Applying to medical school may seem far in the future for those of you who have not even started your GCSEs yet, however, the decisions you make now can have a huge impact down the line.
This guide is aimed at those in Year 9 who are picking their GCSE options. If you already know that you have an interest in pursuing Medicine later in your career, you are at a great advantage as you can tailor your GCSEs around what will be useful to you, further down the line.
Written by Sophia Clyde
Here, I will explain to you which GCSEs to pick in order to maximise your chances of a place at Medical school as well as help you understand the importance of getting good grades.
Please note that this guide applies to UK students only, as other international qualifications are also accepted. I will also not speak about specific contextualised admissions, and those applying from Foundation programs, as this is often on a case-to-case basis and varies significantly between medical schools.
Basics of GCSEs
For students taking GCSEs in England and Wales, students are required to take the following core subjects:
Core GCSE Subjects
- English Language and English Literature
- Mathematics
- Either Combined Science (2x GCSEs) or Separate Science (3x GCSEs)
This sums up to a total of 5-6 GCSEs. Note that some schools may make other subjects compulsory too.
Additional subjects which may be offered at your school in addition to these core subjects include:
Optional GCSE Subjects
- Humanities: eg. History, Geography, Religious Studies
- Modern Foreign Languages: eg. French, Spanish, German, Mandarin
- Arts: eg. Art, Music, Dance, Design and Technology, Drama
- Others: eg. Physical Education, Computer Science, Food Technology, Further Maths
Be aware that, although these subjects are all optional, you will typically have to select at least four of these during your studies. Most students will take 9 GCSEs in total but this can differ for various reasons including Special Educational Needs (SEN), or other factors.
How Are GCSEs Graded?
GCSE subjects are all graded on a scale of 1-9 with 9 being the highest possible achievable grade.
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Choosing GCSEs For Medicine
Looking at this long list of options, it may be daunting to have to pick which subjects to do. Next, I’ll break down which are the best options for you as an individual and increase your chance of getting into Medicine.
Pick Subjects That You Enjoy
The difficulty of taking GCSEs should not be overlooked. For many of you, these will be the first public examinations you will have to sit which can be daunting and overwhelming. Choosing subjects which you enjoy will increase your motivation to study, and help with maintain resilience when the subject may become challenging. GCSEs are a lot of work, so studying a topic which you enjoy can help significantly in ensuring you perform your best.
Pick Subjects That You Perform Well In
This is one of the most important factors when thinking about picking your GCSEs. Other than sometimes listed required subjects, Medical schools are less worried about the subjects you take at GCSE and more concerned with the grades you achieve.
There is no UK Medical school which gives a higher weighting to a student who has performed well in a subject which is perceived to be harder. What do I mean by this?
Achieving a 9 in a subject such as Computer Science may sound impressive but achieving a 9 in Physical Education, is completely equally weighted when it comes to admissions. Instead of picking subjects which may look impressive to admissions teams, pick subjects which you know you can perform well in, and like I said in my previous point, pick subjects which you enjoy.
One other important detail to note in performing well is that universities often put equal weight on grades 8 and 9.
Pick Subjects Tailored To Your A-Level Choices
Most Medical schools will have specific A-level requirements including subjects and grades, which we’ll see soon. Choosing GCSEs which are relevant to these A-level subjects can give you a big head start to you’re A levels.
Additionally, if you are applying to a new school for Sixth Form, some schools may require a certain grade in the relevant GCSE in order for you to be allowed to take the subject in sixth form.
That last point is particularly important, so here are some of the A-levels required/recommended by Medical schools and the relevant GCSEs
Best A-Levels & GCSEs For Medicine
| A-Level | Relevant GCSEs |
|---|---|
| Chemistry (Most Medical schools require this A level) | Science (combined), Chemistry GCSE, Maths GCSE and Further Maths GCSE |
| Biology (Many Medical schools require this A level) | GCSE Science (combined), Biology GCSE, Maths GCSE and Further Maths GCSE |
| Maths | Maths GCSE and Further Maths GCSE |
| Physics | GCSE Science (combined), Physics GCSE, Maths GCSE and Further Maths GCSE |
| Further Maths | Maths GCSE and Further Maths GCSE |
GCSE Science Combined vs Separate
Seeing as Medicine is a science, I strongly recommend that you pick separate sciences over combined sciences. With both options, you will study all three disciplines: Biology, Chemistry and Physics, however in separate sciences you will cover a larger breadth of content.
This should be something which you enjoy and are good at if you want to pursue Medicine in the future. In order to study Medicine at university, you will have to continue to do Science at A level, and will be at a disadvantage if you have taken combined sciences. Not to mention, you should be capable in Science, so it should be an easy extra GCSE to take relative to other subjects.
How Many GCSEs Should I Do?
Medicine is extremely competitive to apply to, so the greater the number of GCSEs you take and the higher the grade, the more likely you are to look competitive against other applicants. However, you do not need to take an excessive number of GCSEs in order to make a good Medical school application, and indeed, your school will often limit the number you are able to take.
