MedSoc Round up 2026

The Lancing College Medics’ Society is an ever-growing community of people with the ambition of becoming Doctors, Dentists, and Vets. This year, we have held innumerable events which have been impactful, fun, and helpful for the future. Recently, Fahad Al Saadi and Charlotte Young were elected as this year’s Presidents.  

Introduction to the Presidents: 

Charlotte Y:
Having aspired to become a doctor for many years, being a part of MedSoc this past year has helped hone this dream into a closer reality. My vision for the society next year is to expand and involve younger years more in order to help them grow ambitions to become medics. I would also like to take initiative and leave a legacy for the future generations of aspiring medics.  

Fahad A S:
Determined to be a Medic, I found myself absorbed by the politics regarding the NHS and policy making in health care in general, leading me to discover my passion within medicine, which also led me into wanting to lead within the society, and in future, the healthcare system. My vision for the society is that it continues to be the welcoming and helpful hub and resource it is while expanding our outreach to include the local community as well as having a much bigger print within the College. 

In the Advent Term, MedSoc and other members of the Lancing Community attended the Medics’ Dinner. This was a fantastic opportunity for the students to make connections and talk to people in the careers that we aspire to. We were able to speak to professionals from many different medical disciplines – dentistry, veterinary, medicine, and many different physician specialties. They spoke about their experiences in the NHS, applying to medical school, and provided deeply insightful information.

Additionally, another great opportunity at the start of the year was the MMI (multiple mini interviews) nights (one for medics and dentists, one for vets). At these events, we practised our interview techniques which will be required for our upcoming university applications. This once again allowed us to talk to many external medics, dentists, and vets, giving us invaluable insight into the competitive application process.  

Throughout the year, we have gone on numerous trips which have allowed us to gain a deeper knowledge of the NHS, current affairs in medicine, and gain practical experience. For example, a group of students visited the Royal College of Surgeons earlier this year. Here, we were taught about the history of surgery, from barber-surgeons to John Hunter. Seeing the legacy of famous surgeons was inspiring to us all. We also got the opportunity to view anatomical specimens, which was fascinating and gave us a deeper understanding of human anatomy.  

In February, a group of students got the opportunity to attend the Women’s Health Summit. We learnt about the gender health gap and innovations taking place to help reduce this inequity. We also learnt about the importance of improving women’s healthcare, noting that women spend a larger portion of their lives in poor health despite living longer. The presenters spoke about how diseases present differently in women or disproportionately affect them, yet women remain neglected in clinical and pre-clinical trials, and some female dominant diseases are underfunded. We also discovered the economic impact: women, due to poorer health, leave the workforce earlier than men on average. Closing this gap could boost the global economy by $1 trillion.  

We have also attended many lectures by renowned physicians. In the Summer Term, we attended two lectures by the Brighton & Sussex Medico-Chirurgical Society. The first of which was by Professor Kamala Hawthorne who was the previous chair of the Royal College of GPs. Professor Hawthorne spoke about the changes being made within the NHS and the changes which are still necessary. This lecture allowed us to gain knowledge of the structure of the NHS as well as the issues being faced.

The second was by Dr Chris Van Tulleken – famous for being a presenter on Operation Ouch and as the author of Ultra-processed people. Attending this lecture offered an eye-opening look into the modern food industry. This lecture informed us on the effects of UPFs and how systematic change is needed. It was inspiring to hear about initiatives which reduce the presence of UPFs and how vital is it for global health that we – the future of science – are informed on this topic. 

All of the members of the Medics’ society attended two of the Head Master’s lectures this term. The first was by the world leading biochemist and president of Corpus Christi Cambridge, Professor Christopher Howe, who shared insight into how the evolution of genes can be studied in the same manner as other academic subjects (e.g. medieval manuscripts, Persian carpets, and folk tales). Professor Howe encouraged us to think creatively across disciplines.

The second HM lecture we all attended was by Dr Wendy Harrison on how animal health is intrinsically connected with human health (One Health) as well as global policy surrounding health. She is a trained veterinary surgeon and the CEO of Unlimit Health, an international organisation partnering with Ministries of Health in endemic countries to end parasitic disease. She demonstrated how governments need to look at the bigger picture and that tropical diseases have been overlooked in the past. This was inspirational to us as aspiring medics as it showed what needs to happen in the future to ensure we don’t end up with epidemics and pandemics of tropical diseases – a highly relevant topic at the moment.  

Future medics and dentists sat a mock UCAT test to identify our weaknesses to practice over the summer so that we have the greatest chance of achieving our ambitions. We have also had medical student OLs talk to us about applying to medical school. This has led to us having clarity on Oxbridge applications, selecting a fifth tactical choice, and so much more. All of these sessions have been crucial for us to gather knowledge of what our applications should look like and what we need to do to have the greatest chance of getting into university to study our chosen course.   

This year has been a fantastic year for the Medics’ Society. We have grown immensely in numbers and will continue to thrive in the coming year. We are all proud of the Upper Sixth who have worked so hard and we hope they have an amazing time at university next year.   

A huge thank you to all of our guest speakers we have had this year, teachers who supported us, and a particular thanks to Mrs Britnell who has had a profound impact on us all. We all look forward to seeing what the future holds for our aspiring medics.   

Charlotte Y and Fahad A S
Lower Sixth, MedSoc Presidents