred); Overseas Undergrad: 25/146 = 17% (or 58/152 = 38% inc. deferred).

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

North Wales (Bangor): Bangor publishes no UCAT threshold and has declined FOI requests on its shortlisting weighting, so no cut-off can be quoted. A-level resits are not accepted. Welsh-speaking applicants (with a first-language Welsh GCSE) and other contextual applicants may receive an AAB offer.

St George's: Strong holistic-care and soft-skills emphasis. SJT used post-interview in offer making (B1 = 15 pts, B2 = 10, B3 = 5, B4 = nothing). St George's is also generous with deferred-entry offers, often made to borderline applicants in lieu of rejection.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, North Wales (Bangor) is the lower-risk academic option. Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — North Wales (Bangor) feeds into the England foundation programme network; St George's into the London network.

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. North Wales (Bangor) guidance: Bangor requires the UCAT but publishes NO minimum threshold - it states only that the score is used in selection. No cut-off should be inferred or estimated.. St George's guidance: No predictable threshold. City St George's states that it is not possible to predict what the UCAT thresholds will be in any given year, nor to use previous years' data to predict them. The cut-off is set annually against the strength of that year's scores..

North Wales (Bangor) uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). St George's 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 - March (North Wales (Bangor)); November - February (St George's).

North Wales (Bangor)'s selection methodology: AAA including Biology and a second science, plus UCAT with no published threshold, then MMI. Cardiff University School of Medicine is the contingency partner during GMC accreditation, so students would graduate from Cardiff if required. St George's's selection methodology: shortlisting weight not fully disclosed; check the official admissions page. 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.

North Wales (Bangor): Refused to disclose. New medical school, has been in clearing in past years.. St George's: Home Undergrad (2024): 247/677 = 36% (or 423/686 = 62% inc. deferred); Overseas Undergrad: 25/146 = 17% (or 58/152 = 38% inc. deferred). 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%.

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

North Wales (Bangor)Entry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

St George'sEntry 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.