Yarm School Pupils’ Medical, Dentistry & Veterinary Success

Twenty students from Yarm School were accepted to study Medical, Dentistry or Veterinary (MDV) courses at university this year, despite the fierce competition for these places.

According to UCAS, 23,710 students across the country applied to study medicine in September 2020, a record number and a 6% increase on 2019.  With just 7,400 places available, only one in three applicants nationally were successful in gaining a place.

We are celebrating significant success this year, with 95% of our students who applied for MDV courses receiving an offer in 2020. Over the past ten years, an astonishing 141 of our students have gone on to study MDV courses, an average of 14% of each cohort. This has risen to 16% of students gaining places on MDV courses over the last five years.

The Careers Department is very active at Yarm and provides our students with the opportunity to discuss in detail where they see themselves going and what their next steps may be. For our MDV students, we offer mock ‘multiple mini interview’ (MMI) training to prepare them for the rigorous application procedure for these qualifications. We also invited students from local maintained schools to take part in the mock MMI process to help support their ambitions of becoming doctors, dentists, or vets.

Mr Tom Newman, Head of Biology: “I am immensely proud of all the Yarm School students who achieved places on MDV courses. It is fantastic to see all of their hard work and dedication both inside and outside of the classroom pay off.”

Dr Huw Williams, Headmaster said:  “All of our students have done brilliantly, those who have achieved places on MDV courses, those who have chosen to study humanities, languages or arts, and those who have chosen a different career path.

“Medicine was the most popular choice of course by our 2020 leavers but our students have gained places on a wide range of courses at prestigious universities across the country. Maths, Psychology, Law and Economics were also popular but some of the more diverse courses include Fashion Marketing, Anthropology, Criminology, Diagnostic Radiotherapy, Liberal Arts and Real Estate. As well as university destinations, our students have embarked on other career options, such as pilot training and on competitive Degree Apprenticeships with big firms such as PwC and EY.”

Our ethos of ‘Educating for Life’ prepares students for the diverse challenges of life beyond school. We strive to equip all of our students with the skills, personal qualities and drive that will set them up to succeed in adult life. Find out more about Yarm Sixth Form in a recording of our September Virtual Open Morning.