Eligible applicants whose pre-allocation applications are approved will be pre-allocated to the foundation school requested (as per the requirements of the criterion applied for).
Once a pre-allocation application has been approved, the applicant’s record is updated in the back-end of the Oriel system by the UKFPO, and this informs the system which Foundation School to allocate them to when national allocation takes place in 2026. Applicants will not be able to see that this action has been completed by the UKFPO in their Oriel record and this is normal.
A copy of the pre-allocation application form and supporting documentation will be forwarded to the foundation school requested for pre-allocation between December 2025 and January 2026. The foundation school may contact their pre-allocated applicants with further local information. The timelines for this will vary between different foundation schools.
The UKFPO are not involved with the process of matching groups and programmes to applicants who have been approved for pre-allocation. This process is managed entirely by the allocated foundation school. All queries relating to groups and programmes should therefore be sent directly to the foundation school.
Approval of a pre-allocation application does not guarantee allocation to a group or specific rotational programme, location or employer within the pre-allocated foundation school.