Introduction Surgical trainees have to achieve a set level of operative competence under the timeframe set by the intercollegiate surgical curriculum. The operating theatre as the primary learning environment needs to be conductive to achieve successful training. In this project, we developed and validated a 27-item questionnaire which aims to evaluate the training experience of higher surgical trainees in the operating theatre. Methods Initial questionnaire was developed by reviewing existing instruments. The questionnaire was then modified in a focus group to explore themes perceived to be important to training. The modified questionnaire was sent out to obtain the content validity index (CVI) of each item. Lastly, the final version was disseminated and Cronbach’s alpha was derived to measure the internal consistency of the questionnaire. Results The Initial version of 33 questions was modified in focus group into a 29-item 4-point Likert scale questionnaire covering three areas. 14 responses were received from higher surgical trainee and consultants to determine the CVI. 27 out of 29 items reached the threshold index of 0.87. Finally, the 27-item questionnaire achieved a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.88 from 17 responses. Discussion The Cronbach’s coefficient of 0.89 in the resultant questionnaire is comparable to other existing medical education evaluation tools, which indicates a high internal consistency. Our validated questionnaire can be utilized to identify areas that needs to be improved as perceived by higher surgical trainees and to improve their training experience in theatre.