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A specialised degree course aimed at bright students from underprivileged backgrounds has seen its first students qualify as doctors.

The extended medical degree programme (EMDP), run by King's College London, takes place over six years rather than the usual five.

It is intended to allow students with potential, but not the usual exam grades, the chance to become doctors.

Ultimately, candidates must meet the same degree standards as other medical students. The increased length of the course means that students can catch up with academic work they missed out on while at school.

As reported by the BBC, Dr Pamela Garlick, programme director, said: "After six years of running the EMDP, we have shown that it is possible to recruit and retain students from educationally under-privileged backgrounds in inner London to train, and qualify, as doctors.

"These students now make up over ten per cent of the medical student population at King's College London and the best of them are consistently in the top fifteen per cent of their whole year group in examination results."

The programme started in 2001 - and there are now more than 200 students involved.

To be eligible for a place on the course, students must have attended a state school or sixth form college in one of the ten most deprived boroughs in inner London.