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Background ‘Exam recall’ is a recognised phenomenon whereby students recall and record questions after leaving the examination hall. This poses two main problems. First, as these questions are only available to peers of the students who recall the questions, these individuals have an unfair advantage. Secondly, the distribution of these recalled questions poses a threat to the validity and defensibility of assessments. To address the first of these problems, we developed an amnesty enabling students to submit assessment material to an on-line site. This study sought to explore which factors influence students’ contributions to an amnesty of assessment material. Methods We conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured focus groups. We used convenience sampling and recruited participants from all years of our undergraduate medical programme. The focus groups were facilitated by a medical student peer to reduce the power imbalance and encourage participants to discuss candidly. The focus groups were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Two researchers independently analysed all transcripts using thematic analysis and the research team met regularly to discuss emergent findings. Nvivo was used to assist with thematic analysis of the transcripts. Results Twenty-six individuals participated in six focus groups. Six themes were identified through the analysis, which were categorised into motivating factors and de-motivating factors. Motivating factors were a perception that this would overcome inequity, a fear of repercussions, and the perceived usefulness of resources. Factors that prevented students contributing were a culture of competition, a lack of incentives, and mistrust of the medical school. Conclusions The establishment of an amnesty was acceptable to students and they were motivated to contribute materials. The competitive nature of medical careers and the stakes of summative assessments meant that students felt that some peers might still not contribute their materials. Students felt that the school were listening to their concerns and this led to a better dialogue between students and faculty.

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Near-peer learning at undergraduate level 1 has the potential to introduce students to a career in general practice. A recommendation from The Wass report which suggested the need to provide enthusiastic role models within general practice was the stimulus for the introduction of a near-peer GP mentoring scheme at UCL Medical School 2 .The UCL Medical School GP mentoring scheme was introduced in the academic year of 2019 enlisting UCL GP training scheme doctors to pair up with UCL Medical Students in order to meet face-to-face and discuss a career in general practice. Following the end of the scheme, a mixture of focus groups and semi-structured interviews were utilised to provide an insight into the students' experiences of the mentoring scheme. This project focused on the perceptions, experiences and insights of the medical students that participated in the GP near-peer mentoring scheme and considered their views about a career within general practice. The project also considered the students' perceptions of their trainee as a role-model figure.

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