If your child wants to study Medicine, the A Level choices they make in Year 11 will either open or close doors to every medical school in the country. The requirements are not uniform across universities, and the gap between what is required, what is expected, and what is merely helpful is one that catches students out every year.
This post covers exactly what UK medical schools want from A Level subject choices, where the requirements differ, and what students aiming for the most competitive programmes — including Oxbridge Medicine — need to know.
The short answer
Chemistry is required by almost every UK medical school and should be treated as non-negotiable. Biology is required or strongly preferred by most. A third science or Maths is standard at competitive schools. The grades matter as much as the subjects: most medical schools require AAA at minimum, and the most competitive require A*AA or A*A*A.
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The A Level requirements for UK medical schools
The majority of UK medical schools require Chemistry at A Level. This is the one constant across the sector. Beyond Chemistry, most schools require or strongly prefer at least one further science — Biology is the most common second requirement, and Physics or Maths is frequently cited as a strong third choice.
Some schools specify two sciences from Chemistry, Biology, Physics, and Maths. Others accept one science alongside a non-science A Level, provided Chemistry is included. Always check the specific requirements for each school your child is considering, because the variation is genuine and matters.
Chemistry: the non-negotiable
Every major UK medical school lists Chemistry as a requirement or strong expectation. This includes all Russell Group universities and all five medical schools that admit the highest number of applicants annually: Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Birmingham, and Bristol. Oxford and Cambridge both require Chemistry, and Cambridge specifically states it as the only essential A Level for its Medical course.
A student who drops Chemistry in Year 12 closes the door to the vast majority of UK medical programmes. This decision cannot be reversed. If your child is considering Medicine and is tempted to drop Chemistry, the conversation needs to happen before Year 12 begins.
Biology: required or strongly preferred
Most UK medical schools either require Biology or state it as their second preferred subject after Chemistry. Schools including Imperial, UCL, King’s, Edinburgh, and St Andrews all state Chemistry and Biology as their standard A Level requirements. Some, including Oxford, do not strictly require Biology but note that most successful applicants include it. For any student seriously targeting a place at a competitive medical school, taking Biology alongside Chemistry is the most straightforward path.
The third A Level
Maths and Physics are both well-regarded third choices and demonstrate quantitative ability. Psychology is accepted at many schools. Most schools explicitly state that a third science or Maths is not required, but also note that General Studies, Critical Thinking, and Applied subjects are not accepted in place of academic A Levels.
A non-science third A Level — History, English, Modern Languages, Economics — is accepted at most medical schools and can strengthen an application by demonstrating breadth. A student taking Chemistry, Biology, and History is well-placed for the vast majority of UK medical programmes.
A Level grades for Medicine: what you actually need
Subject choice gets most of the attention, but grades are where applications succeed or fail. The minimum offer from most UK medical schools is AAA. In practice, most successful applicants hold A*AA or A*A*A, particularly at programmes in London, Edinburgh, and the south of England.
Oxford Medicine requires A*AA minimum. Cambridge Medicine requires A*A*A at offer stage, with Chemistry A Level performance scrutinised in detail. At less competitive programmes, AAB is sometimes the stated minimum, but the contextual offer should not be read as the average offer made.
When to start thinking about grades
Year 12 performance matters more than most students realise. Predicted grades — based primarily on Year 12 results and teacher assessments — are what medical schools use to shortlist for interview. A student predicted BBB will not be shortlisted for interview at competitive programmes regardless of GCSE results or Personal Statement quality. The work to achieve competitive predicted grades starts from the first month of Year 12.
What else medical schools look for
A Level subjects and grades are the entry requirement, not the selection criterion. Medical schools shortlist from a pool of applicants who all meet the grade requirements. What differentiates them is admissions test performance, work experience, and Personal Statement quality.
UCAT and BMAT
Most UK medical schools require the UCAT (University Clinical Aptitude Test), sat in the summer before Year 13. It tests verbal reasoning, decision making, quantitative reasoning, abstract reasoning, and situational judgement. Performance correlates strongly with structured preparation. Schools including Exeter, Liverpool, and Leicester use UCAT scores to set interview cut-offs, meaning a weak score will exclude an applicant regardless of A Level grades.
A small number of schools, including Imperial and Oxford, use the BMAT (BioMedical Admissions Test) instead. The BMAT includes a science knowledge component based on GCSE and A Level content, which means it does reward academic preparation in a way that UCAT does not.
Work experience
Medical schools expect applicants to have meaningful healthcare experience — shadowing a GP, volunteering in a hospital or care setting, or working in a healthcare-adjacent role. The Personal Statement should include specific reflection on what the experience taught the applicant about Medicine as a career. Students who have arranged and reflected on work experience before Year 12 are significantly better positioned than those who start in the summer before applying.
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Book a LessonMeet some of our tutors supporting Medicine applicants
Jessica
Jessica is completing her fourth year in Medicine at Cambridge, having graduated with a BA in Psychology. She achieved A*A*A*A* at A Level in Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Chemistry, and Biology, and has gone through every stage of the Medicine application process herself. With hundreds of hours of tutoring experience across A Level Biology, Chemistry, and the sciences, Jessica has contributed to educational workshops on the medicine application process and provides specialist interview support. She is one of the few tutors who can speak to A Level preparation and application strategy from direct personal experience.
Kriszta
Kriszta graduated from Oxford with a First in Biological Sciences, finishing in the top 10 of her cohort, and won the Moore Prize for the best research dissertation. She is completing a PhD in Cancer Biology at Cambridge, with research experience at EMBL, Oxford, and Shanghai JiaoTong University. Kriszta tutors A Level Biology with a depth of scientific understanding that goes well beyond the specification — which is precisely what students preparing for competitive medicine applications need, particularly those sitting the BMAT or preparing for Oxbridge Biology interviews.
Clemmie
Clemmie read Psychological and Behavioural Sciences at Trinity College Cambridge (First Class), having achieved A* in Biology, Chemistry, and Maths at A Level. Her Part II dissertation was supervised by Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, and she has published research as a second author. Clemmie tutors A Level Biology and Chemistry alongside GCSE sciences. Her academic profile — top grades in both core medicine subjects, then Cambridge research — makes her well-placed to support students building the grade profile competitive medicine applications require.
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