ESAT Tutors for Engineering and Science Applicants

ESAT tutors prepare applicants for the Engineering and Science Admissions Test, the computer-based test that Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial College London and UCL set for engineering, physics, natural sciences and some biological science degrees. Every candidate sits Mathematics 1, and most add two further modules from Mathematics 2, Physics, Chemistry and Biology, with the course deciding the combination. Preparation therefore starts from the course list, which fixes the compulsory modules and the free choices, and from the A-level subjects the student already takes.

The test draws on mathematics and science that candidates are likely to have met at school, and the difficulty lies in the format: each module sets 27 multiple-choice questions in 40 minutes, with no calculator. UAT-UK, which runs the test, advises candidates not to expect to score as highly as they do in school exams, since the ESAT is designed to separate highly capable applicants.

At a glance

• Run by: UAT-UK, a collaboration between Imperial College London and the University of Cambridge, with tests delivered at Pearson test centres
• Modules: Mathematics 1 for every candidate, plus two of Mathematics 2, Physics, Chemistry and Biology for most courses
• Format: 27 multiple-choice questions and 40 minutes per module, with no calculator or dictionary and no marks lost for wrong answers
• Scoring: each module reported on a scale from 1 to 9 to one decimal place, with no pass or fail
• Booking: through a UAT-UK account, separate from the UCAS application
• Sittings: one in October and one in January; most Oxford and Cambridge applicants must sit in October

Which courses require the ESAT

Cambridge sets the ESAT for Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Natural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine. Oxford sets it for Engineering Science and its named engineering degrees, Physics, Physics and Philosophy, and Biomedical Sciences. Imperial uses it for a range of engineering, physics and biological sciences degrees, and UCL for Electronic and Electrical Engineering. UAT-UK publishes the full course list with the modules each course requires, and that list, checked against the university's own course page, decides what a student books.

Module choices for each course

Engineering at Cambridge, the Oxford engineering degrees, Oxford Physics and Physics and Philosophy, and most Imperial engineering and physics degrees require Mathematics 1, Mathematics 2 and Physics. Cambridge Natural Sciences, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology and Veterinary Medicine, Oxford Biomedical Sciences and UCL Electronic and Electrical Engineering allow any two of Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics 2 alongside Mathematics 1.

Imperial's biological sciences degrees set Chemistry and Biology, its Chemical Engineering degree sets Mathematics 2 and Chemistry, and Design Engineering sets the two mathematics modules only. Modules cannot be changed after booking without cancelling and rebooking, and a student applying to two ESAT courses must sit any module either course makes compulsory, so the choice is settled with the tutor before the booking window opens.

Where marks are usually lost

Since the content is largely familiar from school, marks in the ESAT tend to be lost on pace and method, and a first timed attempt usually shows one or more of these patterns:

• arithmetic done slowly or inaccurately without a calculator
• too long spent on one question when 27 must be answered in 40 minutes
• physics or chemistry questions that combine topics a school course teaches separately
• Mathematics 2 topics, such as surds, polynomials and sequences, that a school course may not have reached by the sitting

How a tutor diagnoses strengths and weaknesses

A programme usually begins with the official specimen modules from UAT-UK, sat under the 40-minute limit without a calculator, in the module combination the course requires. The tutor then reviews each answer with the student, separating gaps in content from errors of method, speed or reading, and uses that review to set the order in which modules and topics are worked on.

A programme of sessions

Early sessions work topic by topic through the ESAT specification, slowly enough to talk through each method and the quicker non-calculator routes that save time. Timing returns gradually, first on short sets of questions and then on full modules, before the student sits complete timed papers in the required combination. Repeated timed results, marked question by question, show whether progress is holding.

UAT-UK publishes all of its preparation material free of charge, including the specification, the ESAT Guide, specimen and practice tests, and an archive of past papers from the Engineering Admissions Assessment and the Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment, the Cambridge tests whose question types carry over to the ESAT. Tutoring works from that official material; UAT-UK does not endorse any commercial preparation service.

Fitting the ESAT around the rest of the application

ESAT preparation runs alongside the personal statement and, for Oxford and Cambridge, interview practice, which draws on the same habit of reasoning through unfamiliar problems. For some courses the test decides who is interviewed: Oxford's Department of Physics describes the ESAT score as its primary shortlisting criterion, interpreted in the light of contextual data. Starting in the spring or summer of Year 12 leaves time to cover any untaught content before the October sitting.

Tutor matching and delivery

Families are matched with a tutor from a pool of Russell Group graduates, including Oxford and Cambridge, which also includes experienced exam-board examiners and former heads of department. Profiles of tutors who teach physics, maths and Oxbridge preparation are on the tutors page.

How tutoring with Taylor Tuition works

Sessions run online for families across the UK and internationally, and in person in central London. Residential tutoring placements are arranged internationally on request. Fees start from £50 per 50-minute session and depend on tutor level and subject. There is no registration fee and the initial consultation is free. Every placement begins with an introductory session with the matched tutor, and we re-match at no extra cost if the fit is wrong.

Tutors who work with children hold an enhanced DBS check, and most are registered on the DBS Update Service. More than half of our tutors hold Qualified Teacher Status and around three in five hold a master's degree or doctorate. The tutor pool includes former heads of department and school leaders, experienced exam-board examiners, teachers from independent and boarding schools, and educational consultants with independent-school admissions experience. Families receive progress reports after sessions and have a dedicated point of contact at Taylor Tuition. We reply to enquiries with tutor recommendations.

Related guides

• ESAT guide: modules, scoring and which courses require it
• Oxford PAT replaced by the ESAT
• Oxford and Cambridge admissions tests: which test for which course
• Super-curricular activities for engineering
• University admissions test tutors
• Oxbridge application support