What changed in the 2027 ophthalmology ST1 evidence folder
The recruiter has published its guidance for the 2027 round: the self-assessment, the evidence folder and the scoring rules behind them. It is on NHS England's Medical Hub this time, not on the South West deanery's website where the 2026 criteria lived, and the page was last reviewed on 23 September 2026. If you land on a South West page headed "Evidence Folder – 2026 Criteria", that is last year's.
Most of it is the same as last year. The domains and their caps have not moved. What has changed is a handful of rules about which items score and what proof they need, and the way candidates are shortlisted. This post goes through each change, quotes the recruiter's wording, and says what to do about it. Everything here comes from the self-assessment and supporting evidence page and its sibling pages, as they read on 29 September 2026.
The numbers for 2027
"There will be 8 domains to score and the maximum score that can be achieved is 47 points." You have to self-score at least 19 to go on: "candidates self-scoring less than 19 points will not progress beyond the MSRA stage of the selection process". The recruiter's advice to anyone below that is to consider whether to wait a year.
At the offer stage, though, the evidence folder is worth 50 points, alongside 50 for the interview. Both numbers are right. The self-assessment form has a row for each of eight domains, and no row for overall portfolio layout and quality, which is worth 3 points and which the panel judges for itself: "How the portfolio is presented in layout and organisation will be assessed." Eight domains adding to 47, plus the 3 for layout, make the 50.
After shortlisting, the evidence folders of the highest-ranking 350 candidates are reviewed, and the self-assessment is verified "by two assessors". "Those candidates whose verified score is below 20 points will not progress to the next stage." The highest-ranking 260 on the verified score are invited to interview, where you need at least 40% to reach the offer stage.
Shortlisting is now on the MSRA alone
This is the biggest change, and it is not in the scoring rules at all. In the recruiter's words:
In the previous recruitment round the Multi-Specialty Recruitment Assessment (MSRA) and unverified self-assessment score were combined to create an overall shortlisting score. Going forward the shortlisting score will be solely the MSRA score and will not include the self-assessment score. The verified self-assessment score will continue to be incorporated into the final total score.
What it means for you. Your self-score still has to reach 19, but above that it no longer helps you into the 350: the MSRA decides who gets there. An optimistic self-score used to lift your ranking. Now it does nothing at shortlisting, and the score that matters is the verified one, which decides who is invited to interview and makes up half of the final total. Score yourself on what your evidence will actually support.
One more change sits in the same section. For 2027 there are two advertisements on Oriel, one for England, Scotland and Northern Ireland and one for Wales, and you may apply to only one. If both of your applications are still live when applications close, "the application with the earliest submission date" is withdrawn.
Further ahead, from the 2028 round self-scoring moves into Oriel at the point of application, and "only competencies achieved by the application closing date, in November 2027, can be included". That "does not apply to the current recruitment round", but it matters if you are planning for 2028 rather than 2027.
How you submit the self-assessment
Two things, and you need both: "Any candidates that fail to submit both components will not progress through the process."
- The proforma. The Self-Assessment Proforma, downloadable from the recruiter's page, has a score and a brief description of your evidence for each of the eight domains, "Approximately 50 words". It "should be uploaded as the first document within your evidence folder".
- The online form. Your scores alone, with no comments, entered on an MS Teams form.
Both go in while the evidence portal is open, from 18 January to 2 February 2027. Check them before you press submit: "The self assessment score cannot be changed once submitted." And do not expect a steer on borderline items: "It is the candidate's sole discretion as to which score they award in the self-assessment."
The rules that changed
Each of these is a change from the 2026 criteria to the 2027 ones, with the new wording quoted.
Prizes and awards: only a first in the final year
In 2026, 2 points went to a first "in any year" of an undergraduate degree. For 2027 it is "1st in the final year (not module or other part of a year)", still where fewer than 15% of the year achieve it.
What to do. If your first came in an earlier year, it no longer scores on this line. Check which year it was for before you claim it.
Specialty links: a new point for the RCOphth essay prize
A new line: "1 point for first place in the RCOphth Essay Prize for Foundation Doctors". It sits in Ophthalmology specialty links and commitment, inside that domain's 13-point cap.
What to do. If you won it, claim it there, with proof of the placing.
