Admissions Tests · Stage two
TMUA, ESAT, UCAT and STEP preparation
Ten hours one-to-one online with a tutor who sat the same kind of paper, every past paper marked. £800 for the package.Oxford and Cambridge now use the same October tests, the TMUA and ESAT, and medicine uses the UCAT. Ten hours one-to-one online with a tutor who sat the same kind of paper, every past paper marked and every mistake talked through. £800 for the package, or from £90 an hour.
The record so far
Students our tutors have worked with who got an Oxbridge offer
Oxford and Cambridge applicants who got an offer
The facts
- TMUA
- Two papers of 20 questions, 75 minutes each, no calculator. Maths, computer science and economics.
- ESAT
- Three 40-minute modules of 27 questions, Maths 1 plus two others. Physics, engineering and the sciences.
- UCAT
- Verbal, decision and quantitative reasoning out of 2,700, plus situational judgement. Medicine. Sat by 24 September, and you get your score the same day.
- STEP
- Papers 2 and 3 in June, three hours each. Cambridge Maths offers usually want a grade 1 in both.
Which test, and who books it
The test goes by course. Maths, computer science and economics sit the TMUA. Physics, engineering, natural sciences, biomedical and veterinary sciences sit the ESAT. Oxford's PPE, economics and management, psychology and human sciences sit TARA. Medicine sits the UCAT. One October sitting covers every university that uses them.
You book it yourself at UAT-UK, at a Pearson test centre, and booking closes at 6pm on 28 September with no exceptions. If you're in China, Hong Kong or Macau the test is on 12 or 13 October. Results come out on 16 November, after the UCAS deadline, so the application can't wait for the score.
What we do with the ten hours
We start with a timed paper to see where you are. On the TMUA, the second paper is the part school doesn't teach, logic and spotting the flaw in a proof, and it's where the marks are. The ESAT is really a speed test, 27 questions in 40 minutes with no calculator, so we drill the arithmetic until 90 seconds a question feels slow.
On the UCAT, time is the hard part: 44 verbal reasoning questions in 22 minutes. Worth knowing that Cambridge ignores the situational judgement band this year, and Oxford weighs the cognitive score equally with your GCSEs. STEP is six questions from twelve in three hours, and a grade 1 usually means four complete solutions, so picking the right questions matters as much as solving them.
Which test, and who books it
The test goes by course. Maths, computer science and economics sit the TMUA. Physics, engineering, natural sciences, biomedical and veterinary sciences sit the ESAT. Oxford's PPE, economics and management, psychology and human sciences sit TARA. Medicine sits the UCAT. One October sitting covers every university that uses them.
You book it yourself at UAT-UK, at a Pearson test centre, and booking closes at 6pm on 28 September with no exceptions. If you're in China, Hong Kong or Macau the test is on 12 or 13 October. Results come out on 16 November, after the UCAS deadline, so the application can't wait for the score.
What we do with the ten hours
We start with a timed paper to see where you are. On the TMUA, the second paper is the part school doesn't teach, logic and spotting the flaw in a proof, and it's where the marks are. The ESAT is really a speed test, 27 questions in 40 minutes with no calculator, so we drill the arithmetic until 90 seconds a question feels slow.
On the UCAT, time is the hard part: 44 verbal reasoning questions in 22 minutes. Worth knowing that Cambridge ignores the situational judgement band this year, and Oxford weighs the cognitive score equally with your GCSEs. STEP is six questions from twelve in three hours, and a grade 1 usually means four complete solutions, so picking the right questions matters as much as solving them.
Oxbridge Season · 2027 Entry
Applying for Oxbridge?
We’ve been there.
“Hi Leo! Just wanted to let you know that I got the offer for Physics at Oxford! Thanks so much for all your help.”
Siau · Oxford Physics Offer Holder
Read other storiesBy 15 October
Personal Statement
£400£500
5 hours · one-to-one
Save £100
We read every draft line by line, tell you honestly what works and what doesn't, and redraft with you until it's ready to send.
Choose your tutor →September – October
Admissions Test Preparation
£800£1,000
10 hours · one-to-one
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Past-paper prep for the TMUA, ESAT, UCAT and STEP. Your tutor marks each paper and talks through every mistake with you.
Choose your tutor →December
Interview Preparation
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6 hours · one-to-one
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Full mock interviews with a tutor who sat the real thing in your subject, and written feedback after every session.
Choose your tutor →Flagship · September – December
Full Oxbridge Preparation
All three stages plus weekly subject lessons through the term. One tutor team stays with you from the first draft to the final interview.
