Guiding you through your surgical career.
From national selection to fellowship, TheatrePass brings together voice-first interview practice and adaptive exam preparation, built for the UK surgical training pathway.
The preparation gap
Find your weaknesses before selection does.
TheatrePass identifies where you need work and adapts your preparation around it, combining targeted exam practice, realistic verbal rehearsal and personalised feedback so you can address weaknesses before they cost you your number.
Voice-first Interactive Practice
TheatrePass lets you practise your answers with an interviewer that listens and asks follow-up questions in real time.
Adaptive Learning & Analytics
Track your progress, identify what needs work and focus your preparation with practice that adapts to your performance.
Personalised Feedback
See how your answers score against the marking criteria, with personalised feedback and suggested edits showing how to improve.
Interviews
Your interview toolkit
Every scenario for your specialty with a detailed model answer. Highlighted phrases show what earns marks, and you can hear the answer read out loud.
An answer that feels clear in your head can come out very differently under pressure. The first time you give an answer out loud should not be in front of the panel.
Core & ST1 entryCore Surgical Training
Core entry · CT1
6.9 : 14,975 applications · 720 posts in 2026
ST3 entryGeneral Surgery
Higher specialty · ST3
5.2 : 1834 applications · 161 posts in 2025
ST3 entryTrauma & Orthopaedics
Higher specialty · ST3
4.6 : 1684 applications · 150 posts in 2025
ST3 entryPlastic Surgery
Higher specialty · ST3
6.7 : 1281 applications · 42 posts in 2025
ST3 entryENT (Otolaryngology)
Higher specialty · ST3
5.9 : 1243 applications · 41 posts in 2025
ST3 entryVascular Surgery
Higher specialty · ST3
6.4 : 1225 applications · 35 posts in 2025
ST3 entryUrology
Higher specialty · ST3
4.6 : 1343 applications · 74 posts in 2025
ST3 entryPaediatric Surgery
Higher specialty · ST3
6.8 : 1109 applications · 16 posts in 2025
Core & ST1 entryOral & Maxillofacial Surgery
Specialty training · ST1
3.4 : 164 applications · 19 posts in 2026
Core & ST1 entryNeurosurgery
Run-through · ST1
23.6 : 1378 applications · 16 posts in 2026
Core & ST1 entryCardiothoracic Surgery
Run-through · ST1
14.4 : 1202 applications · 14 posts in 2026
AcademicAcademic Clinical Fellowship (ACF)
Academic pathway
Recruited post by post
Exams
From selection to fellowship
Revise for the MSRA, MRCS and FRCS in one place. Practise in each exam’s own formats, ask your tutor about any answer, and sit timed mock papers before the real thing.
Exam Style Questions
Single best answer, extended matching and ranking, in the exam's own formats, with a revision note behind every topic.
Exam Tutor
A personal tutor beside every question. Ask it to test your reasoning, explain an answer or find the guidance behind it.
Adaptive Learning Engine
It finds your weak areas, brings topics back when they are due for review, and shows your progress across the syllabus.
Timed Mock Exams
Full papers timed like the real exam, with questions written for the mocks and never drawn from the practice bank.
MSRABoth papers, PD and CPSSelection exam
A computer-based test in January with two papers, Professional Dilemmas and Clinical Problem Solving, used in selection for Core Surgical Training and Neurosurgery.
MRCSPart A and the Part B OSCEMembership exam
Part A is a written exam of applied basic science and the principles of surgery; Part B is an OSCE. You need both before an ST3 offer.
FRCSThe exit examination, in ten surgical specialtiesFellowship exam
The exit exam of specialty training: two written papers, then clinical cases and oral interviews, marked at the standard of a day one consultant.
Key dates
The 2027 recruitment round
The round for posts starting in August 2027, from the first applications in October to the first offers in April.
October 2026 to April 2027
Today30 October 2026
1 to 29 October 2026
Academic Clinical Fellowships
Applications
Closed22 October to 19 November 2026
Core Surgical Training and ST1
Applications
Open now19 November to 10 December 2026
ST3 surgical specialties
Applications
Opens in 20 days5 to 18 January 2027
MSRA
Core Surgical Training and Neurosurgery
In 2 months11 January to 9 April 2027
Interviews
Core Surgical Training 1 to 10 March
In 2 months6 and 13 April 2027
First offers
Core and ST1 by 6 April, ST3 by 13 April
In 5 months
Dates from NHS England, checked 13 October 2026. Each specialty publishes its own interview dates.
Guides & articles
Know what matters, and when.
Clear, practical guidance on applications, portfolios, exams and interviews; updated for each recruitment cycle to help you plan your next step with confidence.
Portfolio & StrategyThe 12-week surgical interview preparation timeline4 min read→
Core Surgical TrainingHow to maximise your CST portfolio score12 min read→
ST3 SpecialtiesGeneral Surgery ST3: application and interview, complete guide8 min read→
ST1 EntryNeurosurgery ST1 run-through: interview and selection guide8 min read→Browse all guides →Get started
Prepare for what comes next
Practise your interview out loud and revise for your exams in one place, shaped around your specialty and how you are doing.
Paid once for three months, nothing renews.