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The PAT, and What Replaced It
Oxford retired this test, and what it rewarded still matters. Physics and mathematics in one paper, weighted towards whether you can model a situation rather than whether you can recall a formula. Estimation, dimensional reasoning and knowing which effect to ignore are what an Oxford physics interview asks for too, which is why its old papers are still worth working.
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This test has been retired
Oxford retired the Physics Aptitude Test after the October 2025 sitting. For 2027 entry Oxford uses the ESAT for Physics, Physics and Philosophy and Engineering Science, the TMUA for its mathematics courses, and other tests elsewhere, so check your own course on Oxford's admissions-tests page rather than trusting any summary of it, including this one.
If you are applying now, the page you want is ESAT preparation.
- What it was: the Physics Aptitude Test, used by Oxford until it was retired, for Physics, Engineering Science and their joint schools.
- Where the official papers are: Oxford Physics still publishes the PAT papers from past years, up to 2023, and says they remain useful preparation for interview, which is what this page is for now.
What the PAT tested
Physics and maths together
Roughly half of each. The mathematics was a tool rather than the subject: it appeared because the physics needed it. The same is true of the ESAT.
Modelling over recall
Questions tended to describe a situation and ask what happens, rather than naming the topic. Deciding which physics applied was part of the question, and that is exactly what an interview asks.
Estimation was a real skill here
Order-of-magnitude reasoning and sanity checks were rewarded. A candidate who can tell that an answer is a thousand times too large has a tool most do not, and no admissions test has made that less useful.
Three habits worth more than the questions themselves
Work in symbols, substitute last
Carrying the algebra to the end keeps the units checkable and often shows that a quantity cancels, which is usually why you were never given it. Putting numbers in early throws that away and buys nothing.
Check the size of every answer
Before you write a number down, ask whether it is plausible. A person cannot weigh four kilograms. This catches more mistakes than any formula does, and it is the habit an interviewer notices first.
Do not skip the mathematics half
Candidates preparing for a physics paper often prepared only physics. The mathematics was roughly half of it and the easier half to improve, and that stays true of the test that replaced it.
Where to go from here
If you are applying to Oxford for Physics, Physics and Philosophy or Engineering Science, the test you sit is the ESAT, and the same test is used by Cambridge and Imperial, so one paper can cover more than one application. Confirm what your own course requires on the official admissions-tests page rather than trusting any summary of it, this one included.
- ESAT preparation: what the test is and how to prepare.
- ESAT practice questions by topic, each with a worked solution.
- ESAT Physics practice, where the PAT's physics carries over most directly.
Common questions
- Is the PAT still used? No. Oxford retired it after the October 2025 sitting. For 2027 entry Oxford uses the ESAT for Physics, Physics and Philosophy and Engineering Science, the TMUA for its mathematics courses, and other tests for other subjects, so confirm your own course against Oxford's admissions-tests page. Oxford Physics still keeps the old PAT papers online and says they remain useful for interview preparation, which is what this page is for now.
- If you are applying to Oxford for physics or engineering, what do you actually sit? The ESAT. It is the same test Cambridge and Imperial use, so a candidate applying to more than one of them prepares one paper rather than two. Our ESAT pages are a far deeper resource than the old PAT papers.
- Are the old PAT papers still worth working through? Yes, for two reasons. Oxford Physics says so itself for interview preparation, and the physics overlaps enough with the ESAT that the practice transfers. What does not transfer is the format and the timing, so treat them as problems rather than as a mock.
- How much of the PAT was mathematics rather than physics? Roughly half. Candidates preparing for a physics test often prepared only physics, and the mathematics was both half the paper and the easier half to improve. That is still true of the ESAT, so the habit is worth keeping.
- What did the PAT reward that an exam syllabus does not? Modelling and estimation. Questions tended to describe a situation and ask what happens rather than naming a topic, so deciding which physics applied was part of the question. Order-of-magnitude reasoning, dimensional checks and knowing which effect to ignore mattered more than recall, and all of that is what an interview asks for.
- Are there PAT practice papers here? No, and they are not being written. Oxford retired the PAT after the October 2025 sitting, so the papers for it are withdrawn rather than rebuilt. Oxford Physics keeps the official papers from past years online and says they remain useful for interview preparation, which is what they are for now.
Sitting more than one of these?
Candidates often sit two admissions tests in the same cycle, and the overlap is larger than it looks: the pure mathematics is shared, and the habits that earn marks in one paper usually earn them in another. Each page below covers what its test rewards and what free practice exists for it.
- TMUA: Test of Mathematics for University Admission Two papers and Multiple choice and Pure mathematics
- MAT: Mathematics Admissions Test Retired after 2025 and Oxford now uses the TMUA
- STEP: Sixth Term Examination Paper Cambridge and Warwick and STEP 2 and STEP 3 and Long-form proof
- ESAT: Engineering and Science Admissions Test The deepest library we publish