How are GCSEs weighted at Nottingham vs St Mary's Twickenham?

Nottingham — Minimum six GCSEs at grade 7/A including both Biology and Chemistry, plus at least grade 6/B in Mathematics and English Language (English and Maths do NOT need to be at grade 7). GCSEs feed the combined points score used for shortlisting alongside UCAT. St Mary's Twickenham — Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE Mathematics, English Language, Biology and Chemistry (or Dual Award Science).

Where are Nottingham and St Mary's Twickenham located, and how does that affect cost?

Nottingham is in Nottingham, UK. St Mary's Twickenham is in Twickenham, 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?

Nottingham typically releases medicine decisions March onwards. St Mary's Twickenham 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

Nottingham vs St Mary's Twickenham

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

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Nottingham and St Mary's Twickenham.
Comparison field	NottinghamNottingham	St Mary's TwickenhamTwickenham, London
Quick comparison
Location	Nottingham, UK	Twickenham, London, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry. No use of predicted grades - Nottingham considers achieved grades only.	AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one of Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics
TrueScore	Nottingham TrueScore 1850	St Mary's Twickenham TrueScore 1700intl
UCAT home cut-off	No fixed score. Nottingham states that the threshold varies year by year, cannot be predicted in advance, and that it does not share previous years' thresholds.	-
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	All Students (2024): 519/913 = 57% (or 336/911 = 37% from another source); A108 WP Foundation Year: 61/188 = 32%	-
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry. No use of predicted grades - Nottingham considers achieved grades only.	AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one of Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics
Contextual A-Level offer	Two contextual tiers, both requiring at least an A in Biology or Chemistry: standard contextual AAB, enhanced contextual ABB.	-
Required A-Level subjects	Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry both required	Chemistry or Biology required, plus one of Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics
A-Level resit policy	Resits considered case-by-case; standard expectation is one-sitting AAA.	Resits only considered in exceptional circumstances
GCSE requirements	Minimum six GCSEs at grade 7/A including both Biology and Chemistry, plus at least grade 6/B in Mathematics and English Language (English and Maths do NOT need to be at grade 7).	Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE Mathematics, English Language, Biology and Chemistry (or Dual Award Science)
GCSE scoring methodology	GCSEs feed the combined points score used for shortlisting alongside UCAT.	-
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	34 points overall including HL6 in Biology and HL6 in Chemistry; alternatively 6,6,6 across three HL Certificates with HL6 in Biology and HL6 in Chemistry.	36 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including Chemistry or Biology and a second science / Maths
Graduate-entry degree requirement	-	-
Alternative qualifications	-	New international-only medicine course for 2026 entry - first cohort. Applied to directly outside standard UCAS medicine route. UCAT contributes to combined admissions test + academic ranking. No SJT use.

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	No cut-off exists yet. UCAT contributes to the shortlisting rank, but the first cohort is September 2026 so no historic threshold exists.
Graduate cut-off	-	-
SJT band	Band 4 automatically rejected. SJT scored: B1=10, B2=6, B3=2, B4=0.	No usage mentioned in any selection policy
UCAT notes	Nottingham scores each UCAT component raw score rather than working from the total alone, and combines that with GCSE scoring to select for interview. An SJT of Band 4 means you will not be considered…	International (non-UK/Irish) applicants only. No SJT use stated. Any quoted 'cut-off' for this school is guesswork - it has not yet completed an admissions cycle.

Degree awarded	BMBS	MBBS
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Integrated	Case-based learning
Anatomy teaching	-	-
First patient contact	Year 2	Year 1
Placement geography	Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire	London, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire
Named placement sites	Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham City Hospital, Highbury Hospital, Royal Derby Hospital, King's Mill Hospital, Chesterfield Royal Hospital, Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust, Derbyshire Healthcare Trust	West London Trust, Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (Basingstoke), Practice Plus Group (Ilford), Royal Trinity Hospice, Princess Alice Hospice, Meadow House
Intercalation	-	-
Course highlight	The course was co-created with input from students, staff and practitioners.	Currently accepts international students only.

