Disclosure: coresurgeryinterview.com is our own product, and it is scored on exactly the same seven criteria as the other nine resources on this page.
The highest-scoring Core Surgical Training (CST) interview resource on our seven-criteria rubric is coresurgeryinterview at 30 out of 35, and the strongest independent question bank is Medibuddy at 23 out of 35. Medset is the best option for a live mock, and Mind the Bleep is the best free starting point. Four of the ten resources, or 40%, still describe an interview format that NHS England replaced for the 2026 round.
Reviewed and updated 10 September 2026. Prices checked 10 September 2026 on each vendor's own page; where a vendor shows no price, the table says so rather than guessing.
Key takeaways
- coresurgeryinterview scores 30 out of 35 and is our own product: 299 questions, £97 to 2 April 2027, AI-marked spoken practice and three free sample scenarios.
- Medibuddy is the strongest independent bank at 23 out of 35: £85, over 40 scenarios, an iOS and Android app, no spoken practice and no trial.
- Medset scores 19 out of 35 and is the only live mock in the set, at £329 with every listed date sold out and a £349 bundle with its £89 course.
- Four of ten resources, or 40%, still describe the pre-2026 three-station or four-station format: CST Revision, Messly, Mind the Bleep's guide and BlackStone Tutors' guide.
- Prices run from free (Messly, Mind the Bleep) through £40 (Core Surgical Prep) to £349 (Medset bundle), and two vendors show no price at all.
- Only ISC Medical's generic course, Medset's course and coresurgeryinterview carried a 2027 date on 10 September 2026.
How are the CST interview resources rated?
The resources are rated 1 to 5 on seven criteria, giving a maximum of 35: coverage of the actual format, question volume and realism, spoken practice and feedback, price for the window, freshness, trial, and apps. The format criterion is scored against NHS England's published 2026 interview: two 15-minute Qpercom stations, three live five-minute scenarios, and a portfolio station with a three-minute presentation.
Format coverage is whether a resource maps to the stations, timings and domains NHS England publishes, rather than to an older format. It is the criterion that separates the set most, because the interview changed for 2026 and half the market did not.
| Resource | Format | Questions | Spoken | Price | Fresh | Trial | Apps | Total /35 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| coresurgeryinterview (ours) | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 30 |
| Medibuddy | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 23 |
| Medset | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 19 |
| Mind the Bleep (free) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 18 |
| Core Surgical Prep | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 17 |
| BlackStone Tutors | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 16 |
| ISC Medical | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 15 |
| Messly (free) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 15 |
| CST Revision | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 14 |
| Prep Surg | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
Free guides score 5 on price and 5 on trial by definition, which is why two of them sit mid-table despite describing an interview that no longer exists.
What do CST interview courses and question banks cost in 2027?
CST interview resources cost between nothing and £349, with the two largest question banks at £85 and £97 and the only live mock at £329. Every price below was read from the vendor's own page on 10 September 2026.
| Resource | Product | Price | Access or date | Names 2027? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| coresurgeryinterview | Question bank, 299 questions, AI-marked spoken practice | £97 (struck from £145) | To 2 April 2027 | Yes |
| coresurgeryinterview | Mocks course, online | £277 (struck from £397) | Page still dated Saturday 7 February 2026 | No |
| Medibuddy | Question bank, over 40 scenarios, app | £85 | Expires 11 September 2027 | No (labelled 2026) |
| Medibuddy | Knowledge course, 18 videos; bundle with bank | £85; £140 bundle | Expires 11 September 2027 | No (labelled 2026) |
| Medset | Online course | £89 | Available until 10 March 2027 | Yes |
| Medset | Mock interview; Pro bundle with course | £329; £349 | All listed mock dates sold out | No |
| Prep Surg | CST question bank | £70 (struck from £110) | Not stated; last updated 6 June 2025 | No |
| Core Surgical Prep | Question bank | £40 | Until interview day; page title says 2023 | No |
| ISC Medical | ST and Registrar Interview Course, all specialties | £299 | 23, 30 and 31 January 2027 | Yes |
| ISC Medical | Medical Interviews book, fifth edition; PDF guide | £29.50; £30 | Generic CT and ST | No |
| CST Revision | Question bank, over 500 clinical questions | Not shown; contact by email | Not stated | No |
| BlackStone Tutors | Top 50 questions page; course, bank and tutoring | Free page; no prices shown | Key dates page is for 2026 | No |
| Messly | CST interview guide | Free | Dated 17 April 2023 | No |
| Mind the Bleep | Applying to CST guide; webinar series; one-day course | Free; course price not shown | Guide dated 31 August 2026; course dated 18 January 2025 | No |
However, a price is only comparable across the same window. £97 to 2 April 2027 and £85 to 11 September 2027 are both single payments covering the whole 2027 interview period, so the price gap between the two banks is £12.
Which CST resources cover the current two-station format?
Three resources describe the current two-station CST format correctly: coresurgeryinterview, Medibuddy's 2026 guide and Medset's course page. All three give the 15-minute management and clinical station with three five-minute scenarios and the 15-minute portfolio station with a three-minute presentation.
