Applying for paediatric specialty training at ST1 - guidance

National recruitment process for 2025-26

For ST1 entry posts starting in August/September 2025.

The format is the same as in 2024-25. It involves a shortlisting process - based on part of the application - which determines those applicants invited to interview. Interviews are held virtually.

Shortlisting

The format for shortlisting is new for 2025-26, adapted to include 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 be no 'Supporting statement'
• Scoring sections:
  • Additional qualifications
  • Transferable Clinical skills
  • Transferable Clinical experience and reflection
  • Quality Improvement Project/Audit
  • Academic achievements
  • Teaching

You can download the shortlisting scoring below. 

Recruitment

Recruitment for ST1 paediatrics in 2025-26 is composed of two elements:

1. Application form for shortlisting: to cover Past achievements, Clinical experience, Career motivation, Transferable Skills, Governance
2. A virtual interview, consisting of a two-station multi-scenario format performed online via Qpercom. 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.

The number of eligible applicants (after longlisting) has exceeded the interview capacity available across our virtual interview centres in recent years by a good number, so application scores will be used as a shortlisting tool to determine invites to interview against overall capacity. Interview capacity in 2024 was 650, but this may be subject to change for 2025.

Appointability will then be determined using the interview scores, with a final appointability threshold of 55% or more.

Note: We can confirm that there is no plan to reintroduce the Multi-Specialty Recruitment Assessment (MSRA) into the paediatric recruitment process.

National recruitment timelines for 2025-26

For ST1 entry posts starting in August/September 2025:

*Applicants who have been successfully shortlisted will also receive the 'Applicant Declaration' form along with their invite to interview. This must be completed and returned when the interview booking window closes.

The HEE Medical Specialty Recruitment website also provides general information on national recruitment, including full national timelines and 2025-specific guidance documents.

Guidance

Full guidance on each part of the recruitment process is available in the ST1 Applicant Guide - all applicants are advised to read through this carefully. You should also refer to the new 2025 ST1 application scoring criteria and person specification. These resources can all be downloaded below.

We also ran a live Q&A event/webinar on 17 October 2024 and a recording is posted below. The session included information on both the application and interview process, for both ST1 and ST3 entry in 2025. 

Interview dates for 2025

ST1 paediatric interviews take place virtually, managed by the local teams.

*All interviews are virtual, so location does not have any bearing on what dates you may want to go for, if you are invited. However, in order to share the administrative burden, the running of the dates is split between the five NHSE, NES and NIMDTA regional offices in the table above.

Post numbers for 2025

The table below shows the ST1 post numbers for all UK regions that are advertised in the 2025-26 recruitment round, for posts starting in August/September 2025.

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, saw a considerable increase for the 2024-25 national recruitment round 1 and no post were therefore put into the national round 1 re-advert round for the third year in succession.

1583 applications were made to ST1 in 2024 (up from 1231 in 2023), for a total of 479 posts. The final fill rate at ST1 was 99.79%, with 478 of those posts filled, at the end of the overall Round 1 process.

Webinar and Q&A

The RCPCH Medical Recruitment team hosted a webinar and Q&A, for anyone planning to apply to ST1 or ST3, on Thursday 17 October 2024. This was presented by Dr Blanche Lumb, RCPCH Trainee Representative for Recruitment, Dr Simon Broughton, RCPCH Officer for Recruitment, and James Clark, RCPCH Head of Medical Recruitment.

The audience was guided through all parts of the recruitment process and provided with tips on what makes a successful application, including completing the application form and how to start preparing for the interview. 

Contact

For any queries, please contact the Paediatric National Recruitment Office.