Physiotherapy

If English is not your first language and you are not a national of a country deemed by either the UK Home Office or St George’s, University of London to be ‘majority English speaking’ listed here, you will be required to meet the English Language requirements outlined below. Tests are valid for a period of two years.

We understand the challenges for our prospective applicants for medicine and allied health courses trying to gain work experience at this time, particularly in clinical settings.    

In response to the government’s social distancing guidelines, which have a significant impact on all areas of life, we have chosen to relax our work experience requirements for prospective applicants for our courses which would normally require these.    

Despite the relaxed requirements, we still require our applicants to have an understanding of the realities of working as a healthcare professional and to show they have the necessary skills and attributes for their chosen career. Online resources can give you valuable insight into working in the healthcare sector and outline the wide range of careers and courses available. You can find a number of suggested resources for each of our courses here. 

In addition to meeting the academic criteria for admission, you should be able to demonstrate a keen interest in and commitment to working with people, be able to identify relevant transferable skills that would make you a good physiotherapist, demonstrate a broad awareness of the scope of physiotherapy, and have obtained some relevant work experience where possible. All of this should be evident from your UCAS personal statement. Applicants who do not demonstrate this are unlikely to be invited for an interview.

Applicants should be aware that we will be notified by UCAS of any plagiarism within a personal statement. If UCAS indicate that the plagiarism is above 60% then your application is unlikely to be considered any further and you will be unsuccessful.

Satisfactory clearance in both, including immunisation against Hepatitis B, MMR, Meningitis, TB and Chicken Pox
Enhanced Police Disclosure via the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Candidates accepted onto healthcare courses are required to pass an occupational health screening. When admitting candidates to study and practice as a health practitioner, we have an obligation to both patients and to the individual student. Candidates who are concerned about a health issue are strongly advised to contact us prior to applying. All offers of places are made subject to satisfactory health clearance and an agreement to undergo appropriate blood tests and immunisations.

Offer holders will be asked to be immunised against Hepatitis B for personal safety, and will receive a confidential health questionnaire and further information about the process of health screening if they firmly accept their offer. However, you may wish to contact your general practitioner (GP) to begin a course of Hepatitis B immunisation before  you receive an offer, as it consists of three injections over a six month period.

This course will include work with children and vulnerable adults so all applicants will be required to have an enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check. More information about this is sent to offer holders as part of the admissions process, but you can read more about DBS checks here.

If you are a current healthcare professional or a member of a registered professional body, you must provide details of your registration. If you have had your professional registration suspended or revoked, or undergone a disciplinary/fitness to practice investigation, you will be required to provide further information if selected for interview. This will be reviewed by the admissions tutor and you may be required to provide full copies of related documentation. Any information you disclose will only be used for considering your application to the applied course.

Applicants who are studying or who have previously studied on another Pre-Registration Physiotherapy course in the UK may not be considered.

The following qualifications may enhance your application, but cannot contribute to the minimum requirements:

• NVQs
• Massage courses
• ITEC Anatomy and Physiology.

If your qualifications do not meet the cut off period of five years but you have completed some other recognised study, please provide additional information and supporting evidence when you submit your application.

Assessment methods include a combination of written and practical examinations, academic coursework (including reports and presentations), and assessment of clinical skills whilst on placement. In your final year, we ask you to produce a problem-based report on an aspect of interdisciplinary practice, a group research project, and a poster related to holistic patient management and physiotherapy practice.

Work experience

Work experience is highly recommended. Although clinical experience is ideal, this does not have to take place in a hospital. You might consider working in a care home, hospice or doing community work with adults or children. Your experience may also be in the field of Education, Customer Services or Conflict Resolution. Most importantly you must demonstrate that you have considered how your experience is relevant to a career in Physiotherapy.

We do not specify a minimum amount of experience, but the more you have the better - there's no such thing as too much experience. It does not have to be full time but regular experience over a period of months is preferable to a couple of weeks here and there as it demonstrates commitment. Recent work experience is preferable although you can reflect on any relevant experience.

Personal statement

In addition to meeting the academic criteria for admission, you should be able to demonstrate a keen interest in and commitment to working with people, be able to identify relevant transferable skills that would make you a good physiotherapist, demonstrate a broad awareness of the scope of physiotherapy, and have obtained some relevant work experience where possible. All of this should be evident from your UCAS personal statement. Applicants who do not demonstrate this are unlikely to be invited for an interview.

