The last decade has been a time of considerable change for academic primary care. At the turn of the millennium, where the main departmental stories end, there was a record number of stand-alone departments of primary care/general practice across the UK and a recently reinvigorated workforce thanks to pump priming monies from the 1997 Primary Care Research and Development Review. There was also a palpable step change in the depth, quality and international standing of British primary care research, reflected in the results of the 2008 RAE. Indeed a recent benchmarking exercise comparing the volume and quality of original primary care research published by six countries with well-established academic primary care found that UK primary care researchers ranked first or second in every citation metric examined. The establishment of the NIHR school for primary care research in England in 2006 also reflected both the priority given to and the excellence of academic primary care research. The school comprises the eight leading academic centres for primary care research in England and has access to £4 million each year to fund cutting-edge collaborative research. There are similar though less-funded schools in Scotland and Wales. Primary care academics have also been instrumental in continuing to develop and deliver community-based undergraduate medical education, which now makes up a large part of every medical school's curriculum.