Interview Overview
Core Surgical Training is recruited nationally by NHS England London and the South East, working with the three surgical royal colleges. Selection combines your MSRA score with two online interview stations.
Format and weightings below are the 2026 position. Nothing CST-specific has been published for 2027 — the national timelines page still says only that details of future rounds will be added once available.
The interview format
Two stations of fifteen minutes each, held online through Qpercom. The portfolio station is assessed by a panel of three to four; both stations are scored against published domains.
- Portfolio station — a three-minute pre-prepared presentation, two minutes of questioning, then two portfolio questions of five minutes each on domains the assessor chooses
- Management and clinical station — one management scenario and two clinical scenarios, five minutes each, with the questions given live
How the score is built
Your total is a combination of the MSRA at 10%, the portfolio station at 45% and the management and clinical station at 45%, giving a score out of 100. Raw marks per station are not published — only the percentages.
The MSRA also decides who is interviewed: only the top-scoring 1200 applicants at MSRA are invited. Domains are marked against a scale running from 0 (no evidence) through satisfactory at 3 to outstanding at 6.
Appointability
No appointability threshold has ever been published for Core Surgical Training, in any round. Candidates are ranked on total score and offers are made in rank order against the available posts.
What is changing
Oriel self-assessment no longer exists. It was abolished and replaced by the live portfolio station, so your evidence is now discussed with a panel rather than scored from a form. Evidence is graded A to E per domain rather than numerically.
The official portfolio guidance says it is likely that from 2027 the evidence domains will be brought into line with Good Medical Practice — knowledge and skills, safety and culture, and communication, combining the communication domains. That wording is the guidance's own: stated intent rather than settled policy.
Prioritisation now applies at shortlisting as well as at offer, so it affects who is interviewed at all. The criteria were still unpublished as of August 2026. Applications open at 10am on 22 October 2026 and close at 4pm on 19 November 2026; the national interview window runs 11 January to 2 April 2027.
Top Tips
- Sit the MSRA seriously. It is only 10% of the final score, but it decides whether you are in the top 1200 who get interviewed at all.
- Build the portfolio index sheet early — without it you score zero for portfolio evidence, whatever you have done.
- Rehearse the three-minute presentation to time; it is the only part you can fully prepare.
- Do not expect a published pass mark. You are ranked against other candidates, not against a threshold.
More interview info
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