Publications: the journal needs an impact factor
"Any journal published in must have a current Clarivate Journal Impact Factor." The same test now applies to peer-reviewed papers claimed under specialty links, which have to be "Pubmed-cited and Clarivate Journal Impact Factor listed". PubMed citation is still required as before.
What to do. Check every journal you are counting before you count it. A PubMed-cited paper in a journal with no current Clarivate Journal Impact Factor does not meet the 2027 wording.
Presentations: three new conditions
- Abstracts. "An abstract will only receive points if the abstract links to a full article that can be reviewed." Where your evidence for a presentation is an abstract, make sure it points to the full article.
- Co-delivered talks. "If a presentation is co-delivered by 2 authors then that must be made explicit and your equal role in preparing the presentation must be made clear." Say so on the item, and get your share of the preparation confirmed, which is a job for a supervisor letter.
- Second author on videos. In 2026 second author or lower did not score for posters. For 2027 it "does not score for posters or videos". A video presentation where you were second author or lower comes out.
Quality improvement and audit: more proof for the top points
The 5-point line now reads "for published audit in peer-reviewed journal (not to be added to Publications or Presentations sections) or QI guidelines implemented supra-regionally with clear evidence of impact". In 2026 it said "published audit" and "QI guidelines implemented supra-regionally", with no journal named and no evidence of impact asked for.
The 4-point line has tightened in the same direction. It now asks that you were "personally involved in either implementing the QI strategy with specific demonstration of improvements to practice or in completing the audit loop and implementing change".
And there is a new sentence about proof: "Your supervisor's letter stating measurable changes/ improvements were made from your audit or QIP is not enough evidence for 4 or 5 points, please include data demonstrating this."
What to do. If you are claiming 4 or 5, upload the data that shows the change, such as the figures before and after, rather than a description of it. You still need the covering letter from your supervising consultant confirming your role, which the guidance continues to require. The letter is necessary; for the top two bands it is no longer enough.
Specialty links: electives and undergraduate projects
The ophthalmic elective must now be "of at least 2 weeks' duration". And for undergraduate projects, a new line: "Projects leading to presentations or publications should not be scored in those sections also."
What to do. Make sure your elective evidence shows its dates. If a project led to a presentation or a paper, decide which domain to claim it in and claim it once. That is the general rule already, that one piece of work counts once, now written into this line.
The dates for the round
All from the recruiter's timeline for the August 2027 intake, in UK time.
| What | When |
|---|---|
| Applications open | Thursday 22 October 2026, 10am |
| Applications close | Thursday 19 November 2026, 4pm |
| MSRA booking invitations | Early December 2026, date to be confirmed |
| Self-assessment and evidence portal open | Monday 18 January to Tuesday 2 February 2027 |
| Self-assessment feedback | Thursday 25 February 2027 |
| Invitations to interview | Monday 15 March 2027 |
| Interviews | Monday 22 and Tuesday 23 March 2027 |
| Initial offers | Tuesday 6 April 2027, 5pm |
When the feedback arrives on 25 February you get the verified scores and the assessors' comments. If you think your evidence was overlooked or misread, you have 48 hours to appeal, and "You will not be able to upload any additional documents during the appeals process". Whatever proof an item needs has to be in the folder by 2 February. An appeals panel's score is final, "even if the appeals panel reduces the original score".
What has not changed
- The domains and their caps. Qualifications 5, prizes and awards 5, multi-source feedback 2, quality improvement and audit 5, presentations 6, publications 6, education and teaching 5, specialty links and commitment 13, overall layout and quality 3.
- One piece of work counts once. "Evidence cannot normally be used in two different domains."
- Unnecessary material can cost you. Follow each domain's list of contents "as precisely as possible as marks may be deducted for including unnecessary information". What goes in and what stays out works through that decision item by item.
- The time limits. A quality improvement project or audit from within the last 3 years of the interview date, and multi-source feedback from within 18 months if you have been in clinical posts for that period.
- Doubt goes against you. "if there is any doubt, points will not be scored unless third party or objective supportive evidence is presented."
- The final score. Evidence folder 50, interview 50, and the MSRA not counted in the total. The interview is still two stations of up to ten minutes each, with five minutes' reading before each; the interview format has the detail.
Build your portfolio in SmartOST
The changes are small, but each one decides whether a particular item scores, so they are worth checking item by item rather than at the end. SmartOST's portfolio builder lets you add each item under its domain, attach the evidence that proves it, and generate the finished portfolio as a single PDF.