For the 2027-2029 process Thames Valley Foundation School has 306 Foundation Programme (FP) posts and 30 Specialised Foundation Programme (SFP) posts.
Foundation Programme rotations available in Thames Valley Foundation School
All current 2-year programmes are available to view on Oriel. They can also be downloaded to view as an Excel spreadsheet
All programmes are provisional at this stage and subject to change.
Many applicants find it easier to review the programmes in the Excel spreadsheet format alongside Oriel.
Thames Valley Foundation School F1 and F2 rotations are linked together as fixed 2-year programmes. The majority of trainees are expected to spend F1 and F2 at different Trusts.
If a placement does not have details of the exact location (e.g. hospital name) this is because the details are not available yet.
Entire F2 rotations listed as “F2 rotation to be decided during F1 year. Trainees will usually spend F2 in a different Trust“, are expected to be confirmed during the F1 year by 28th February 2027 at the latest. Trainees in these programmes will be contacted for their F2 specialty and Trust preferences but will not have a choice of F2 rotations.
Coloured F2 placements listed “To be confirmed” means the Trust has been identified and we expect to be able to confirm the majority of specialties and sites during the programme preferencing window.
A small number of F2 placements and rotations may not be confirmed at the point of allocation on 10th April. These will be confirmed at a later date.
All 2027 programmes are subject to change in relation to placement order, specialty, length, banding, site, and Trust due to the changing needs of the hospitals, Thames Valley Foundation School and Foundation Programme recruitment.
We aim to notify applicants of any changes in good time.
Allocation Process
Thames Valley Foundation School operates a 2-stage preferencing process for Foundation Programme posts.
Preference Informed Allocation (PIA) rankings will be used to determine stage 1 and stage 2 outcomes. In the same way as the national allocation process to Foundation School, the algorithm will attempt 2 passes.
Stage 1: Matched to a group
Applicants are required to rank Thames Valley Foundation School groups in order of preference.
Groups are set up according to the five acute employing Trusts within the Thames Valley Foundation School area, and additionally, our Specialised Foundation Programme:
- Buckinghamshire Healthcare Trust
- Frimley Health Foundation Trust (Wexham Park Hospital, Slough, not Frimley Park Hospital)
- Milton Keynes University Hospital Foundation Trust
- Oxford University Hospitals Foundation Trust
- Royal Berkshire Hospitals Foundation Trust
- TVO – SFP – Specialised Foundation Programmes – see below
Group preferencing will determine where you spend your F1 year. It will also determine what 2-year linked programmes are available to you during stage 2 programme preferencing.
Specialised Foundation Programme (SFP) Group
If you wish to be considered for an SFP post you should preference this group accordingly with the Trust groups.
Applicants can find details of our SFP programmes are listed on the excel spreadsheet from rows 308 – 337. Following local medical school appointments there will be 20 posts available.
Each post offers an opportunity to undertake academic research time away from clinical commitments. Foundation doctors will spend F1 at any of our 5 acute Trusts; all F2 rotations will be at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust.
Thames Valley Foundation School reserves the right to review and make changes to research arrangements for all Foundation Doctors in SFP posts according to trainee progress and suitability.
Further information can be found on the UKFPO’s website.
Pathway 1 – Local Medical School Allocations
Pathway 1 applicants will have the opportunity to preference 10 of the 30 SFP posts. The local medical schools will confirm the details of these posts.
Any unfilled pathway 1 posts will be recycled into pathway 2 which will be allocated via PIA.
Welcome Week Arrangements
Following group allocations Thames Valley Foundation School will put applicants in contact with their allocated F1 Employer. This is an opportunity for the Employing Trusts to share induction arrangements and other helpful information with prospective Foundation Doctors. Applicants will be able to ask questions to prepare for joining the Employing Trust and aid programme preferencing.
Each Employer has different welcome week arrangements. Information will be sent to applicants following group allocations.
Stage 2 Matched to a Programme
Once matched to a group, applicants will be invited to rank the programmes within that group in order of preference. Applicants will be notified via Oriel of their match to individual programmes.
IMPORTANT: Applicants are advised to save preference choices regularly on the Oriel system. Failure to save group / programme preferences by the deadline will result in a random allocation to a group/programme with the most vacancies. Late preferences submissions will not be accepted under any circumstances.
All programme match results are final and cannot be swapped.
Programmes Without a Confirmed F2 Rotation
Following programme match results being released, some applicants will not receive a confirmed F2 rotation on Oriel. In this situation we expect F2 rotations to be finalised during the F1 year.
Foundation Doctors will be allocated to F2 rotations using the following principles which apply to all Thames Valley Foundation School 2-year programmes, wherever possible:
- Foundation Doctors have a balanced 2-year programme
- Foundation Doctors spend F1 and F2 at different Trusts
- Foundation Doctors have one community placement in their 2-year programme
Linked Applications
National guidance on linked applications can be accessed via the: UKFPO website
Thames Valley School will honour up to the allocation to the Foundation School stage only. Applications are not linked past this stage of the process.
Pre-allocation
National guidance on pre-allocation can be accessed via the: UKFPO website
Pre-allocations are only guaranteed to Foundation School level. Pre-allocation to a group (F1 Trust) or a specific programme would be determined following a review of applicants’ circumstances and application information.