To answer the question of how many to take, I will talk you through Oxford University Medical school specifically, which publishes its applicant’s number of GCSEs at grades 8-9.
Source: Medsci.ox.ac.uk
Looking at this graph from applicants in the 2023 admission cycle, the median applicant who scored a place at Oxford Medical School had ten GCSEs in grades 8-9. This would suggest that 10 is a good number of GCSEs to pick. However, successful applicants ranged from six GCSEs to twelve GCSEs in grades 8-9.
It is important to note that Oxford and many other Medical schools contextualise GCSE scores and the number of GCSEs taken compared to the performance of other students at your school, so applicants with fewer GCSEs or lower grades may be from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Other Universities may adopt different approaches to GCSEs in order to shortlist Medical school applicants. Nottingham University, for example, only looks at 8 of your GCSEs in order to rank your application against other candidates. So for this University, taking more GCSEs may not make you stand out as much.
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How Do Medical Schools Use GCSEs?
Next, let’s look through a few specific universities and some of their A-level requirements as well as how they include your GCSEs in assessing your application. Bear in mind that each university will consider GCSEs in a unique way, so you need to ensure you’ve researched your specific options, should you have any in mind at this stage.
Oxford Medicine GCSE Requirements
- Shortlisting is based on combined UCAT (formerly BMAT) and GCSE score (no minimum score specified).
- GCSE performance is compared to data for schools to assess if applicant’s grades are an over/underperformance for the school they attended.
A-Levels Required: A*AA with Chemistry and either Maths, Further Maths, Biology or Physics
- Breakdown of A-Level choices (for those accepted): 100% of people took Chemistry, Biology: 97%, Physics: 8%, Maths: 89%, Further Mathematics: 17%.
- Six GCSE grades at 777666 including Biology, Chemistry, English language or English Literature and Mathematics. The Science Double Award may substitute all sciences at GCSE.
A-Levels Required: A*AA with Biology or Chemistry and a second science (Chemistry, Biology, Physics or Mathematics)
- GCSE grade 6 in both English language and Mathematics required.
- GCSEs used as part of the shortlisting process (considered the most important factor along with UCAT score) – ‘these are highlighted as they provide us with the fairest and most consistent method of assessing applicants’.
A-Levels Required: A*AA with A in Biology and Chemistry
Nottingham Medicine GCSE Requirements
- Minimum of six GCSEs at Level 7 including Biology and Chemistry and a minimum grade of 6 in Maths and English Language.
- When selecting for interviews, they score eight of your GCSE results including Biology and Chemistry or double Maths, English language and your four highest GCSEs in other subjects. This Is their GCSE scoring system:
| Grade | Points |
|---|---|
| 9 | 4 |
| 8 | 3 |
| 7 | 2 |
| 6 | 1 |
A-Levels Required: AAA with Biology and Chemistry
University of East Anglia Medicine GCSE Requirements
- Six GCSEs at grade 7 or above including Mathematics and either two science subjects (Biology, Chemistry or Physics) or double science.
- GCSE English Language grade 6 is required.
A-Levels Required: AAA with Biology/Human Biology or Chemistry
- No requirement for a specific number of GCSEs.
- They only consider GCSE English language or English literature, and GCSE Maths which must be at grade 6.
A-Levels Required: AAA with Biology and Chemistry
Whilst many of these universities list minimum requirements, this is different to the grades and GCSEs which might make a competitive application so this is important to keep in mind. In order to find out more make sure to have a look at the specific university for how they use your GCSE results in their admissions process.
There are also alternative pathways as well as contextualised offers which may reduce your GCSE requirements for students from disadvantaged households. Make sure to have a look at specific university policies if you would like to find out more.
Conclusion
In conclusion, here are the key points you should take away from this guide:
- Choose Subjects You Enjoy: Enjoyment in subjects boosts motivation and resilience during challenging times.
- Pick Subjects You Perform Well In: Success in GCSEs, rather than the perceived difficulty of the subjects, is crucial for medical school admissions.
- Align Subjects with Future A-levels: Selecting GCSEs that correlate with A-levels required for medicine gives students an advantage.
- Consider Separate Sciences: For aspiring medical students, Separate Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) are recommended over Combined Science due to their broader content.
- Number of GCSEs: Most successful Oxford Medical School applicants have ten GCSEs with grades 8-9. However, the number can vary based on individual circumstances and different university requirements.
Thank you for reading, I hope this guide has been helpful to you! At 6med, we have a wide selection of guides about medicine and medical school applications in the UK, so I’d recommend checking them out if you want to get a head start on preparing for your time at medical school.
When the time comes to apply, you may be looking for some forms of support, as the medicine application process is a difficult one.
If that’s the case, be sure to check out our selection of Tutoring Bundles for interviews, the UCAT (medicine admissions test) and complete preparation with the Medicine Mastery Bundle. Book a free consultation to find out more today.
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