Birmingham course is pretty good. Nice to get away from casualty and find out how much other candidates have prepared.

Umm, I think if you ask enough people, there is no real consensus. I went on both, but have to say neither were a great help. I feel you are better of doing your own thing. 

I suppose the UCL course was good for going over the Basic Sciences, but a weekend in with a good physiology book is better. I recommend Tortora Anatomy and Physiology. It is an American textbook, but it is very well presented, and about as rivetting a read as Pysiology can be! As for Micro, I never really found a good text for that, but just got my hands on lots of MCQs. Then after that, Forrestor does cover anything. Now that is one awful book, but I am afraid both the MCQs and essay questions come straight out of there. Where else would you find out information on free radicals!! That was one of my essay questions. Luckily some voice in my head told me to read the box on free radicals during my lunchbreak when I took my exam. 

For stats, find the shortest and simplest book you can, and read. The questions are a gift, without needing to know hardly anything, and you will always get stats MCQs, which I think saved my skin. I cannot remember the book I used, but it was puntuated with lots of cartoon illustrations, and I read it in about 3-4 hours, and afterwards understood stats enough to answer any Question. 

I thought the Birmingham course was completely irrelevant, but I am sure there are loads that would disagree with me. My message to you, would be just do your own thing, and pray:-), because I found it the most wretched exam ever. I am still astounded when I meet people who get it first time.

- Kate