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General & Emergency Surgery
Acute presentations, escalation and safe, structured decision-making under pressure.
North of England · FRCS Section 2 General Surgery Viva
Walk into the exam having already sat in the chair
A face-to-face mock viva course that reproduces the JCIE FRCS Section 2 examination — the full circuit, in real viva rooms, examined by the surgeons who set the standard and the surgeons who passed it last year.
Registration closedRegistration for this course closed on 1 November 2026. Contact the organising team if you would still like a place. Walk the circuit
- JCIE Section 2 standard
- 4.82/5 · 100% recommend
- Eight cohorts since 2024
Next Course
January 2027
Registration closed
Registration for this course closed on 1 November 2026. Contact the organising team if you would still like a place.
Before the day that decides everything
In a few weeks, you will sit in the chair.
You should not be sitting in it for the first time.
4.82/5mean overall rating
100%would recommend
66verified responses
79%arrive by word of mouth
Why we built this
Too many good surgeons meet their first full circuit of vivas on the day of the exam itself.
The FRCS Section 2 is the final hurdle of UK higher surgical training — and one of its most demanding. It tests not just what you know, but whether you can deliver it: structured, safe, guideline-aware, under unrelenting time pressure, across the entire curriculum. Knowledge is necessary. It is not sufficient.
We built this course in the North of England to close that gap — to reproduce the exam circuit faithfully, in real viva rooms, examined by surgeons who set the standard and by surgeons who passed it last year. So that when you walk into the exam, you have already sat in the chair.
— Mr Bassem Amr, Course Founder & Convenor
Consultant Bariatric & Upper GI Surgeon, University Hospital North Durham · with Mr Ahmed Elshaer, Course Director
The circuit
Walk the exam, station by station
The FRCS Section 2 is a circuit — and so is the course. Every candidate rotates through the full breadth of the curriculum under exam conditions, examined and given targeted feedback at each station.
02
Trauma
Primary survey, damage-control surgery and the trauma laparotomy.
03
Critical Care
Resuscitation, organ support and the escalation triggers examiners listen for.
04
Upper GI / Oesophagogastric
Benign and malignant OG disease, delivered at the pace of the real exam.
“Excellent pattern resembling the exam — the feedback covered lots of scenarios.” ST7 · Upper GI
05
Colorectal
Structured colorectal answers, staging and escalation.
“A fantastic course with the best faculty I have ever had.” ST8 · Colorectal
06
Hepatopancreatobiliary
The full HPB syllabus — often one-to-one with a subspecialist.
“Private one-to-one tutoring covering the whole HPB syllabus. Exceptional.” ST8 · HPB
07
Breast & Endocrine
Core breast and endocrine decision-making and communication.
“A full circuit with individual feedback — not available elsewhere.” ST7 · Breast
08
Academic / Critical Appraisal
Evidence, statistics and the academic viva.
“Excellent teaching — every slide was informative.” ST7 · Academic
Plus clinical short and long cases, and subspecialty breakouts on day two.
The faculty model
Two surgeons sit across from you. By design.
The strength of this course is who delivers it — a deliberate pairing of two perspectives, calibrated to a single standard.
The examiner
An established consultant or subspecialty surgeon with examining and teaching experience, calibrated to the exact FRCS Section 2 standard. They ask the questions the board asks — and hold you to the standard the board holds.
The one who just passed
A surgeon who sat and passed Section 2 within the last 12–18 months. They know precisely what the exam feels like from the chair — and what changed in their own preparation that made the difference on the day.
Around 25 faculty support every course — briefed and calibrated together before you arrive.
Some of the surgeons who teach here
Mr Bassem AmrConsultant Benign Upper GI and Bariatric…
Mr Mohamed AlasmarActing Lecturer and Consultant Surgeon ·…
Mr Ahmed ElshaerConsultant General and Upper Gastrointestinal Minimally…
Mr Khalid BhattiConsultant General Surgeon / Upper Gastrointestinal…
Mr Hussam AdwanUpper GI & Laparoscopic Surgeon
Mr Muhammad AbdalkoddusConsultant Colorectal and Robotic Surgeon
Mr Abdelrahman Ali Gaffer AbdelrahmanColorectal Surgeon
Faculty in action
Senior consultants and recently-successful surgeons, calibrated together before every course.
In their words
What candidates say
Anonymous feedback from ST7, ST8 and senior candidates across the 2026 cohorts.
Face-to-face element.
Lot of stations including 2 academic stations.
Multiple interactive stations… the more, the better.
Since 2024
Cohort after cohort. One standard.
This is not a pop-up course. We have delivered the same exam-replica circuit, refined cohort after cohort, since 2024. Selected milestones below — see every course in the archive.
The wider ecosystem
Official Educational Partners
No course prepares a surgeon alone. These are the education partners we work alongside — several of them founded by the very surgeons who examine on this course — and the facility that houses our viva rooms.
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Smart FRCS
FRCS General Surgery education platform, founded by course faculty member Mr Mohamed Alasmar.
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Higher FRCS
Exam-preparation partner supporting candidates through the Section 2 pathway.
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Grab the FRCS
Revision resource founded and edited by course faculty member Mr Khalid Bhatti.
Institutional affiliation
Course affiliated with ALRSGBI
The Association of Laparoscopic and Robotic Surgeons of Great Britain & Ireland. The course has been featured in the ALRSGBI Newsletters, which independently published our candidate feedback data.
Educational partners and institutional affiliation are listed separately and describe collaboration and support only. They do not constitute accreditation or endorsement of the course.
