Blog
Application-cycle news, interview strategy and preparation guides for Core Surgical Training (CST) national interview.
11 September 2026
CST Offers, Ranking, Hold and Upgrade 2027
Initial CST offers for 2027 are released on Oriel at 5pm on Tuesday 6 April 2027, with a hold deadline of 9am on 9 April, an upgrade deadline of 4pm on 14 April and a hierarchical deadline of 4pm on 15 April. How rank and preferences decide the offer, the 48-hour response rule, and what to do if there is no offer this year.
11 September 2026
50 CST Interview Questions 2027 with a Model-Answer Structure
Fifty Core Surgical Training interview questions across the presentation, the two portfolio questions, the management scenario and the two clinical scenarios, each group with the structure the panel scores on the 0 to 6 scale and the domains NHS England publishes for the 2026 format.
11 September 2026
CST Interview Courses and Question Banks Compared 2027
Ten CST interview resources rated 1 to 5 on seven criteria with prices checked 10 September 2026: coresurgeryinterview (our own), Medibuddy, Medset, Mind the Bleep, Core Surgical Prep, BlackStone Tutors, ISC Medical, Messly, CST Revision and Prep Surg. Which still describe the old three-station format, and which have a 2027 date.
11 September 2026
Shortlisted for the CST Interview 2027 with Two Weeks to Go: the Plan
A day-by-day fortnight for a shortlisted CST candidate: evidence upload and index sheet first, the three-minute presentation by day four, then daily five-minute management and clinical scenarios out loud, and a full 30-minute mock on day twelve.
11 September 2026
MSRA for CST 2027: the 10% Weighting and What a Safe Score Looks Like
The MSRA is worth 10% of the CST selection score, scaled to 0 to 10, but it also decides who is interviewed. What is in the Professional Dilemmas and Clinical Problem Solving papers, why no cut-off is published, the 2026 window of 6 to 19 January, and a three-week plan.
11 September 2026
CST Interview 2027: Stations, Timings and the Scoring Matrix
The CST interview is two 15-minute online stations on Qpercom: a management and clinical station with three five-minute scenarios, and a portfolio station with a three-minute presentation and two domain questions. Each item is scored 0 to 6, and the published weighting is MSRA 10%, portfolio 45%, management and clinical 45%.
11 September 2026
CST Portfolio 2027: the Five Domains, A to E Grades and the Evidence Index
The CST portfolio is graded A to E across five domains in NHS England's 2025/26 guidance: operative experience, surgical experience, quality improvement, presentations and publications, and teaching. What earns an A in each, why a missing index sheet scores zero, and what NHS England says is likely to change from 2027.
11 September 2026
CST Application 2027: Dates, Eligibility and the Competition Ratio
Core Surgical Training applications for 2027 open at 10am on 22 October 2026 and close at 4pm on 19 November 2026, with interviews between 11 January and 2 April 2027. Eligibility from the 2027 person specification, the 2025 ratio of 5,399 applications for 630 posts, and which sub-dates are still unpublished.