FAQs

Changes to the UKFP 2026 application process for Criterion 5 Widening Participation and Criterion 2 Primary Carer mean that applicants can only be pre-allocated to the foundation school which is local to their medical school.

Refer to the list below of UK medical schools and their linked ‘local’ foundation school.

Applicants who wish to apply under Criterion 5 Widening Participation should only apply to their local foundation school. Applicants must also provide proof of address in the same foundation school area.

A-Z of UK Medical Schools & Local Foundation School

Aberdeen – Scotland Foundation School
Anglia Ruskin – East of England Foundation School
Aston – West Midlands Central Foundation School
Birmingham – West Midlands Central Foundation School
Brighton and Sussex – Kent, Surrey and Sussex Foundation School
Bristol – Severn Foundation School
Buckingham – Oxford Foundation School
Cambridge – East of England Foundation School
Cardiff – Wales Foundation School
City St. George’s University London – London Foundation School
Dundee – Scotland Foundation School
Edge Hill – North West of England Foundation School
Edinburgh – Scotland Foundation School
Exeter – Peninsula Foundation School
Glasgow – Scotland Foundation School
Hull and York – Yorkshire and Humber Foundation School
Imperial College London – London Foundation School
Keele – West Midlands North Foundation School
Kent and Medway – Kent, Surrey and Sussex Foundation School
King’s College London – London Foundation School
Lancashire     North West of England Foundation School
Lancaster – North West of England Foundation School
Leeds  – Yorkshire and Humber Foundation School
Leicester – Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland Foundation School
Liverpool – North West of England Foundation School
Manchester – North West of England Foundation School
Newcastle – Northern Foundation School
Norwich – East of England Foundation School
Oxford – Oxford (Thames Valley) Foundation School
Plymouth – Peninsula Foundation School
Queen Mary University of London – London Foundation School
Sheffield – Yorkshire and Humber Foundation School
Southampton – Wessex Foundation School
Sunderland – Northern Foundation School
Swansea – Wales Foundation School
University College London – London Foundation School
Warwick – West Midlands South Foundation School

No. There will be no exceptions to this for any applicant applying under Criterion 5 Widening Participation.
 

No. Pre-allocation can only be to the local foundation school. The location/sites at which applicants have undertaken their placements during medical school are not taken into account for this process. 

If you aren’t already living at an address in the foundation school area that you are requesting to be pre-allocated to, and therefore won’t be able to provide proof of address in your name, you won’t be able to meet the requirements of the pre-allocation application process for this criterion. This also applies to applicants who wish to be pre-allocated under criterion 5 Widening Participation to their local foundation school, but can’t provide proof of address for the same foundation school area.

All applicants must provide one piece of documentation as proof of address, to evidence that they are already living in the foundation school area that they are applying to be pre-allocated to.

The proof of address must be in your name, and must match the address you have given on your pre-allocation application form.

Applications for pre-allocation which are submitted without acceptable proof of address submitted will be rejected.

Changes to the UKFP 2026 application process for Criterion 5 Widening Participation and Criterion 2 Primary Carer mean that UK nominated applicants can only be pre-allocated to the foundation school which is local to their medical school.

Refer to the list below of UK medical schools and their linked “local” foundation school.

Applicants who wish to apply under Criterion 2 Primary Carer should only apply to their local foundation school. Applicants must provide proof of address in the same foundation school area.

Eligibility applicants applying under this criterion can only apply and be pre-allocated to the foundation school local to their current address and that of the person being cared for. Proof of address must be for that same foundation school area.

Applicants who have already qualified from a UK medical school on or after 05 August 2024 and are being renominated for the application process by their medical school can only apply for pre-allocation under this category to the foundation school area within which both they and the person they are caring for are already living, to reflect the current circumstances. Proof of address must be for that same foundation school area.

A-Z of UK Medical Schools & Local Foundation School

Aberdeen – Scotland Foundation School
Anglia Ruskin – East of England Foundation School
Aston – West Midlands Central Foundation School
Birmingham – West Midlands Central Foundation School
Brighton and Sussex – Kent, Surrey and Sussex Foundation School
Bristol – Severn Foundation School
Buckingham – Oxford Foundation School
Cambridge – East of England Foundation School
Cardiff – Wales Foundation School
City St. George’s University London – London Foundation School
Dundee – Scotland Foundation School
Edge Hill – North West of England Foundation School
Edinburgh – Scotland Foundation School
Exeter – Peninsula Foundation School
Glasgow – Scotland Foundation School
Hull and York – Yorkshire and Humber Foundation School
Imperial College London – London Foundation School
Keele – West Midlands North Foundation School
Kent and Medway – Kent, Surrey and Sussex Foundation School
King’s College London – London Foundation School
Lancashire     North West of England Foundation School
Lancaster – North West of England Foundation School
Leeds  – Yorkshire and Humber Foundation School
Leicester – Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland Foundation School
Liverpool – North West of England Foundation School
Manchester – North West of England Foundation School
Newcastle – Northern Foundation School
Norwich – East of England Foundation School
Oxford – Oxford Foundation School
Plymouth – Peninsula Foundation School
Queen Mary University of London – London Foundation School
Sheffield – Yorkshire and Humber Foundation School
Southampton – Wessex Foundation School
Sunderland – Northern Foundation School
Swansea – Wales Foundation School
University College London – London Foundation School
Warwick – West Midlands South Foundation School

The aim of pre-allocation is to help applicants who must be in a particular location due to their current personal circumstances, as opposed to future circumstances. Applicants who apply under this criterion must already be carrying out the role of primary carer, and it is expected that as the primary carer they would already be providing the majority of day-to-day care and support to an individual, and providing this care over the course of a typical week. Refer to the UKFPO definition of a Primary Carer for the pre-allocation application process.

If the applicant as primary carer is not already based in the same area as the person they are providing daily care for (i.e., the applicant is at medical school or living in one foundation school area, and the other person is living in a different foundation school area) then these circumstances would not meet the criterion for primary carer.

All applicants must provide one piece of documentation as proof of address, to evidence that they are already living in the area that they are applying to be pre-allocated to.

The proof of address must be in your name, and must match the address you have given on your pre-allocation application form. This address must also be within the foundation school area that you are asking to be pre-allocated to.

If you aren’t already living at an address in the foundation school area that you are requesting to be pre-allocated to, and therefore won’t be able to provide proof of address in your name, you won’t be able to meet the requirements of the pre-allocation application process.

Applications for pre-allocation which are submitted without acceptable proof of address submitted will be rejected.

Applicants must ensure that all supporting evidence required for their pre-allocation application is provided at the time of application as there will be no opportunity to provide this later or via an appeal process if their application is rejected.

During the national allocation process managed by the UKFPO, applicants who are approved for pre-allocation will only be pre-allocated to the foundation school. The full list of foundation schools can be found on this page of our website.

Foundation schools will then manage the process of matching pre-allocated applicants to groups (also known as sub-regions) and then to programmes within their area. Each foundation school has its own local policy for this, and not all foundation schools allow pre-allocation to a group/sub-region within their foundation school. Applicants should contact the foundation school directly with any queries about this process.