Medicine: Higher Education

(asked on 1st September 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to require universities that have accepted medical students on a deferred entry to 2021-22 as a result of the 2020 A-level awards to accept the result of the 2020 UCAT and BMAT tests beyond their 12-month validity period to ensure that students do not have to resit them.


Answered by
Michelle Donelan Portrait
Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
This question was answered on 9th September 2020

Universities are independent, autonomous bodies. As such, they are responsible for their own admissions decisions, including on the use of the University Clinical Aptitude Test and BioMedical Admissions Test in their admissions process.

The evidence for acceptance to university courses ceases to be relevant once a university student has been accepted to the course, regardless of when they have commenced, including deferrals. The Medical Schools Council is not aware of any medical school that would expect any student in this situation to have to resit.

The government has asked that universities are as flexible as possible, and we will continue to make every effort to minimise the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on young people’s education.

Reticulating Splines