Oxford PAT replaced by the ESAT: how to prepare now

The Physics Aptitude Test, known as the PAT, no longer runs: Oxford's own admissions pages confirm that applicants to Physics, Physics and Philosophy and Engineering Science now sit the Engineering and Science Admissions Test, or ESAT, a shared test administered by UAT-UK and sat at Pearson test centres. The change forms part of a wider retirement of Oxford's subject-specific admissions tests, with the ESAT, the TMUA and the TARA taking over from the PAT, the MAT and the TSA respectively.

For families who remember the PAT, the practical shift matters: the test has been replaced by the ESAT, which covers similar ground in physics and mathematics, is still sat before interview and still feeds into shortlisting. An external body, UAT-UK, sets, marks and reports it, no longer Oxford's own department, and it is shared with other universities, no longer specific to Oxford.

What was the Physics Aptitude Test, now replaced by the ESAT?

Before it was replaced by the ESAT, the Physics Aptitude Test was a two-hour, Oxford-set admissions test combining physics and mathematics, sat before interview by applicants to Physics, Physics and Philosophy, Engineering Science and Materials Science. Oxford's Physics Department described it as a test that had run for many years and had been used as a predictor of performance at Oxford, with the mark feeding into both shortlisting and, after interview, a ranking score alongside interview marks.

Oxford no longer sets the PAT as an Oxford-marked test. Physics, Physics and Philosophy and Engineering Science applicants now sit the ESAT, run by UAT-UK and sat at Pearson test centres, a different test with its own format and content; its official website publishes the specification and practice material. That shift, from an Oxford-set and marked test to an externally administered one, is what changed when the PAT was retired.

Does Oxford still run the PAT, or now the ESAT?

No: Oxford's Physics Department and Engineering Science course pages confirm that everyone applying to Physics or Physics and Philosophy now sits the Engineering and Science Admissions Test, which replaced the Physics Aptitude Test, and the department notes that PAT resources are retained only as possible interview preparation now that the PAT is no longer the admissions test. As a different test from the Physics Aptitude Test, the Engineering and Science Admissions Test has its own format and content, and Oxford's course pages point applicants to the test's official website for the specification and practice material.

Oxford retired the PAT as part of a wider move, discontinuing its PAT, MAT, TSA and several other subject-specific tests together and replacing them with three tests run by UAT-UK, a body set up jointly by Imperial College London and the University of Cambridge. Under that arrangement the ESAT took over from the PAT, the TMUA from the MAT, and the TARA from the TSA.

Which Oxford courses now require the ESAT?

Physics, Physics and Philosophy and Engineering Science all require the ESAT for entry, according to Oxford's Physics Department and Engineering Science admissions pages. Materials Science is the exception: Oxford's Department of Materials states that its admissions criteria do not include any written admissions test, so applicants to that course do not sit the PAT, the ESAT or any replacement.

The ESAT itself is modular, and which modules an applicant sits depends on the course and the university requiring it. Cambridge's published requirements, which use the same ESAT, show Engineering applicants sitting Mathematics 1, Physics and Mathematics 2, while Natural Sciences applicants sit Mathematics 1 plus two further modules chosen from Biology, Chemistry, Physics or Mathematics 2. Oxford applicants to Physics, Physics and Philosophy and Engineering Science should confirm their required module combination on the relevant Oxford course page, since Mathematics 1 is compulsory for all ESAT candidates regardless of course.

• Physics: ESAT required
• Physics and Philosophy: ESAT required
• Engineering Science: ESAT required
• Materials Science: no admissions test required

What does the ESAT assess, and how does it differ from the PAT?

The ESAT assesses mathematics and science understanding drawn from school-level study, delivered as separate modules that are reported individually. The PAT, the test the ESAT replaced, used a single combined physics-and-maths paper. Oxford's Physics Department frames the ESAT as testing a student's ability in physics and maths, while UAT-UK's own description covers generic thinking skills alongside science and maths content.

The ESAT differs from the PAT it replaced in syllabus and difficulty, so the two tests should not be treated as equivalent in format or content even where the subject matter overlaps. Scoring also differs: the ESAT reports each module separately, whereas the PAT produced a single combined mark.

Are old PAT papers still useful practice?

Only partly: Oxford's Physics Department keeps its PAT past papers online, but now presents them chiefly as possible interview preparation; they are no longer positioned as practice for the current admissions test. It also advises that papers from before a certain point in the PAT's own history reflected an earlier syllabus and are not relevant even to the old test. Because the ESAT follows a different format, different timing and different exam conditions from the PAT, PAT papers should not be used as mock ESAT exams.

PAT papers, now retired, drew on physics and mathematics content similar to what the ESAT covers at school level, but the ESAT is a different test with its own format, modules and platform. Applicants preparing for it are better directed to the specimen materials and guides published on UAT-UK's own site, which set out what the test they will actually sit covers.

How does registration for the ESAT work?

Registration for the ESAT runs through UAT-UK; neither Oxford nor a school handles this. Applicants create an account on the UAT-UK website, select the ESAT and the modules their course requires, and book an appointment at a Pearson VUE test centre, receiving Pearson VUE account confirmation and a UAT-UK candidate ID to use for any query about their booking.

Because the ESAT is shared across universities, an applicant who needs it for more than one institution sits it once and has the result made available to every course on their UCAS application that lists the ESAT as a requirement; Oxford's Engineering Science pages point applicants to the UAT-UK website for current guidance on registration and preparation.

How does Oxford use the ESAT result alongside interviews?

Oxford's Physics Department names the ESAT score, read alongside contextual data about the applicant, as the primary criterion used to shortlist candidates for interview, a step made necessary by the department typically receiving several times more applicants than places. Interviews follow shortlisting, with candidates normally seen by two colleges and each interview marked by the interviewing tutors on the academic judgement of the candidate's performance.

Engineering Science describes a less mechanical relationship: its admissions pages state that shortlisting and final decisions draw on all available information, including education history, personal statement, reference, grades, ESAT performance and interview, without a fixed weighting attached to any single part. In both courses, the ESAT functions as one input that is read alongside interview performance and the wider UCAS application; it is not treated as a stand-alone hurdle.

How does this overlap with Cambridge Natural Sciences and Engineering?

Cambridge uses the same ESAT, run by the same provider, for its Natural Sciences, Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, and Veterinary Medicine applicants, according to Cambridge's own admissions pages. Cambridge Engineering applicants sit Mathematics 1, Physics and Mathematics 2, while Cambridge Natural Sciences applicants sit Mathematics 1 plus two modules chosen from Biology, Chemistry, Physics or Mathematics 2.

Because the test and its administration are shared, an applicant applying to both Oxford Physics or Engineering Science and Cambridge Natural Sciences or Engineering sits a single ESAT booking and has the result passed to both universities, provided the modules booked satisfy each course's requirement; applicants should check each university's published module requirement separately, since Oxford and Cambridge do not necessarily require identical module combinations for superficially similar courses.

• Cambridge Engineering: Mathematics 1, Physics, Mathematics 2
• Cambridge Natural Sciences: Mathematics 1 plus two of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics 2

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