Almost 2,000 trainee doctors are vying for 128 places at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, making it one of the most popular in the UK.

A total of 1,995 people have applied for each of the available places.

This is double the number of applications received when the school took in its first students last year.

Applicants this year include students from as far afield as Edinburgh.

Admissions tutor John Kay said: "We work really hard to find students who have not only demonstrated academic excellence but are also committed to caring for others, work well as a team, appreciate others' points of view and have the potential to accept responsibility and communicate effectively."

The school, which opened in October, is already making a name for itself as the first wave of students settle into their second term.

Dean Jon Cohen said: "I am proud of all our first intake of students for their progress on the course.

"They have all passed their first-term exams."

The medical school is run jointly by the universities of Brighton and Sussex with the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton the main teaching hospital.