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Medical school comparison

Pears Cumbria (GEM) vs Peninsula (Plymouth)

Pears Cumbria (GEM) 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.

Side-by-side comparison

Pears Cumbria (GEM)

Carlisle

Quick comparison

Location
Carlisle, UK
A-Level offer
Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in a biosciences or allied healthcare degree
TrueScore
Pears Cumbria (GEM) TrueScore 1700GEM
UCAT home cut-off
-
Interview format
Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance
-
Decision date
March onwards

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

Pears Cumbria (GEM) vs Peninsula (Plymouth) - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Pears Cumbria (GEM) requires Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in a biosciences or allied healthcare degree.

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.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Pears Cumbria (GEM): GCSE English Language and Mathematics at minimum grade 4/C - assessed alongside degree. 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 Pears Cumbria (GEM) 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: Pears Cumbria (GEM) interviews in December - March; Peninsula (Plymouth) in Not available.

Curriculum and teaching style

Both schools deliver a PBL-style curriculum, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar across years 1-3.

Specifics: Four-year accelerated graduate-entry programme. Imperial College London partner. Clinical placements across Cumbria NHS sites (UHMBT, North Cumbria In Five-year MBBS with PBL and case-based learning. Distinctive rural/coastal placement strand across Devon, Cornwall, Somerset.

Intake size: Pears Cumbria (GEM) — ~58 places per year. Imperial reported an 11:1 applications-to-places ratio for 2025.; 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.

What makes each distinctive

Pears Cumbria (GEM): The only medicine route in Carlisle, and graduate-entry only — there is no school-leaver course here. Restricted to home-fee applicants holding a 2:1 in biosciences or allied healthcare, with the MBBS awarded by Imperial College London.

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?

Both schools sit in the same England foundation-programme catchment, so post-graduation training paths overlap heavily. 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. Pears Cumbria (GEM) guidance: UCAT or GAMSAT — the applicant chooses one; MCAT is NOT accepted. Both are minimum-threshold hurdles rather than ranked scores. The UCAT must be sat in the same year as the UCAS submission; the GAMSAT within the two years before it.. 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..

Where to go next

Pears Cumbria (GEM)Entry 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 .