Medical students told they can defer a year despite funding for extra places

Students who want to study medicine will have the option to defer their places until next year or choose to move to a different medical school amid capacity constraints, UK medical schools have said.

The Medical Schools Council (MSC), which represents 44 heads of medical schools across the UK, has said some schools may still struggle to increase the number of students they admit as they are limited by specialist facilities.

The warning comes after the Government announced that medicine and dentistry schools will receive extra funding to expand courses this year following an increase in applications for these subjects.

On Tuesday, tens of thousands of school leavers will find out their A-level results after this summer’s exams were cancelled for the second year in a row.

If more students receive top grades – which are being submitted by teachers – then it will be more difficult for selective universities and courses to differentiate between applicants, it has been suggested.

A statement from the MSC said: “Medical schools are committed to maintaining high standards of education for existing and new students and will therefore work with the Government to ensure that any additional places are appropriately funded and allocated.

“While some medical schools may be able to take a modest increase in numbers, their ability to do so will be limited by specialist facilities for subjects such as anatomy and clinical placement opportunities.

“With the physical constraints on placement capacity some students may choose to move to a different medical school or to defer their place until 2022, and medical schools will support them in these moves.”

The number of places on medicine and dentistry courses at universities in England is capped by the Government to ensure teaching, learning, and assessment standards are maintained.

But on Thursday evening – just five days before results day – the Department for Education (DfE) announced that the cap will be adjusted to allow for more than 9,000 places on medical and dentistry courses for the 2021 student intake.

It said that applications for medicine and dentistry have increased by 20% this year compared with 2020.

In a statement on Friday, the MSC said it was committed to working with the Government to try to create capacity to accommodate these extra students.

It added: “Medicine is a competitive course for which to gain entry and every year there is a surplus of qualified candidates who would be suitable for the course.

“Medical schools are conscious that this year’s cohort will have experienced disruption to their learning and as a result will require additional support in their transition to university.

“Due to the rigorous selection processes undertaken at all medical schools, the public should be reassured that all students who hold offers have been interviewed and deemed suitable for a career in medicine.”

The University of Exeter, which is a member of the Russell Group, recently wrote to students who have accepted an offer to study medicine starting in 2021 asking if they will delay starting their course until 2022.

Students who opt for a deferral are being offered financial incentives – including a guaranteed place next year, free accommodation for their first year, and a cash bursary of £10,000.

Last summer, the fiasco around grading led to thousands of A-level students having their results downgraded from school estimates by a controversial algorithm, before Ofqual announced a U-turn.

The Government then announced it would lift the cap on the number of places on medicine courses following the U-turn, after institutions warned they had limited space for students with higher results.