Updated for 2024 Applicants

The South Thames Foundation School covers a large area and includes hospitals in the South of London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex (KSS). Together, South Thames joins KSS to form London and KSS Foundation Schools Health Education England, and is divided into 5 main groups, which are:

1. South London East – St Thomas’, Guy’s, Queen Elizabeth – Woolwich, King’s, Lewisham, Princess Royal – Orpington
2. South London West – St George’s, Croydon, Kingston, St Helier, Epsom
3. KSS Central – St Richard’s, Worthing, Royal Sussex, Princess Royal – Hayward’s Heath, Eastbourne, Conquest
4. KSS East – Tunbridge Wells, Maidstone, Darrent Valley, Medway Maritime, William Harvey, Kent and Canterbury, Queen Elizabeth Queen Mother
5. KSS West – Ashford, St Peter’s, Frimley Park, Royal Surrey County, East Surrey

You can find the full details of each group in the official South Thames Foundation School Website. Please note that South Thames and KSS may be splitting into two separate Foundation Schools from 2023.

Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospitals are tertiary centres specialising in cancer, cardiac, kidney, women’s health, orthopaedics and is home to the Evelina London Children’s Hospital. St George’s is one of the largest tertiary hospitals in the UK, is a major trauma centre and a specialist unit in stroke, neurology, renal transplant and cancer. King’s College Hospital is a specialist centre for liver transplantation, blood cell cancer and fetal medicine. Royal Sussex County Hospital, the only tertiary centre in South Thames not in London, is a major trauma and specialist cancer, cardiac, maternity & neonatal centre.

There’s a broad range of 2-year programmes available, with the majority providing one year in London or Brighton in a tertiary centre, and the other year in a smaller DGH – providing a varied clinical experience. Not all the F1 programmes are linked to an F2 – for some, this will be confirmed in October 2021.

There is a diverse mix of geography in South Thames, including miles of coastline, beautiful countryside such as the Surrey Hills, quaint market towns plus the cosmopolitan hubs of south London and Brighton. So, something for everyone! Unless you’re based in London or Brighton, a car is probably necessary.

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Foundation School Statistics

Please note that the 2023 data for first-choice preferences and competition ratios is not currently available.

2022 F1 Places: 837
2022 F1 Applicants: 850
2022 Competition Ratio: 0.92

2021 F1 Places: 742
2021 F1 Applicants: 679
2021 Competition Ratio: 0.92

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How Does South Thames Compare To Other Foundation Schools?

Check out our article "What are the most competitive foundations schools?" for a full breakdown.

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Hospitals, Rotation Scores, CQC Ratings

In the chart below you'll find a list of hospitals attached to the South Thames Foundation School, and an average of their Rotation Scores from Messly’s Training Navigator. Each rotation is given a score out of 100, which is based on a weighted average of ratings given by Foundation Trainees in the 2023 GMC NTS. The national average Rotation Score is 57 for reference.

Colours correspond to the latest CQC rating of that hospital.

Disclaimer: Please note that hospitals are unscored when there are insufficient responses by Foundation Trainees to the GMC’s NTS survey.

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Need Help Ranking Your Foundation Programmes?

Rank your Foundation Programme rotations with confidence with Messly’s Training Navigator. See how rotations are rated by last year’s foundation trainees to make smarter decisions about where you’ll spend your Foundation Training.

You can use it to answer questions like:‍

👉  Which are the best-rated and worst-rated rotations in my Foundation School?
👉  How do the rotations compare for Workload, Learning and Satisfaction?
👉  Which is the best hospital for my favourite specialties?
👉  Within a hospital, which rotations are best-rated?

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