A-levels for UK Medicine from Nigeria: grades, subjects and how international applicants are assessed

2. How to read an offer

• AAA, A*AA and the position of the A*. Where a school asks for A*AA it usually also says which subject must carry the A* (often Chemistry or Biology). Achieving the grades in the wrong subjects does not meet the offer.
• Chemistry is required almost everywhere; Biology is required or strongly expected; the third subject is usually free, though some schools exclude General Studies, Critical Thinking or a second Mathematics.
• Achieved versus predicted. Most applicants apply with predicted grades in their final A-level year; a few schools also state how they treat applicants who already hold results, resits, or more than two sittings. The policy is on each school's page.
• The GCSE layer sits underneath. Several schools also require specified grades at GCSE level in English, Mathematics and the sciences. For a Nigerian applicant that layer is the WASSCE or NECO; the grades schools ask for are on the WAEC page.
• International applicants are ranked separately at many schools, because international places are capped. The academic threshold is usually the same as for home applicants; the UCAT then decides who is interviewed.

3. Cambridge International A-levels taken in Nigeria

UK medical schools treat Cambridge International (CAIE) A-levels as A-levels: the same grades, the same subject rules, the same timing. Three practical differences matter. Sittings: Cambridge International offers June and November series; a November final sitting puts your results after the UCAS deadline, so you would apply on predicted grades and confirm later, which schools accept but which leaves less margin. Predicted grades come from your college, and a school that is not a UCAS registered centre must still provide them through your referee. Practical endorsements in science A-levels differ between boards; where a school requires a pass in the practical component, check how your board reports it.

4. The International Baccalaureate as the alternative

Schools that publish IB requirements typically ask for 36 to 38 points overall with Chemistry and Biology (or another science) at Higher Level grade 6 or 7. IB is offered by a smaller number of schools in Nigeria; the IB and A-level routes are equivalent in the eyes of medical schools, so choose on the basis of the school you can attend, not on any supposed preference.

5. The A-level years and the UCAT, in order

1. Lower sixth (first A-level year): choose Chemistry, Biology and a third subject; arrange work experience or shadowing in Nigeria that you can reflect on; sit or plan your English test if needed.
2. Summer between the two years: register and sit the UCAT (the window below); this is the single step students in Nigeria most often miss.
3. Upper sixth, September to mid-October: submit UCAS with up to four medicine choices on predicted grades.
4. December to March: interviews; by May: offers; June or November: final results, then conditions met, deposit, CAS and visa.

UCAT testing window (2027 entry)

Being verified against the official source.

Verification pending Official source ↗

UCAS medicine deadline (2027 entry)

Being verified against the official source.

Verification pending Official source ↗

6. Choosing where to take A-levels in Nigeria

Several colleges in Lagos, Abuja and elsewhere offer Cambridge International A-levels. We do not rank or recommend providers and we have no arrangement with any. Ask for the college's Cambridge centre number, its recent grade distribution in Chemistry and Biology, whether it is a UCAS registered centre or will provide predicted grades and a reference as an independent referee, and whether it supports UCAT preparation and timing. Keep the written answers.