Interview window	December - March	December - March
Interview details	An MMI of six scenarios, including at least one role play. Expect a strong emphasis on awareness of current NHS and healthcare issues alongside the usual motivation and ethics ground.	Applications are scored on academic record and admissions tests to produce a shortlisting rank. Interviews are online Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs).

Specialities	Medicine, Medical Sciences, Graduate Entry Medicine	Medicine, International Medicine
Established	1948	2025
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Scoring system is now distinct from Lincoln's, weighting GCSE (/32), UCAT (/40) and SJT (/10) - band 4 SJT auto-rejected. No use of predicted A-level grades.	International (non-UK/Irish) applicants only, applying direct rather than through UCAS, so it costs none of your four UCAS medical choices. Weigh that against the accreditation risk: the MBBS is not y…
Official course page	https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/studywithus/ugstudy/courses/UG/2026/Medicine-BMBS.html	https://www.stmarys.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/mbbs-medicine-degree

Nottingham

Quick comparison

Location: Nottingham, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry. No use of predicted grades - Nottingham considers achieved grades only.
TrueScore: Nottingham TrueScore 1850
UCAT home cut-off: No fixed score. Nottingham states that the threshold varies year by year, cannot be predicted in advance, and that it does not share previous years' thresholds.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: All Students (2024): 519/913 = 57% (or 336/911 = 37% from another source); A108 WP Foundation Year: 61/188 = 32%
Decision date: March onwards

St Mary's Twickenham

Twickenham, London

Quick comparison

Location: Twickenham, London, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one of Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics
TrueScore: St Mary's Twickenham TrueScore 1700intl
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: -
Decision date: March onwards

Nottingham vs St Mary's Twickenham - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Nottingham requires AAA at A-level including Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry. No use of predicted grades - Nottingham considers achieved grades only.

St Mary's Twickenham requires AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one of Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics.

Both demand the same A-Level grade band, so academic prediction is unlikely to differentiate your application between them — provided you meet the required subject combination at each.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Nottingham: Minimum six GCSEs at grade 7/A including both Biology and Chemistry, plus at least grade 6/B in Mathematics and English Language (English and Maths do NOT need to be at grade 7).

GCSEs feed the… St Mary's Twickenham: Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE Mathematics, English Language, Biology and Chemistry (or Dual Award Science).

Interview formats

Both Nottingham and St Mary's Twickenham 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: Nottingham interviews in December - March; St Mary's Twickenham in December - March.

What makes each distinctive

Nottingham: Scoring system is now distinct from Lincoln's, weighting GCSE (/32), UCAT (/40) and SJT (/10) - band 4 SJT auto-rejected. No use of predicted A-level grades.

St Mary's Twickenham: International (non-UK/Irish) applicants only, applying direct rather than through UCAS, so it costs none of your four UCAS medical choices. Weigh that against the accreditation risk: the MBBS is not yet GMC-accredited, and St Mary's contingency is that students would transfer to the University of Lancashire if accreditation is not achieved.

Which is right for you?

Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — Nottingham feeds into the England foundation programme network; St Mary's Twickenham 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. Nottingham guidance: No fixed score. Nottingham states that the threshold varies year by year, cannot be predicted in advance, and that it does not share previous years' thresholds.. St Mary's Twickenham guidance: International (non-UK/Irish) applicants only. No SJT use stated. Any quoted 'cut-off' for this school is guesswork - it has not yet completed an admissions cycle..

Nottingham uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). St Mary's Twickenham 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 (Nottingham); December - March (St Mary's Twickenham).

Nottingham requires AAA including Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry. St Mary's Twickenham requires AAA prediction and offer requirements, must include chemistry or biology as well as one of biology/chemistry/physics/maths. Resits only considered in exceptional circumstances. GCSEs: grade 6 minimum in maths, English language, biology and chemistry (or dual award science).. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school.

Nottingham's selection methodology: Once you meet the academic entry requirements, Nottingham scores each of your UCAT component raw scores - not just the total - and combines that with GCSE scoring to select for interview. There is no fixed threshold: Nottingham says it varies year by year, cannot be predicted, and that it does not release previous years' figures. An SJT of Band 4 rules you out. St Mary's Twickenham'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.

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

NottinghamEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

St Mary's TwickenhamEntry 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.