Foundation Doctor's Guide to North West London

Updated for 2022 Applicants  
*Please note that North West London has merged with North Central and East London to form the new Foundation School of North London, which you can find here.

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Stretching from central London to the M25 at Hillingdon in the west and Harrow in the north, North West London Foundation School has always been one of the most competitive deaneries. This is in part due to the attraction of working in some of the prestigious tertiary hospitals that call it home, and also because of the guarantee of being able to live in London for both years.

Living in London definitely has its perks. Public transport is available 24/7, and there is a seemingly endless selection of restaurants, bars, and theatres to keep you entertained after work. On the downside, London is one of the most expensive city's in the world, and rent can take a sizeable portion of your monthly income, especially in zones 1 and 2.

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Foundation School Statistics

2021 F1 Places: 230
2021 F1 Applicants: 665
2021 Competition Ratio: 2.89
2020 Competition Ratio: 2.97
Below is an interactive bar chart displaying the competition ratios, lowest entry scores, and the number of posts over the past 5 years.
Please note that the 2021 data for lowest entry score is not yet available, we will update this graph when it is.

How Does North West London 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, Overall Satisfaction, And CQC Ratings

In the graph below you'll find a list of hospitals attached the the North West London foundation school. Each hospital is scored out of 100 in overall satisfaction for the GMC Survey 2019 data. The colour corresponds to the CQC rating of that hospital

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A Doctor’s Experience

“I picked North West London Foundation School as I wanted the opportunity to live and work in London whilst in my early twenties, and experience city life. I felt that NWTFS was a good deanery as it is quite small and so I could live in the same place for the 2 years. I chose to spend the first year in a district general hospital, and my second in an inner-city hospital. I think it’s good to do it this way around. My first hospital was small and friendly so I felt I could settle in easily, and there were lots of opportunities to learn to be more independent.

Based on the geographical location of my hospitals, I chose to live in Willesden Junction. Although not particularly gentrified, it has fantastic transport links with both the Overground and Bakerloo lines, and the rent is reasonable. I cycle to work and I have found that this is a cheap, fast, and easy way to get around. I would bear this in mind – not only will it take longer to get places by car, but you will likely have to pay to park outside your home, at work, and may even have to pay a congestion charge.

The social side of North West Thames Foundation Schools is really great. Each hospital has a mess which organises monthly payday parties with fun activities or money behind a bar. Each hospital has different mess fees. For some e.g. Chelsea and Westminster there are no mess fees, for others a small monthly fee which comes out of your wages e.g. Ealing £15/month. This includes access to the mess where there is tea, coffee, cereal, snacks etc. and on weekends PIZZA! There are also bi-annual balls in Winter and Summer. Inter-hospital and even inter-deanery parties have also been organised in the past, so it is a great way to meet new people and have fun with your colleagues.”

Written by Alisha Maria – Foundation Year 2 at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital

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