Applicants will be invited to preference groups/individual programmes on Oriel once allocated to a Foundation School. This process will follow a national timeline, which will be published in due course.
Dates and details of the group and programme preferencing and matching process will be communicated to applicants by the UKFPO and their allocated foundation school.
Two-stage match using groups (match to group and then match to programme)
Foundation schools with many programmes may choose to cluster programmes into groups (for example, themed by location). In this instance, applicants will be matched to programmes in two stages:
Matched to a group: applicants are required to preference groups in order of choice. You will be matched to a group based on your rank and preferences.
Matched to a programme: once matched to groups, applicants will be invited to preference the programmes in that group in order of choice. You will be matched to programme in accordance with your rank and preferences.
One-stage match (match to programme)
If the allocated foundation school does not use groups, applicants will be invited to preference all of the programmes in that Foundation School in order of choice without having to preference groups. Applicants will be matched to programmes based on their rank and preferences.
Linked applications at group and programme stage
Refer to the How to Apply on Oriel guide for information about how to link to another applicant.
The rank of the lower ranking applicant will be used to allocate both linked applicants to a foundation school (and in some cases to group as well if used by the foundation school).
Not all Foundation Schools allow linking for the match to group and applicants should consider local Foundation School policies prior to submission of their linked application. Applicants should contact individual Foundation Schools directly for further information.
Programme match
All applicants will be informed of their match to programme match by email and this will include a pdf attachment which provides the matched programme details. Foundation Schools will contact their applicants regarding next steps in preparation for employment.
Any queries about the programme should be sent directly to the foundation school and not to the UKFPO.
Applicants are matched to one two-year training programme only.
Applicants are not required to confirm acceptance of the match on Oriel (this is an “allocation” and not an “offer” which requires an acceptance which is the process used for the Foundation Priority Programme).
All programme matches are final. Once allocated to a foundation school and programme, there is no system for swaps between foundation schools or within individual foundation schools and programmes. Swaps will not be facilitated by the UKFPO or by Foundation Schools under any circumstances.
As far as possible, foundation schools aim to honour programme allocations. However, it is important to note that after being matched to a programme, placements within that programme may change as a result of service redesign, working time regulations or national directives.
If you withdraw your application, you will be withdrawn from the entire application process and you will need to reapply to the Foundation Programme the following year. If you choose to reapply, you will be required to complete a new application form. No part of your application or the selection process will be carried over to the next recruitment year.