Applicants should be aware that we will be notified by UCAS of any plagiarism within a personal statement. If UCAS indicate that the plagiarism is above 60% then your application is unlikely to be considered any further and you will be unsuccessful

Health and police screening

Once accepted onto a healthcare course, you are required to pass an occupational health screening. When admitting candidates to study and practice as a health practitioner, we have an obligation to both patients and to the individual student. Candidates who are concerned about a health issue are strongly advised to contact us prior to applying. All offers of places are made subject to satisfactory health clearance and an agreement to undergo appropriate blood tests and immunisations.

You will be asked to be immunised against Hepatitis B for personal safety, so please contact your general practitioner (GP) to arrange a screening. You should begin a course of Hepatitis B immunisation as soon as you submit your UCAS application, as it consists of three injections over a six month period. If you firmly accept an offer you will be sent a confidential health questionnaire and further information about the process of screening for Hepatitis B.

This course includes working with children and vulnerable adults so all applicants must have enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check. More information about this will be sent to applicants as part of the admissions process.

Read more about DBS checks

Professional registration

If you are a current healthcare professional or a member of a registered professional body, you must provide details of your registration. If you have had your professional registration suspended or revoked, or undergone a disciplinary/fitness to practice investigation, you will be required to provide further information if selected for interview. This will be reviewed by the admissions tutor and you may be required to provide full copies of related documentation. Any information you disclose will only be used for considering your application to the applied course.

Applicants who are studying or who have previously studied on another Pre-Registration Physiotherapy course in the UK may not be considered.

The following qualifications may enhance your application, but cannot contribute to the minimum requirements:

• NVQs
• Massage courses
• ITEC Anatomy and Physiology.

If your qualifications do not meet the cut off period of five years but you have completed some other recognised study, please provide additional information and supporting evidence when you submit your application.

Hospital settings

Supporting the rehabilitation of people who have suffered physical impairment due to accidents, operations, illnesses such as strokes, or who have long term conditions that affect their physical functions.

Using exercises and therapeutic treatments to help people recover their mobility and to speed up their rehabilitation.

Community settings

Supporting people of all ages with physical disabilities, mental health needs, learning disabilities or who are dying. Your aim is to help rehabilitate people and support them to achieve the best possible quality of life.

Community settings where physiotherapists work include:

• GP surgeries

• community clinics

• people’s homes

• specialist clinics

• hospices.

Private health, business and industry

Roles available outside NHS health settings, include:

• private clinics and hospitals

• commercial organisations

• the armed forces

• health clubs

• voluntary organisations

• working with people with physical and mental problems

• research.

Read more on the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy website

As you gain experience, you may opt to specialise in certain medical conditions. There are many exciting opportunities for career advancement, further study or research, including further postgraduate study at St George’s.

You must provide the following.

• Full details of your Level 2 (GCSE or equivalent) qualifications with grades.

• Full details of your Level 3 (A Level or equivalent) qualifications with achieved/predicted grades.

• A personal statement (more information about this document is available on the UCAS website). We recommend that you include in your statement a recognition that studying a BSc in Physiotherapy will include practice and study in a number of settings.

• An academic reference from your current or most recent institutions with predicted grades.

After submitting your application to UCAS:

• log in to UCAS Track and make sure all your academic details have been included

• if any subjects or predicted results are missing, email the admissions officer with your UCAS number and missing subjects and grades.

We will consider applications from applicants who wish to defer entry by a year, provided you plan to use the time constructively. If you are offered a place on the course and subsequently decide to defer, you must inform us by 1 June of the year of application.

We will send you an acknowledgement email and letter when we receive your application. Please make sure your email account is able to accept communications from St George’s as we will mainly communicate with you via email. Selected applicants will be invited to attend interview. Decisions from St George’s will be entered onto UCAS Track and direct applicants will be contacted via email.

Students with pre-existing illnesses or disabilities, or who are shielding

If you suffer, or have suffered, from a serious illness (physical or psychological) or have a disability, or have been required to shield due to Covid-19, please let us know. St George’s is committed to supporting our students and will explore all reasonable adjustments to support you to thrive on your course.

Please contact our Disability Advisor as soon as possible with details to help us establish whether your health history or disability is likely to affect your ability to study or practise. This will also give us sufficient time to carry out a detailed assessment, obtain reports and organise additional expert assessments if required.

