Overview of the Scottish Foundation School
The Scottish Foundation School offers a comprehensive range of programmes that provide a distinctive training experience for new doctors. These programmes are designed to encompass a variety of patient populations, teaching hospitals, and both remote and rural medical practices. In addition to this breadth of experience, trainees are exposed to a wide array of medical specialties and benefit from Scotland’s geographical diversity. Additional information regarding the Scottish Foundation School and the opportunities it offers is available on the Scotland Deanery website.
The Foundation Programme
The two-year Foundation Programme marks the initial stage of postgraduate medical training in the United Kingdom, undertaken after graduation from medical school. Entry into the two-year programmes within the Scottish Foundation School is managed through the UK-wide recruitment process, following a nationally agreed timetable.
Aims and Structure of Training
The Foundation Programme aims to deliver clinical training that enables foundation doctors to develop and demonstrate essential clinical and interpersonal skills. These skills are necessary for the effective management of acute and chronic medical conditions, regardless of the medical specialty chosen in the future.
Assessment and Curriculum
Foundation doctors are assessed against the outcomes set out in the curriculum. This ensures that trainees achieve competency across various domains, including communication and consultation skills, patient safety, teamwork, and traditional areas of medical education. All assessments are systematically documented and maintained within the Foundation doctor’s Turas Training Portfolio.
Further Information
It is important to note that the Scottish Foundation School neither supports nor accredits doctors wishing to complete their F1 or F2 training years outside the United Kingdom.
Indicative number of F1 posts by region for posts commencing in August 2026.
| East | North | South-East | West | TOTAL |
| 120 | 207 | 276 | 570 | 1173 |
This page was last updated on: 22.12.2025 at 16.45