A-levels · 2027 entry

Which A-level subjects does each dental school actually ask for?

Of the fifteen UK dental schools that publish a subject rule for school leavers, ten require both Chemistry and Biology and five do not. Aberdeen and Lancashire take graduates only, East Anglia has not published its rule yet, and two more schools are in Ireland, on a different system. If you are choosing A levels, this is the page that decides which doors stay open.

Source: Every entry below was read from the school’s own 2027 entry page and checked against the Dental Schools Council 2027 guide on 18 August 2026. Where the two disagree, we show you both rather than picking one.

Check your subjects

Tap the A levels you take or plan to take. Schools whose rules they don’t meet will fade.

Chemistry and Biology, both required · 10 schools

No substitutions. If you drop either one, these ten schools are closed to you.

BirminghamAAACardiffAAADundeeA*AAGlasgowAAALeedsAAALiverpoolAAAManchesterAAANewcastleAAAQueen's BelfastAAASheffieldAAA

Biology, plus one other science · 2 schools

The second science may be Chemistry, Physics, Maths — or, at both of these, Psychology.

PlymouthA*AA – AABPortsmouthAAA (144 UCAS points)

Biology or Chemistry, plus a second science · 2 schools

Either science satisfies the first slot. Both ask A*AA.

King's College LondonA*AAQueen MaryA*AA

Chemistry, plus one other science · 1 school

Biology is not required at all.

BristolAAA

Any two of Biology, Physics, Chemistry or Maths · 1 school

Graduate entry. The A levels sit on top of a degree, which is why the grades are so much lower.

LancashireCCC, on top of a 2:1 degreeGraduate entry only

Ireland — a different system · 2 schools

These two admit through the CAO, not UCAS, and use no admissions test at all — no UCAT and no HPAT. HPAT-Ireland is for medicine. Entry is on points alone, and at both schools in 2025 the last places went to a lottery.

Trinity College DublinB and C at A level, in two sciencesUniversity College CorkTwo A levels at C or above

A levels are not used at all · 1 school

Graduate entry only. Selection is scored on your degree.

AberdeenNo grades publishedGraduate entry only

Not published · 1 school

No grade profile and no subject requirement has been released.

East AngliaNo grades published

Two things worth taking away

Biology and Psychology meets the subject rule at Plymouth and King’s — and at none of the ten that demand both sciences. Portsmouth accepts Psychology on its own page, though the Dental Schools Council guide does not list it, so check with Portsmouth first. Chemistry and Physics meets it at six: King’s, Queen Mary, Bristol, Lancashire and both Irish schools. Biology and Physics also reaches six, but a different six.

And the safest pairing is still Chemistry and Biology. It is the only combination that meets the rule at every school which publishes one.

Requirements change every year and schools do update their pages mid-cycle. Before you commit a UCAS choice, check the school’s own course page — and if something here has gone out of date, tell us and we will fix it.

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