Attendance at site

Most of our courses include elements of teaching for which you will be required to attend the University site. Attendance at these sessions will be essential to enable you to engage with the course and undertake assessments.

Placements

You will be required to undertake a personal risk assessment before you can attend any placement that is part of your course (or undertake certain other activities, such as those which include the practice of clinical skills or require the use of PPE). Where a health concern arises, every effort will be made to identify alternative placement arrangements, but your health and safety will be the first priority, and alternative arrangements may not be possible. This may have implications for the continuation of your study. If you are clinically vulnerable or have been shielding, we strongly encourage you to contact the Disability Advisor now to undertake an assessment.

Students with pre-existing illnesses or disabilities, or who are shielding

If you're a student with a pre-existing illness or disability, or who is shielding, your course team will contact you to ask if you would like to complete a personal risk assessment before you return to the site. If you suffer from a serious illness which may increase your level of risk, or have been required to shield due to Covid-19, we recommend that you complete a personal risk assessment. St George’s is committed to supporting our students and will explore all reasonable adjustments to support you to thrive on your course. 

Attendance at site

For the majority of our courses, we will be delivering an element of face to face, hands-on teaching on campus in line with social distancing guidelines which you are required to attend. If you will be unable to attend teaching on-site due to a health reason, you must let us know by the start of the academic year so we can consider alternative arrangements to ensure you progress through the course. Mitigating Circumstances can still be submitted for unforeseen illnesses; however, being unable to attend the site due to shielding or being at heightened risk from a pre-existing illness or disability will not be accepted as grounds for Mitigating Circumstances. Please discuss this with your course team and complete a personal risk assessment so that all reasonable adjustment can be made.

Placements 

You will be required to undertake a personal risk assessment before you can attend any placement (or undertake certain other activities, such as those including the practice of clinical skills or requiring the use of PPE) that is part of your course. Where a health concern arises, every effort will be made to identify alternative placements arrangements, but your health and safety will be the first priority, and where alternative arrangements are not possible, there may be implications for your studies. If you are clinically vulnerable or have been shielding, we strongly encourage you to contact your course team now to undertake a personal risk assessment.

We are expecting to deliver the course within the planned timescales, and for students to progress and graduate without delay.

Some assessments are designed to be taken on-site or in small groups, wearing appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). Where necessary we have developed alternative assessment strategies to enable you to complete your assessments remotely. Training on the use of the relevant online platforms will be provided.

The programme does include practical, clinical and skill-based elements that are delivered in specialist teaching rooms and with specialist equipment. Practical classes in our specialist teaching rooms will be arranged in 2020/21 to minimise travel to and from the site (approximately one day per week during September–December 2020) with appropriate social distancing measures in place and PPE if required. Anatomy sessions that are normally delivered in our Dissecting Room will be delivered online with video recordings in the first term (September–December 2020). Communication skills sessions will be online in the first term. Practical, clinical and skills-based teaching will run as planned for the remainder of 2021.

There is a possibility that government advice on social distancing may change. If that is the case, we will endeavour to delay practical components of the programme to a subsequent semester (or year) to protect the safety of students.

We have currently planned for observational visits to practice in the second term of the programme and we will use our normal systems and processes to allocate students to placement. We will consider any necessary risk assessments for individual students and plan this accordingly. There is a possibility that government guidance may change and that we may need to make arrangements for virtual/remote observational visits.

We are expecting to deliver the course within the planned timescales, and for students to progress and graduate without delay.

The programme does include practical, clinical and skill-based elements that are delivered in specialist teaching rooms and with specialist equipment. For Year 2 students, practical classes in our specialist teaching rooms will be arranged to minimise travel to and from the site (approximately two days per week during September–December 2020) with appropriate social distancing measures in place and PPE if required. Year 3 students will have minimal requirement to attend campus during in the first term (September–December 2020). Practical, clinical and skills-based teaching will run as planned for the remainder of 2021.

For clinical programmes, placement providers will continue to offer placements as they have in previous years. Their capacity to offer placements may change if, in the event of a further outbreak of Covid-19, delivering care to affected patients becomes the overriding priority. If that happens, we will limit the impact on students where possible. We will rotate students through the sites that are continuing to accept students and, where possible we will use physiotherapy placements that engage in remote consultations to offer a comparable clinical experience.

For continuing students, it may be possible to delay placements from one year of the course to the next to protect student interests. However, there is a possibility that graduation for some final year students may be delayed until such time as they are able to complete all placements. We will consider any necessary risk assessments for individual students and plan placements accordingly.

