Applications for 2027-2028 are open from 22 October at 10:00.
Update: Medical Prioritisation Bill
For Round 1 of 2027 Academic Clinical Fellowship (ACF) recruitment, prioritisation will apply at the offer stage only.
For all other specialty recruitment processes apart from ST1 Public Health, prioritisation will apply at the following stages:
- Offer of an interview
- Offer of a place on a specialty training programme
Full information regarding the bill, can be found here.
See College statement on the Medical Prioritisation Bill
Guidance for 2027-2028 recruitment
Recruitment is for ST1 entry posts starting in August/September 2027.
Read the 2027-2028 guidance for all information and details on how to apply
Read the entry requirements and person specification
Timeline
For ST1 entry posts starting in August/September 2027
| Advert appears | Wednesday 21 October 2026, by 17:00 |
| Applications open | Thursday 22 October 2026, 10:00 |
| Applications close | Thursday 19 November 2026, 16:00 |
| Shortlisting window opens | Wednesday 16 December 2026 |
| Shortlisting window closes | Monday 11 January 2027 |
| Invite to Interview & Applicant Declaration sent | Wednesday 20 January 2027 |
| Deadline for Interview Booking & Applicant Declaration return | Friday 22 January 2027, 16:00 |
| Interview window opens | Tuesday 2 February 2027 |
| Interview window closes | Thursday 25 March 2027 |
| Offers released | Tuesday 6 April 2027, by 17:00 |
| Hold deadline | Friday 9 April 2027, 09:00 |
| Upgrade deadline | Wednesday 14 April 2027, 16:00 |
| Paperwork must be submitted by | Wednesday 28 April 2027 |
NB: All times referred to in this timeline are in BST.
Shortlisting
As of 2025, the shortlisting format includes a shorter, more defined entry method for applicants with no long "white-space" answers. In short, this means:
- all "written" answers input into the Oriel application form are limited to a maximum of 50 words per section
- some items may be entered via drop-down boxes
- applicants are asked to identify the best examples of skills/attributes/experience from their career against the scoring criteria
- there is no 'Supporting statement'.
Scoring sections:
- Transferable clinical capabilities
- Personal achievements and reflection
- Quality Improvement Project/Audit
- Academic achievements
- Teaching
Download the shortlisting guidance
Interviews
Applicants will be invited to interview based on their shortlisting score. Please note that we receive many eligible applicants, so it is important to study the shortlisting criteria above thoroughly to ensure a high score.
The interview format is as follows:
- A virtual interview, consisting of a two-station multi-scenario format performed online via the Qpercom platform
- Each station will be 20 minutes in length and the whole process should last 45 minutes overall, to cover Communications, Career Motivation, Clinical Reasoning and Reflective Practice.
Full interview capacity is still being confirmed via PaedsNRO and the Medical & Dental Recruitment and Selection (MDRS) teams. Current confirmed dates are listed below.
| Interview team | Interview dates (2027) |
|---|---|
| West Midlands | 2 February, 3 February, 4 February, 9 February, 10 February |
| Scotland | 8 February, 9 February, 10 February |
| Northern Ireland | 18 February, 19 February |
| North East | 3 March, 9 March, 10 March |
Offers process
Successful applicants then be determined using the interview scores, with a final 'appointability' threshold of 55% or more. Any applicant who meets or exceeds the has a chance of receiving an offer, however this is not guaranteed, as offers are made based on a combination of score ranking and preferencing.
Full details of the offers process are available in the applicant guide below and on the NHSE Medical Specialty Recruitment webpages.
Post numbers
The table below shows the indicative ST1 post numbers for all UK regions that are advertised in the 2027-28 recruitment round, for posts starting in August/September 2027.
| Region | Minimum | Maximum |
| East Midlands | 0 | 32 |
| East of England | 0 | 40 |
| Kent, Surrey, Sussex | 18 | 32 |
| London | 105 | 115 |
| North East | 15 | 20 |
| North West/North West Mersey | - | 24 |
| Northern Ireland | 14 | 16 |
| Scotland | 17 | 27 |
| South West Peninsula | 9 | 11 |
| South West Severn | 16 | 18 |
| Thames Valley | 16 | 18 |
| Wales | 16 | 21 |
| Wessex | 16 | 19 |
| West Midlands | 25 | 30 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 49 | 51 |
N.B. Post numbers are currently given as a minimum and maximum range for each region - exact numbers will be finalised in time for preferencing to open in January 2027.
Past application numbers and competition ratio
Some regions do prove more popular than others. However, applicants can choose any or all of the preferences for any or all regions, so it is not possible to give an accurate competition ratio by region. Both overall application numbers, and consequently also competition ratios, have seen considerable increases over the past 3 years.
2605 applications were made to ST1 in 2026-27 (slightly down from 2780 in 2025-26 but still significantly higher than 1583 in 2024-25), for a total of 508 posts. This produces a competition ratio of 5.13. The final fill rate at ST1 was 100%, with all those posts filled at the end of the overall Round 1 process.
A full list of competition ratios and fill rates for previous years can be found on the NHSE Medical Specialty Recruitment webpages.
Webinar
On 23 October 2025, the RCPCH Medical Recruitment Team hosted a webinar to guide applicants through the recruitment process for ST1 and ST3 entry to UK paediatric training. The session covered key updates and changes for the 2026/27 recruitment round, followed by a live Q&A to address attendee questions.
The process remains unchanged for 2027-28, so the content is still relevant for this round, aside from dates.
Apply and contact info
Apply via the Oriel system discussed in the application guidance.
For any queries, please contact the Paediatric National Recruitment Office.