Medicine

Medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry

With 100% of those applying to study medicine receiving offers of places in 2025, our rigorous preparation programmes rank among the most successful in the UK.  If you want to be a medic, St Helen’s is the best place for you to be. Our support programme delivers enviable results with over 97% of our applicants receiving offers since 2014, versus the national average of 16.7%. We’re bucking the trend, too: medicine is getting more competitive, yet our students are getting more and better offers, in large numbers; every year, around 15% of the year group go to university to study medicine, veterinary medicine or dentistry.  

Support for our students starts in their science lessons and through academic enrichment through the Beyond Programme but really steps up in Lower Sixth via Medical Society (MedSoc).  

MedSoc meets once a week, and students participate in a variety of sessions both onsite and externally in collaboration with the OX14 Learning Partnership. Sessions include career talks given by alumnae, practical sessions on the basics of suturing, interview practice, UCAT preparation and personal statement support. Aspiring students in Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth are supported extensively with their university applications and in interview preparation. 

MedSoc Programme

Year 11

• Potential medics identified and supported with arranging a variety of work experience opportunities for the summer after GCSEs
• Students attend a supercurricular presentation in school after their GCSES on making the most of their summer

Lower Sixth

Michaelmas term

• Students are assigned relevant Community Service opportunities for the year, such as volunteering at a care home, local primary school or veterinary clinic
• Students begin their EPQs, aligning their research with their medical interests
• Introduction to Higher Education Evening

Lent term

• MedSoc starts. Students learn about NHS and BVA values, and reflecting on work experience for personal statements; medical ethics; mock MMI questions; talks from visiting doctors, vets and allied health professionals
• Students log their activities and reflections on Unifrog
• Higher Education Q&E Webinar
• “This Isn’t Going To Hurt” OX14 Medical Conference: learning to suture, wearing scrubs, ITU simulation, practising prone ventilation for acute respiratory distress, analysing x-rays and patient histories, emergency beep sessions to perform CPR, and talks from doctors and other health professionals on careers and medical research
• Bi-annual Medics and Vets Conference at SHSK: hear from students and experienced doctors about getting into medical school, as well as a keynote speaker, such as Benjamin Black, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, special advisor to Medicins Sans Frontieres and author of ‘Belly Woman’
• U6 share their experiences with L6
• L6 join the Old Girls Network and make connections with students studying at their chosen universities
• Students attend Biology and Chemistry Societies to develop their academic skills
• UCAT preparation begins

Trinity term

• OX14 UCAT day: all students attend a day dedicated to learning how to succeed in the UCAT
• Specialist sessions on writing personal statements, including one-to-one support from MedSoc and medical professionals involved in admissions

Upper Sixth

Michaelmas term

• One-to-one personal statement support continues
• One-to-one bespoke advice for each student to choose the best medical schools for their profile
• Mock panel interviews
• Mock MMI interviews following MMI practise sessions in MedSoc
• Interview invitations start
• EPQ presentations and essays completed

Find out more about our higher education and careers programmes at St Helen’s, as well as our Oxbridge preparation.

Higher education and careers Oxbridge