We will continue to offer final year research projects that enable students to work with staff on topics related to physiotherapy science, education and therapy. Depending on government advice and guidance, we may be able to offer face-to-face data collection. However, projects will be flexible if this is not possible.

We do not expect students to incur any extra costs over and above those that we have advertised on the course page.

As a result of our courses beginning with the majority of teaching online, you will need a personal laptop or computer and access to the internet to participate in online lectures. Information is available on recommended device specification. If you are worried you might struggle to meet these requirements, you should email IThardship@sgul.ac.uk so we can look at support options for you.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) will be provided for you if needed.

If government guidance changes and there is a requirement to postpone or alter placements, then the need for the student to cover living expenses might be extended beyond the standard term dates of the programme.

We do not expect students to incur any extra costs over and above the normal level, as previously advertised on the course page.

As a result of our courses beginning with the majority of teaching online, you will need a personal laptop or computer and access to the internet to participate in online lectures. Information is available on recommended device specification. If you are worried you might struggle to meet these requirements, you should email IThardship@sgul.ac.uk so we can look at support options for you.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) will be provided for you if needed.

If government guidance changes and there is a requirement to postpone or alter placements, then the need for the student to cover living expenses might be extended beyond the standard term dates of the programme.

We assess the knowledge, skills and attributes of our students in a variety of ways. These include formal written examinations, practical examinations (formative and summative), and in-course assessments which might include essays, practical write-ups and special study reports, oral presentations, and poster presentations. 

We expect to deliver these assessments as planned.  Although some assessments are designed to be taken on-site, we successfully developed an alternative assessment strategy in 2019/20 to enable students to complete assessments remotely without coming on to campus. For example, formal examinations were taken remotely by students at a time of their choosing within a window stipulated by us. If the government advice on social distancing changes, we will take this approach again.

The university-based assessments will continue and students will submit online as usual. Some assessments have been adapted slightly and students will be informed of these changes at the start of each module. Assessments, where students are directly observed performing a practical or clinical skill by an examiner, will be arranged on the university campus wearing appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). Other assessment of practice performance will be conducted on your practice placements, either face-to-face or online.

At this stage, we expect to be able to deliver assessments of this kind during practice placements. However, if government advice changes and our campus is closed, we will not be able to deliver these assessments as planned. If that is the case, it might be possible to delay these assessments until the next academic year to protect your safety.

If that happens, graduation for some final year students may be delayed until you are able to complete all assessments, because we have any obligation to our regulators to confirm that our students have met the clinical and practical outcomes for the programme before they graduate.

The Physiotherapy BSc pre-registration programme is accredited and validated by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and recognised by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. The programme has been mapped against their requirements and standards and this is unchanged.

Successful graduates will, therefore, be eligible to apply for registration when they have passed all university-based and practice-based placement assessments and completed the programme. It is recommended that students complete 1,000 hours of assessed practice placement.  However, if government guidance changes, it may not be possible to meet this recommendation, and we will review each student practice placement profile and liaise with the HCPC to ensure that students have satisfied the learning outcomes and are eligible to apply to join the register.

The Physiotherapy BSc pre-registration programme is accredited and validated by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and recognised by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. The programme has been mapped against their requirements and standards and this is unchanged.

Successful graduates will, therefore, be eligible to apply for registration whey they have passed all university-based and practice-based placement assessments and completed the programme. The second-year practice placement module has already been modified in light of the government guidance to enable students to complete the module with two placements rather than three. It is still recommended that students are required to complete 1,000 hours of assessed practice placement, and modifications have been recommended for the final year practice placements to allow students to make up hours. However, it may not be possible to meet this recommendation, and we will review each student practice placement profile and liaise with the HCPC to ensure that students have satisfied the learning outcomes and are eligible to apply to join the register.

The changes that we are making are the consequence of current public health advice, and our capacity to offer alternatives is limited by that advice. If you wish to avoid these changes by deferring your offer please contact admissions@sgul.ac.uk.

The changes that we are making are the consequence of current public health advice, and our capacity to offer alternatives is limited by that advice. You will be required to consent to these changes as part of your re-enrolment. If you wish to avoid these changes (e.g. by taking a year out from your studies) please discuss this directly with your course team in the first instance. We remain, as always, focused on the best experience and outcomes for our students.