St George's, University of London (legal name St George's Hospital Medical School, informally St George's or SGUL) is a Medical School located in Tooting in South London and is a constituent college of the University of London. St George's has its origins in 1733, and was the second institution in England to provide formal training courses for doctors (after the University of Oxford). St George's affiliated with the University of London soon after the latter's establishment in 1836. As of 2008 St George's Medical School accepted around 100 graduates, 175 undergraduates and 10 students from overseas. St George's is closely affiliated to St George's Hospital and is one of the United Hospitals. History Originally set up in 1733 next to Hyde Park Corner (now the site of The Lanesborough hotel), in central London, the college was transferred to its current site, Tooting in South London in 1980, where it shares a site with St George's Healthcare NHS Trust. Following Quality Assurance Agency inspections St George's gained a score of 23 out of 24 for its teaching of medicine — the highest of any of the London medical schools. The inspections report was published in January 2000 and the course, curriculum and teaching methods at St George's have changed since then. In recent years, St George's has expanded beyond its medical schools roots. Alongside its medical course it now runs a Biomedical Sciences course, which has expanded to meet demand in the last 5 years from an initial intake of 30, to 150 students. There are now more places for Undergraduate Biomedical Science students than 5-Year Medical students. In partnership with Kingston University, the Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences has moved St George's into other areas including Nursing, Physiotherapy, Paramedic Science and Radiography. The Faculty has been congratulated for its high teaching standards, employment rates and cutting edge research in the Social Sciences. St George's was also the first institution in the United Kingdom to offer a four-year graduate entry Medicine degree based on the program from Flinders University with which it has an exchange program. The first intake was in 2000 with 35 students and the course has since been emulated by many other universities. Entry to the course is highly competitive with candidates being required to sit the GAMSAT as part of the application process. Most recently St George's, along with other London medical schools, has been the setting for new television drama Vital Signs. In 2008, St George's announced that it planned to merge with Royal Holloway to form a single institution within the University of London. The merger was called off in a joint statement by the two colleges' principals on 25 September 2009. St George's intends to keep working with Royal Holloway in the field of health and social care along with its well-established Joint Faculty with Kingston University. St George's, Kingston University and Royal Holloway will continue to collaborate in the field of health and social care as part of the existing SWan (South West London Academic Network) healthcare alliance. Campus St George's campus is located in the Tooting area of south-west London, and is co-located with St George's Hospital. Teaching facilities at the campus include clinical skills laboratories and a patient simulator which allows students to practice based on real-life situations including surgical and medical emergencies. The university library has around 42,000 books and subscribes to around 10,000 journals. There is an on-site sports centre including a sports hall, three squash courts, and weights and fitness rooms. Courses St George's offers foundation and undergraduate degrees at its site in Tooting in medical, biomedical and healthcare sciences, including: Biomedical Science BSc (Hons), Biomedical Science Foundation Degree, Healthcare Practice DipHE and BSc (Hons), Healthcare Practice Foundation Degree, Healthcare Science (Physiological Sciences) BSc (Hons), Medicine (four-year graduate stream) MBBS4, Medicine (five-year) MBBS5, and Medicine (six-year) MBBS6. In partnership with Kingston University, the joint Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences also offers degrees in physiotherapy, paramedic science, nursing, midwifery, social work and diagnostic or therapeutic radiography, including Breast Imaging Foundation Degree, Midwifery/Registered Midwife for registered nurses BSc (Hons), Midwifery/Registered Midwife BSc (Hons), Nursing/Registered Nurse BSc (Hons), Paramedic Science Foundation Degree, Physiotherapy BSc (Hons), Radiography, Diagnostic BSc (Hons), Radiography, Therapeutic BSc (Hons) and Social Work BA (Hons). St George's, in partnership with INTO University Partners, has also formed a joint venture, INTO SGUL, to offer a Foundation in Medical, Biomedical and Health Sciences for international students whose qualifications do not allow direct progression into Bachelors level study in the UK, and a six-year MBBS and a four-year graduate stream MBBS programme specifically for international students, with clinical placements overseas. The first student cohort on each international MBBS programme entered St George's in September 2012. Outside of the UK, the MBBS4 is also offered in Nicosia, Cyprus through a partnership between St George's and the University of Nicosia. The new programme was inaugurated and the first student cohort commenced in Nicosia in September 2011. The programme at the University of Nicosia features international clinical placements in Israel and the USA. St George's offers numerous research and taught postgraduate degrees.