Applications for our September 2026 intake closing soon, and as we get closer to the deadline, our inbox is filling up with questions.
Some practical, some academic, and quite a few versions of: “But am I actually the right person for this?”
So, before you talk yourself out of something you might really want to do, here are the answers to the questions we are most often asked.
1. “I don’t have a science background. Will I cope?”
Absolutely. In fact, sometimes our students without a science background are our most refreshing learners. They arrive without years of being told this is the only way to think about the body. They are curious. They ask brilliant questions. They make connections and help us see other possible connections.
At the New School, one of our favourite sayings is: You have to unlearn to learn.
And please don’t look at Khush’s pharmacology, toxicology and cancer research background and think everyone teaching here started there. They didn’t. Our practitioner team comes from wonderfully varied backgrounds. What connects them isn’t where they started. It is more where their curiosity took them. You don’t need a science degree. You need a willingness to learn.
2. “Do I need to study biochemistry before I can understand functional tests?”
No, because we don’t believe in teaching subjects in isolated boxes, we integrate them. For example:
- When you are learning about vitamin D, for example, that’s the perfect time we introduce relevant genetics, such as SNPs affecting the vitamin D receptor or vitamin D-binding proteinProtein is one of the three main macronutrients, alongside fats and carbohydrates, yet for many years it was often the forgotten member of the trio. More recently, protein has become something of a celebrity in the nutrition world, appearing in everything from snack bars and cereals to coffee and desserts. Whilst the marketing can sometimes get a little carried away, the truth is that protein is essential for human health. Every cell in the body relies on it. Protein helps build and repair tissues, supports immune function, forms enzymes and hormones, transports nutrients, and helps maintain muscle mass, particularly as we age..
- When we teach nutritional psychiatry, we bring in genetics that affect neurotransmitter pathways, receptors, and their metabolismMetabolism is not a calorie-burning furnace that sits somewhere near your belly button, deciding whether you can fit into last year's jeans. Metabolism is the set of chemical processes taking place inside your body every second of every day, keeping you alive..
- When we teach the stress response, that’s when cortisol testing starts making sense.
Context makes learning stick. Why spend months learning biochemistry in isolation and wondering when am I ever going to use this? We teach you the science when you need the science.
3. “Do you teach functional testing?”
Yes. But we don’t teach: Symptom, test, then supplement protocol.
A functional testIf you have ever been told, ‘your blood tests are normal’, not ‘normal’ or not yourself, then you have already discovered one of the reasons functional testing has become so popular. Functional tests are designed to provide additional information about how the body is functioning. They may explore areas such as hormones, digestion, nutrient status, fatty acids, the microbiome, genetics, metabolism, or stress physiology. Think of them as gathering more pieces of the health puzzle, ideally before a dis-ease ‘shows up’. Sadly, most people turn to functional tests, once they have a dis-ease. is a tool, not the practitioner. Sometimes testing helps us dive deeper. Sometimes we don’t need it at all. Part of becoming a good practitioner is learning to listen. No Joke. This is a super skill not many possess. But you learn this on the course. However, we do teach when to test, why you are testing, how to analyse and interpret the test, and then what you’re ACTUALLY going to do with the information.
4. “What’s the difference between nutritional medicine and functional medicine?”
Great question. For us, nutritional medicine begins with nurturing the person through food and nutrition, using food as medicine while understanding the individual’s broader physiology and psychology.
Functional tests can then be used when appropriate to investigate further. In some areas of functional medicine, testing has become almost synonymous with the approach. That’s not how we teach. People can get better without doing a whole load of functional tests. Testing can be incredibly useful. But it is a tool in your toolkit. It is not the practitioner.
5. “I work, can I realistically do this course?”
Yes. The Diploma was designed for people with lives.
Teaching takes place one weekend a month, over two years. Many of our students work, some have businesses, some have families. Some are doing all three! You will need to make space for study and assignments, of course, but you are not coming into School several days every week. This is a part-time professional training designed to fit around real life.
6. “I have children, can I do it?”
Of course. We have taught mums and dads over the years. Babies have even been conceived and/or made the occasional appearance at School. Life doesn’t have to stop for you to learn something new.
7. “Am I too young?”
Our youngest student started at 17 yr and went on to qualify. So no. Equally, please don’t decide you’re too old either. Our classrooms bring together different ages, careers, cultures and li,fe experiences and that is part of what makes our ‘work’ so interesting.
8. “What are the assignments like?”
Practical. There are no exams.
We don’t memorise something on Thursday, regurgitate it on Saturday, and forget it by Monday. Your assignments are designed to help you apply what you’re learning. Many can later be repurposed and developed into resources for your own practice: client education, research pieces, case thinking and material that helps you communicate complex ideas simply. At the New School, your coursework has a life beyond getting a mark.
