Foundation Programme (FP)

In 2026, due to the Prioritisation Bill going through Parliament and the FPP vacancy not running as a seperate recruitment process, we added the FPP group to the FP vacancy. The situation remains the same for 2027.

Yorkshire and the Humber Foundation School (YHFS) is one Foundation School or "Unit of Application" with five "Groups" (East Yorkshire / South Yorkshire / West Yorkshire / Specialised Foundation Programme / Foundation Priority Programme).

YHFS programmes are 2 year linked programmes. Once allocated, you will know your 6 four-month placement specialities for the full 2 years.

Not all programmes have placements in the same hospital for the 2 years of the programme.

Approximately 23% of East Yorkshire programmes are in the same trust for FY1 & FY2. 30% of South Yorkshire and 11.5% in West Yorkshire.

YHFS do not support FY2 Abroad.

YHFS run a Group matching process for the allocation of Foundation programmes. For this, you will need to preference:

The Unit of Application or Foundation School (YHFS) then,
The Group - one of five in YHFS (EY/WY/SY/SFP/FPP) then,
The individual programmes in that Group

The timeline for UoA, Group and Programme matching will be confirmed later in the process, so please look at the UKFPO website regularly. Once aplicants are allocated to a Foundation School, we will update those allocated to YHFS.

How do I apply?

The UK Foundation Programme Office (UKFPO) organise and run the national application system for Foundation Programmes using the online Oriel system.

Please visit the UKFPO website and read through all of the relevant sections, guidance, note the deadlines, look at the timelines and FAQs

The application process is detailed on the Applicant guidance section of the UKFPO website.

This website is also a valuable source of information for all topics relating to Foundation training. Please familiarise yourself with it.

Important notes about the application process:

Enrolment and application take place from the Autumn preceding the August rotation start date. e.g September 2026 for August 2027
Full details of the process, guidance and timelines are available on the UKFPO website from June / July each year, with an Applicant’s Handbook made available at the beginning of the enrolment period. Please read this carefully and make sure you are aware of the strict deadlines.
Non-UK graduates or any graduate who has been out of practice for 2 years must apply via the UKFPO Eligibility Office in the preceding July. Please check the UKFPO section for Eligibility Applications for the timeline for this.
Applications for Specialised Foundation Programmes (SFP) are also made via the FP application process. Please see the seperate page for YHFS SFP Programmes here.

Please Note: Applications for Foundation Priority Programmes (FPP) are now made via the FP Vacancy. There is no seperate vacancy for FPP in 2026/7 Please see the FPP section of the UKFPO website and the seperate page for the YHFS FPP Programmes here.

Linked Applications

Applicants have the option to link their application with a partner / friend / familiy memeber to ensure they are placed in the same Foundation School and Group. YHFS Linked applications are to Group level only. We do not allocate to a specific Trust or programme. You will need to preference the programmes in your allocated Group and will be allocated by the PIA process in the same way as other candidates. Please see the section on Linked Applications here and the section on the UKFPO website here.

Pre-Allocation

Applicants who meet the criteria for Pre- Allocation may apply to a specific Foundation School via their Medical School or the UKFPO Eligibility Office. Please see the section for pre-allocation on the UKFPO website for further information.

YHFS Pre-allocations are to Group level only. We do not allocate to a specific Trust or programme. You will need to preference the programmes in your allocated Group and will be allocated by the PIA process in the same way as other candidates.

How am I allocated to a Foundation School (FS) / Unit of Application (UoA)?

All applicants are asked to rank the 18 UoAs in order of preference. Candidates are allocated based on Preference Informed Allocation (PIA). Please see the Applicants presentation and guide on the UKFPO website for further information.

How am I allocated to a Group?

YHFS run a "Group matching scheme". Once you have been allocated to a UoA, you will then be asked to preference one of the five Groups in YHFS:

Candidates are allocated to a group based on their PIA and preferencing of the groups, in the same way as they are for allocation to school.

How am I allocated to a Programme?

Once you have been allocated to a "Group" you will be asked to rank the programmes in your allocated 'Group' in order of preference. Please preference as many programmes as possible in order to be most likely to be allocated to a programme you want. These are two year linked programmes so you will know where you will be based for the two years of your Foundation Programme.

Candidates are allocated to a programme based on their PIA and preferencing of the programmes within their allocated group, in the same way as they are for allocation to school and group.

YHFS do not permit Foundation Doctors to 'swap' posts once allocated to a programme.

Please note: Programmes and specialities are always subject to change for a variety of reasons at any time in the process. This could be for supervision, quality and/or service change issues. We do try to minimise the number of changes as best we can but with programmes uploaded to the system a year ahead of the programme starting, things do change. We will inform candidates of any changes to their allocated programme as soon as we possibly can

Key Dates

For key dates see the Applicants Handbook available on the UKFPO website

FAQs

For FAQs, please see our new FAQ section.

Key Links

UKFPO website

UKFPO 2027 Application Timeline

UKFPO Eligibility Information

UKFPO Right to Work and Visas

UKFPO Applicant guidance for the 2-year Foundation Programme

UKFPO Pre-allocation Guidance