Pears Cumbria (GEM) and St Mary's Twickenham are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Pears Cumbria (GEM) is based in Carlisle (England) while St Mary's Twickenham sits in Twickenham, London (London), and the regional context shapes everything from fee status to NHS-deanery destination.
| Comparison field | Pears Cumbria (GEM)Carlisle | St Mary's TwickenhamTwickenham, London |
|---|---|---|
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| Location | Carlisle, UK | Twickenham, London, UK |
| A-Level offer | Graduate entry - degree required | AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one of Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics |
| TrueScoreTrueScore is our prediction of the UCAT score required to be invited to interview at this school for the upcoming cycle. Built from multi-year FOI data and applicant trends. Click any badge to see the full breakdown. | 1700GEM | 1700intl |
| UCAT home cut-off | - | - |
| Interview format | Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI) | Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI) |
| Post-interview chance | - | - |
| Decision date | March onwards | March onwards |
Carlisle
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Twickenham, London
Quick comparison
Pears Cumbria (GEM) requires Graduate entry - degree required.
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).
Both Pears Cumbria (GEM) 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: Pears Cumbria (GEM) interviews in December - March; St Mary's Twickenham in December - March.
Pears Cumbria (GEM): Graduate entry programme focusing on rural and community healthcare. Newer course oriented around regional workforce needs in Cumbria.
St Mary's Twickenham: For international students only and new this year - apply directly in addition to your 4 UCAS medical choices, so no harm in giving it a try. The medical school is actively seeking links with international applicants.
Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — Pears Cumbria (GEM) 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.
School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 4 August 2026.