FRCS General Surgery · Section 2
Think Like theExaminer
A Domain-Graded Revision Guide
From the course, in print
Think Like the Examiner
FRCS General Surgery Section 2 — A Domain-Graded Revision Guide
The course exists because knowing the answer and delivering it are two different skills. The book carries the same idea onto the page: it is organised the way the examination is marked — domain by domain — so that your revision is graded against the standard you will actually be judged by, not against a textbook contents list.
Read it before you arrive and the two days work harder. Read it after, and it becomes the structure you rehearse against between now and the exam.
Buy on Amazon
Opens on Amazon in a new tab.
What’s included
Everything in the two-day programme
A complete preparation package — every element of the two days, and the online series that comes before them.
Full Day-1 exam-replica viva circuit
Every candidate examined individually, one-to-one or two-to-one, across the entire General Surgery curriculum.
Day-2 subspecialty breakout
A half-day of in-depth viva and clinical case practice within your declared subspecialty interest.
Structured feedback after every station
Written and verbal, focused on exam performance — the single element candidates rate most highly.
Six-session online pre-course programme
Exam orientation, trauma, breast, academic/critical appraisal, colorectal and upper GI — before you arrive.
Calibrated, exam-grade faculty
Around 25 faculty per course, briefed and calibrated to a consistent standard before every sitting.
Branded candidate materials
Dedicated course notebook and pen, plus your personalised station feedback to take away.
Individual debrief & action plan
A prioritised view of your highest-yield revision targets and where your gap to the pass standard really lies.
A collegial, anxiety-reducing environment
Deliberately designed to reduce the anxiety that undermines viva performance elsewhere.
Plan your exam year
Confirmed course dates
Candidates book around a sitting, a rotation and a family. These are the dates in the diary — so you can choose the cohort that lands where your preparation needs it.
- Jan2027Next course — registration open9–10 January 2027Leeds-Bradford. UKCourse details →
- May20278–9 May 2027Dedicated training premises, North of EnglandCourse details →
- Jul202731 July – 1 August 2027Dedicated training premises, North of EnglandCourse details →
Registration closedRegistration for this course closed on 1 November 2026. Contact the organising team if you would still like a place.
Your place, protected
Book with confidence
Secure payment
You pay by card through Stripe’s hosted checkout — no card details are ever entered on, or stored by, this website. Prefer an invoice? Choose the offline option when you register.
Transfer assurance
If your exam date or circumstances change, talk to us about transferring your place to a future cohort.
Limited & calibrated
Places are capped to protect the one-to-one examiner ratio. You are never one of a crowd.
Next course — £700, covering the full two-day programme, the online pre-course series and catering.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Everything candidates ask before booking. If your question isn’t here, contact the organising team.
An intensive, face-to-face mock viva programme that replicates the conditions, format and pressure of the JCIE FRCS Section 2 General Surgery examination. It is not an online learning platform — it is two immersive days of exam-replica viva practice, with selected courses preceded by an online pre-course lecture series.
Senior surgical trainees preparing for FRCS Section 2 — predominantly ST7 and ST8 — together with non-training senior surgeons such as Specialty Doctors, post-CCT fellows and international consultants sitting the exam.
Very closely. A full station-based circuit, a 1:1 examiner-to-candidate ratio, strict time-keeping and exam-grade questions reproduce the experience of the exam day. Candidates consistently describe it as the closest approximation to the real examination available to them.
Day one is a full circuit of viva stations across the curriculum, each candidate examined individually. Day two delivers subspecialty breakout sessions and long-case practice, followed by a final integrated viva circuit and an individual debrief. Structured feedback follows every station throughout.
For selected courses, six structured online lectures run over the two weeks beforehand — exam orientation, trauma and emergency surgery, breast, academic / critical appraisal, colorectal and upper GI — bringing every candidate onto a common platform for how to structure viva answers before the face-to-face days.
Yes. The day-two breakouts are organised by declared subspecialty interest — upper GI / HPB, colorectal, breast and endocrine and more — so candidates from less common backgrounds receive genuine depth rather than generic coverage.
Around 25 faculty per course, combining established consultant and subspecialty surgeons with substantial examining experience and recently-successful FRCS candidates who sat the exam within the last 12–18 months. All faculty are briefed and calibrated to a consistent standard before every course.
The full day-one viva circuit, the day-two subspecialty breakout, structured feedback after every station, the online pre-course lecture series, branded candidate materials, an individual debrief and prioritised action plan, and catering across both days.
The fee for the current course is shown on the registration page and on the course page for the active cohort. It covers the full two-day programme, the online pre-course lecture series, candidate materials and catering across both days.
You register on this website first, which records your place and your subspecialty interest, and then continue straight to Stripe’s secure hosted checkout to pay by card. No card details are entered on, or stored by, this website. Your place is confirmed the moment Stripe confirms the payment, and you receive a confirmation email. If you would prefer an invoice or an offline arrangement, choose that option on the form or contact the organising team.
Places are deliberately limited to protect the 1:1 examiner ratio and the quality of individual feedback. The number of remaining places is shown live on the registration page, and registration closes automatically once a course is full.
On dedicated training premises in the North of England, with subspecialty breakout space and individual viva rooms that allow the full exam circuit to be reproduced. Venue details are confirmed to registered candidates.
Walk in ready.
The North of England FRCS Section 2 General Surgery Viva Course.
Limited places
Secure your place under real exam conditions
Next course: January 2027
Registration closedRegistration for this course closed on 1 November 2026. Contact the organising team if you would still like a place. Ask a question