According to NHS England's interviews page, that format replaced the single 30-minute station for the 2026 round. Any resource still teaching three 10-minute stations, or four five-minute stations, is teaching the format of 2024 or earlier.
Which CST resources still describe the old format?
Four do. CST Revision's homepage describes "a single 30-minute remote session with three 10-minute stations". Messly's guide, dated 17 April 2023, says "the interview itself is made up of four stations that each last five minutes". Mind the Bleep's "Applying to CST" page, dated 31 August 2026, describes a 20-minute face-to-face interview with a 10/30/60 weighting. BlackStone Tutors' guide lists a "Portfolio or Structured Interview Station" and carries no date.
That said, the old-format guides are not useless. The clinical and management content still applies; it is the timings, the presentation and the scoring that have moved.
Which CST question bank has the most questions?
CST Revision claims the largest count at "over 500 clinical questions", followed by coresurgeryinterview at 299 across 42 scenarios plus three free sample scenarios, and Medibuddy at "over 40 unique scenarios" with an unstated question count. Prep Surg, Core Surgical Prep and BlackStone Tutors state no count, other than BlackStone's free page of 50 questions without model answers.
Volume is scored with realism, which is why CST Revision scores 4 rather than 5: its questions are organised by subspecialty for a station that no longer exists as described. coresurgeryinterview's 299 are split 201 clinical, 45 management and 43 portfolio, in the proportions the two stations carry.
Which CST resources offer spoken practice or a mock?
Two resources let you rehearse aloud and get marked: coresurgeryinterview, whose AI marks a recorded answer against the station domains, and Medset, whose live mock interview costs £329 but showed every listed date as sold out on 10 September 2026. ISC Medical's £299 course is a one-day virtual mock format capped at 12 people, but it is generic across all CT and ST specialties.
Medibuddy, CST Revision, Core Surgical Prep and Prep Surg are written banks with model answers and no spoken component, although Prep Surg refers to mock stations. Mind the Bleep ran a one-day course with mocks on 18 January 2025 with no price shown and no 2026 or 2027 date listed.
In practice the CST questions are given live with five minutes to answer, so the ability to speak a structured answer under time is what the 0 to 6 scale rewards. A written bank tests recall; only a spoken one tests the interview.
Which CST resources are updated for 2027?
Three of the ten resources, or 30%, carried a 2027 date on 10 September 2026: coresurgeryinterview's bank runs to 2 April 2027, Medset's course is available until 10 March 2027, and ISC Medical's course days are 23, 30 and 31 January 2027. Medibuddy's bank expires on 11 September 2027 but its guide and product pages are labelled 2026.
| Resource | Most recent date on the page | Format described |
|---|---|---|
| coresurgeryinterview | Access to 2 April 2027; course page still 7 February 2026 | Current |
| Medibuddy | 2026 guide; 15 management and clinical and 4 portfolio scenarios updated for 2026 | Current |
| Medset | Course to 10 March 2027; 2026 cycle dates | Current |
| ISC Medical | Course days January 2027 | Generic, not CST-specific |
| BlackStone Tutors | Key dates 2026 page; guide undated | Old |
| Prep Surg | Last updated 6 June 2025 | Partly mapped |
| Core Surgical Prep | Title 2023; body references 2025 | Unclear |
| CST Revision | 2024 and 2025 references | Old |
| Messly | 17 April 2023 | Old |
| Mind the Bleep | Guide 31 August 2026, describing 2024 | Old |
Our own freshness score is a 4 rather than a 5 for the same reason Medibuddy's is: the coresurgeryinterview mocks course page still shows Saturday 7 February 2026, and a 2027 date has not been set.
Which CST resources let you try before you pay?
Four resources let you see real material before paying: coresurgeryinterview with three free sample scenarios, BlackStone Tutors with its free list of 50 questions, Core Surgical Prep with free sample questions, and CST Revision with clinical and management samples. Medibuddy, Medset, Prep Surg and ISC Medical show no trial.
The free guides from Messly and Mind the Bleep are entirely open, which is why they score 5 here. Their weakness is not access; it is that the format they describe is gone.
Which CST resource has an app?
Medibuddy is the only resource in the set with a native iOS and Android app, which is why it alone scores 5 on the apps criterion. coresurgeryinterview is a responsive web application that runs on PC, Mac, iOS and Android without an install and includes a progress dashboard, scoring 3.
No other vendor in the set mentions an app, offline access or progress tracking.
Which CST interview resource should you choose?
Choose coresurgeryinterview if you want spoken practice marked against the station domains and a bank sized to the 2027 window; choose Medibuddy if you want a written bank in an app; choose Medset if a live mock matters and a date reopens; and start with Mind the Bleep's free webinar series if you have not yet spent anything.
- Best overall: coresurgeryinterview, 30 out of 35, our own product, £97 to 2 April 2027 with 299 questions and AI-marked spoken practice.
- Best independent bank: Medibuddy, 23 out of 35, £85 with an app and content updated for 2026.
- Best live mock: Medset, £329, if a date becomes available.
- Best free start: Mind the Bleep's webinar series, then NHS England's own interviews and portfolio pages, which are the source every resource here is summarising.
Whichever you pick, check the format against NHS England's interviews page first. Half of this market is still teaching an interview that ended in 2025.