The A-level results U-turn means many more students now qualify to study medicine
Leading doctors are calling on the government to lift the cap on medical school places after it decided to base A-Level results only on Centre Assessed Grades, the I paper reports.
So far, education secretary Gavin Williamson has only lifted the cap for general courses, not medicine and some other regulated ones.
But following the government U-turn on grading, many more students have now met the requirements of their offers to study medicine – even though many courses are already full.
Professor Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal College of GPs, has written to the universities minister, Michelle Donelan, saying: “We are concerned by reports that a large number of potential medical students have been unable to obtain their university place after the problems with A-level results and university admissions this year.
“Students who have worked hard to meet medical schools’ admission criteria deserve a chance to become doctors.
“We understand that there may not be enough medical school places for students who were initially downgraded through the moderation system, as medical schools have begun allocating places based on previously announced results.”
He added that the college had previously estimated a need for 20 per cent more places for medical students just to sustain general practice into the future.
The I paper also reports that Universities UK has sent a letter to education secretary Gavin Williamson regarding “increasing flexibilities” within the medical student numbers cap.