We offer a dedicated and successful programme to support pupils who aspire to careers in medicine, veterinary science and dentistry. This starts in Year 11 and is run by Dr David Brooks. The programme includes:
- MedSoc lunchtime sessions
- UKCAT workshops
- Support with UCAS application including help with personal statement
- Interview practice
- Opportunities to meet and connect with Bradfieldians now working in medicine and veterinary science
- Contacts for work experience placements.
- Many volunteering opportunities within the College’s co-curricular programme, for example working with local primary schools.
Success Stories
We were delighted that three of our 2025 cohort of Leavers won places to study at top medical schools. We spoke to them during course of their final year here at Bradfield as well as a number of recent leavers now studying for degree in medicine or nursing or who have recently graduated. We asked them about the support they received at Bradfield and this video is a wonderful account of just some of our recent successes.
Aspiring Medics, Vets and Dentists at Bradfield
Several Bradfieldians also wrote to us about their experiences:
Tabby (K15-20) is studying medicine at the University of Bristol.
“I always knew that I wanted a career that was people-focused, and not confined to a desk. I work best in environments where every day is different and enjoy working with a variety of people. Combined with my interest in science throughout school, medicine had always been a strong option for me. My first medical work experience in the summer of Fifth Form was what truly solidified my decision—seeing the profession firsthand and being immersed in a clinical setting made me certain on a career in medicine. I also had the chance to speak with doctors from various specialties, which gave me a proper insight into the profession. Even if you ultimately decide medicine isn’t for you, the experience is still a good addition to your CV. While at Bradfield, I found MedSoc to be a great way to explore the field further, so I’d highly recommend getting involved early to gain a better understanding of what a medical career entails.
At first, the UCAS application process felt quite daunting, especially as applying for medicine involved additional stages compared to my friends applying for other degrees, such as the UCAT and interviews. I decided to focus on universities that considered the UCAT rather than the BMAT, as I had a stronger UCAT score. Discussing my options with Dr. Brooks and Mrs. Caffrey was incredibly helpful—they had a much deeper understanding of individual university requirements which definitely improved my chances of securing interviews. Their advice also guided me away from certain university choices due to my decision to take a gap year and not sitting the BMAT. Looking back, the process wasn’t as overwhelming as it initially seemed, but at the time, it definitely felt like a big challenge.
Bradfield provided incredible support from the moment I said I was interested in studying medicine. This began with MedSoc lunchtime sessions, which covered key medical topics – a great resource for interviews. We also had talks from former students who had gone on to study medicine, offering first-hand advice on interviews and life as a medical student. As the UCAT approached, dedicated sessions were arranged to teach us the best techniques for it. In Upper Sixth, Dr. Brooks helped me to perfect my personal statement and, once I had a couple of interviews secured, he provided one-on-one interview preparation, which proved very helpful.
Thanks to this support, I felt thoroughly prepared and ultimately received offers from all three universities that interviewed me.
I think the fact that Bradfield provided such a broad education helped me hugely in the application process. It equipped me with the life skills necessary to succeed in both my course and university life as a whole. A big part of Bradfield for me was being involved in lots of sports teams, it gave me the opportunity to develop skills such as teamwork and leadership which are pretty essential in the medical world. Also, the teachers I had in my A level subjects definitely played a huge part in me enjoying science in the first place, which, as I mentioned previously, was one of the main reasons that medicine was even an option for me.”
Beatrice left J House in 2022 to read medicine at University College London.
She wanted to read medicine as “the human connection that you make with people through medicine is absolutely unmatched. You’re dealing with one of the most precious things in the whole world – a person’s health – that is a privilege that I hope is never lost on me, and it allows you to have such a meaningful connection with someone, so that you can hopefully help! I can’t speak highly enough about Dr Brooks! He was incredible throughout the process – reading personal statement drafts, practice interviews, answering all my random questions. I think the co-curricular offering was fantastic, it made my personal statement much more interesting than it would have otherwise been, and has made me a much more well-rounded individual (I hope!).
I found that for every skill or descriptor on a medical school website, I had had an experience at Bradfield which fit the bill perfectly.”
Here are the in-depth videos with the Bradfieldians who we spoke to for our feature length film.
Medics - Jemma
Medics - Luka
