Plymouth's Peninsula Dental School runs a five-year BDS (A206) with a strong community and clinical-skills focus in the South West. It selects on academics and the UCAT together — applying a yearly UCAT cut-off — and notably doesn't consider the personal statement or work experience when shortlisting.
Plymouth uses the UCAT in combination with your A-levels and GCSEs to select for interview, applying a UCAT cut-off that changes each year — reported to sit around 2300, though the school doesn't publish it in advance and it shifts with the pool. Unusually, your personal statement and work experience aren't considered at the shortlisting stage, so selection rests on your UCAT and your grades. Contextual data is used to recognise potential.
Because Plymouth shortlists on UCAT plus grades and ignores the statement at that stage, your numbers do the talking — aim for a solid UCAT comfortably clear of that reported ~2300 mark and strong A-levels and GCSEs. Contextual applicants get genuine recognition here.
Check your percentile →A*AA–AAB including Biology and a second science (confirm the exact grades on Plymouth's page).
Seven GCSEs at grade 4 (C) or above including Maths, English Language and two sciences.
Work experience isn't used to shortlist, but genuine insight into dentistry is expected at interview.
MMI. Multiple mini-interviews; the personal statement and work experience are not scored for interview selection.
Plymouth uses contextual data to recognise achievement and potential in the context of an applicant's background.
Paraphrased themes from student discussion: impressions, not facts. Visit and judge for yourself.
Plymouth applies a UCAT cut-off each year used with your A-levels and GCSEs — reported to be roughly 2300, though it isn't published in advance and moves with the pool. Aim to be comfortably clear of that, with strong grades.
Not at the shortlisting stage — selection for interview is based on UCAT, A-levels and GCSEs. Genuine insight into dentistry still matters at interview.
Around 58 on the five-year BDS (A206).
See where your UCAT lands in percentiles, then build the score Plymouth is looking for, or talk it through with a 98th-percentile tutor, free.