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Cap is lifted on medical school places in England

BMJ 2020; 370 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m3307 (Published 20 August 2020) Cite this as: BMJ 2020;370:m3307

Linked Opinion

The A levels fiasco is part of a wider picture of inequality in medical school recruitment

  1. Abi Rimmer
  1. The BMJ

The government has announced that it will lift the cap on the number of medical school places in England after changes to A level assessments resulted in successful candidates left without courses.

Earlier this month, education secretary Gavin Williamson announced that students in England would receive the A level grades that they had been predicted to achieve by their teachers, rather than those previously awarded to them which were based on an algorithm.1

Following this announcement, medical bodies lobbied the government to remove the cap on medical school places—which was set at approximately 7500 in England and 9500 in the UK—so that more eligible students could train to become doctors.

On 20 August, the government said that it would lift the cap on places and …

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