£2,400£3,000
30 hours · statement, tests, interviews & subject tuition
Save £600
Booking for the ESAT and TMUA closes 28 September; the UCAT is sat by 24 September; STEP follows in June. Hours fit around school, and you can mix the stages however suits. Just ask.
No obligation. We’ll respond within 24 hours.
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Every tutor is interviewed by us, reference‑checked and DBS verified.
Testimonials
What families
say.
“Abe helped me prepare for STEP and I honestly couldn't recommend him enough. He was really good at breaking down difficult problems and helping me understand how to actually approach STEP questions rather than just memorising methods. The sessions made me much more confident with harder problems, and with his help I ended up getting an 11 in STEP. He's patient, easy to work with, and genuinely knows his stuff.”
Student
STEP Candidate
“Everything about Tao was first class, from the first free consultation with Leo right the way through to the day of the TMUA. They were professional and down to earth, and the alignment with the right tutor, Ami, was spot on! The free taster session was when I knew I had found exactly what we needed. Quick to sort schedules out, and just as quick when they needed to change. I would highly recommend Tao to anyone who needs bespoke tutoring.”
Marcus C
Parent of a TMUA Candidate
“Sai tutored our son George for the UCAT, and he came away with a score of 2440, including a maximum 900 in QR. She is a medical student herself, so the advice is current and practical rather than textbook. George knew the maths but kept running out of time, and Sai's work on pacing turned the section around. She also kept us quietly informed about how he was progressing. We'd recommend her without hesitation.”
Gill
Parent of a UCAT Candidate
“Hi Leo! Just wanted to let you know that I got the offer for Physics at Oxford! Thanks so much for all your help, it really helped me alot because I've never been in academic interviews before. All the best to you for whatever it is you are doing now, and once again thanks a bunch!”
Siau
Oxford Physics Offer Holder
FAQs
- What score do we need?
- Neither university publishes a cut-off, and scores run from 1 to 9. What we do know is that Oxford shortlists about 10,000 of 23,000 applicants mostly on the test, so it matters more than anything else on paper. We set a target from your first timed paper, and if the gap looks too wide we'll say so.
- Does the PAT still exist?
- No. The PAT, the MAT and the rest of Oxford's tests were dropped in 2026. Oxford Physics and Engineering applicants now sit the ESAT with Maths 1, Maths 2 and Physics, the same as Cambridge Engineering. The old PAT papers are still good practice, and we use them.
- Are there past papers?
- TMUA papers go back to 2016. The ESAT only started in 2024, so we add the old NSAA, ENGAA and PAT papers, which test the same things. UCAT publishes official practice tests. STEP papers go back decades, and Cambridge's free course at step.maths.org is genuinely good.
- When should we start?
- UCAT in the spring of Year 12, so it can be sat in July. TMUA and ESAT over the summer, then one timed paper a week into October. STEP after the interviews, January to June. Ten hours over eight weeks beats ten hours in a fortnight every time.
- Can we do the January sitting instead?
- Not for Oxford or Cambridge. They need the October one. The January sitting, 4 to 8 January, is for universities with a January deadline. Miss the October booking and the Oxbridge application is over for the year, which is why we check.
What score do we need?
Neither university publishes a cut-off, and scores run from 1 to 9. What we do know is that Oxford shortlists about 10,000 of 23,000 applicants mostly on the test, so it matters more than anything else on paper. We set a target from your first timed paper, and if the gap looks too wide we'll say so.
Does the PAT still exist?
No. The PAT, the MAT and the rest of Oxford's tests were dropped in 2026. Oxford Physics and Engineering applicants now sit the ESAT with Maths 1, Maths 2 and Physics, the same as Cambridge Engineering. The old PAT papers are still good practice, and we use them.
Are there past papers?
TMUA papers go back to 2016. The ESAT only started in 2024, so we add the old NSAA, ENGAA and PAT papers, which test the same things. UCAT publishes official practice tests. STEP papers go back decades, and Cambridge's free course at step.maths.org is genuinely good.
When should we start?
UCAT in the spring of Year 12, so it can be sat in July. TMUA and ESAT over the summer, then one timed paper a week into October. STEP after the interviews, January to June. Ten hours over eight weeks beats ten hours in a fortnight every time.
Can we do the January sitting instead?
Not for Oxford or Cambridge. They need the October one. The January sitting, 4 to 8 January, is for universities with a January deadline. Miss the October booking and the Oxbridge application is over for the year, which is why we check.
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