9. “Is two years really enough to become a practitioner?”
Yes, because of how those two years are taught. We use a spiral curriculum. Think of learning the alphabet, then words, then sentences, then paragraphs.
We lay down the foundations and continually return to them with increasing complexity, connecting physiology, nutrition, functional testing, psychology, coaching and clinical application as your knowledge grows. Remember, it is not about leaning new information; you are learning how to think like a practitioner. And our compulsory School Clinics in year 2, give you the opportunity to put that learning into practice with support.
10. “Do your lecturers actually see clients?”
Yes. Our lecturers and clinical teaching team practise their craft.
This is very important to us, because someone who understands that real human beings rarely come looking like the textbook examples is the most qualified. And of course they have to be inspiring teachers. We are incredibly fortunate to have lecturers who are passionate about their specialist areas and bring their real-world experience into the classroom.
11. “How are the lectures delivered. Is it all PDFs of slides?”
Definitely not. We have live-taught lectures, one weekend a month over two years, totaling 20 weekends. In Year 2, clinical days are online and live. All students participate live.
We use real cases, podcasts, videos, discussions, research papers, and demonstrations. If a nurse, biologist or A&P educator has produced a fantastic ten-minute video explanation of a physiological process, why wouldn’t we use it? This is 21st-century education. Our job isn’t to keep you sitting through endless lectures, to ‘tick’ the boxes. Our job is to help you understand, connect and apply what you’re learning.
12. “Can I just study nutrition medicine at the New School?”
No, and this is deliberate. Knowing what somebody should eat and understanding why they cannot implement it are two completely different skills.
People come with stress, grief, relationships, children, money worries, beliefs, habits, trauma, overwhelm, shame, fear and lives that don’t always cooperate with the ‘perfect’ nutrition plan. We believe psychological coaching is fundamental to becoming a 21st-century practitioner. So we don’t bolt it on. It’s integrated through your training.
13. “Can I use the coaching qualification on its own, once I qualify?”
Yes. You qualify across Nutritional Therapy, Psychological Coaching and Health Coaching, but how you use those qualifications is entirely up to you.
Some graduates integrate nutrition and coaching into one practice. Some find themselves drawn much more towards coaching. Others discover that nutrition medicine is where they come alive. You don’t have to decide that now. Part of these two years is discovering the practitioner you want to become.
14. “I don’t want to become a practitioner. Can I still join?”
Yes. Some students come because they want a new career. Others come to understand their own health and to support their family. And some arrive thinking they are doing it for themselves…and somewhere along the two-year journey discover an entirely new direction! You don’t have to know exactly where this will take you before you begin.
15. “Do you accept overseas students?”
Yes. We have a limited number of live online places for students living overseas or more than 100 miles from London. These aren’t passive recorded-learning places. You participate live because interaction, coaching work, discussion and community are fundamental to how we teach.
16. “Do you provide student visas?”
No. We cannot provide or sponsor visas. Overseas students can study live online from their own country, or if they independently obtain the appropriate UK immigration permission, they can study with us in London.
17. “Can I pay in installments?”
Yes. There are several payment options, including installments, we recognise that paying the full course fee at once isn’t realistic for everyone.
18. “Why are the fees increasing?”
Because the qualification has grown. The School has now added UKIHCA-accredited Health Coaching to the qualifications students can achieve. The fees increase from 24th August, 2026 to reflect the additional qualification.
If you already know this is the course you want, there is therefore an advantage to securing your place before the fee increase (midnight on August 23rd).
19. “What do I qualify as? I heard there are three qualifications?”
This is perhaps one the most important questions.
You qualify as a: Nutritional Therapist, Psychological Coach and a Health Coach. More importantly, you leave the understanding that the person who may come to you for health and wellbeing advice is not a gut, a thyroid, a hormone panel, or a collection of SNPs. They are a human being.
20. “How many inatkes do you have each year?”
One. We have one intake each year, in September. So if you are considering joining the New School, the next opportunity to begin after September 2026 will be September 2027. We want each year group to learn, grow, and move through the two-year journey together.
21. “What if I am still not sure that I am ready?”
You probably won’t suddenly wake up one morning feeling 100% ready, and most meaningful changes don’t begin with 100% certainty. They usually begin with: “I keep coming back to this…”
- If you’ve downloaded the syllabus three times…
- If you’ve been reading these newsletters for months…
- If you’ve watched the Open Day replay
- If you keep visiting the website…
- If you keep thinking, maybe next year…
Perhaps the question isn’t whether you are ready. Maybe it is: What are you waiting to feel before you allow yourself to begin?
Applications for the September 2026 cohort open now. Once places are filled, the doors close until the next academic year.
And if you have one question that is still stopping you from applying, ask us. We would much rather answer it than have you spend another year wondering.
Come and join us!
From the Team!
