EXCLUSIVEHundreds of the nation's brightest students denied the chance to train as doctors despite leaving school with at least three A*s
Hundreds of the nation's brightest students are being denied the chance to train as doctors despite securing the best possible grades in their A-levels.
More than 1,550 Britons with at least three A*s have been refused a spot at medical school over the past five years, officials have revealed.
It comes as a staff shortage is leaving patients waiting too long for hospital and GP care, with around 120,000 NHS vacancies.
Almost one in three applicants (28 per cent) with the top grades were rejected in 2022, the most recent year available, the Department for Education revealed. This is double the 14 per cent in 2018.
Grade inflation means more students are getting the top grades every year but the number of medical school places has been capped at 7,500. Only around one in every five applicants secure a place.
More than 1,550 Britons with at least three A*s have been refused a spot at medical school over the past five years, officials have revealed (stock image)
It comes as a staff shortage is leaving patients waiting too long for hospital and GP care, with around 120,000 NHS vacancies (stock image)
Almost one in three applicants (28 per cent) with the top grades were rejected in 2022, the most recent year available, the Department for Education revealed. This is double the 14 per cent in 2018 (stock image)
Grade inflation means more students are getting the top grades every year but the number of medical school places has been capped at 7,500. Only around one in every five applicants secure a place (stock image)
A House of Commons Library report has warned: 'The UK does not train enough doctors to have a sustainable supply without recruiting qualified doctors from abroad.' Doctors who qualify in the UK are increasingly going overseas after getting fed up of the state of the NHS – and the service is facing fiercer global competition for foreign recruits.
The latest figures, released under Freedom of Information laws, show 1,945 medical school applicants had at least three A*s in 2022, of which 545 were rejected.
In 2018, 690 students got top marks, with 100 failing to get in. There were 1,565 such rejects over the past five years. Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, warned last year the health service was 'over-reliant' on foreign staff and called for universities to 'ramp up' training spots.
She said universities must stop turning away applicants so the NHS can recruit more 'homegrown' workers and stop spending £3billion a year on agency staff.
Chinelo Nnadi and Shivani Ganesh, co-chairs of the British Medical Assocation's medical students committee, said: 'A rise in the quantity of students must not come with a cost to the quality of their education.'
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: 'Our NHS Long Term Workforce Plan will double the number of medical school places in England to 15,000 a year by 2031/32.'
