ESAT tutoring, one to one.

What the ESAT actually is

The ESAT is the Engineering and Science Admissions Test, administered by UAT⁠-⁠UK. It is used by Imperial College London, Cambridge, Oxford and UCL, and UAT⁠-⁠UK is clear that “you must refer to the relevant course pages of each institution’s website to find out if the courses you are applying to require the ESAT”.

The ESAT is not one paper. It is built from modules, and which modules a candidate sits depends on the course they are applying to.

Modules available

Five: Mathematics 1, Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics 2.

How many are sat

All candidates take Mathematics 1. Most take two of the remaining modules. Some courses specify which.

Each module

40 minutes and 27 multiple-choice questions.

Total length

“The ESAT will be 120 minutes long for most candidates.”

Calculator

Not allowed. UAT⁠-⁠UK: “You will not be able to use a calculator or dictionary.”

Scoring

UAT⁠-⁠UK: “Results for each module are reported on a scale from 1 (low) to 9 (high) to one decimal place.” And: “There is no pass or fail for the ESAT.”

Because results are reported for each module separately, a weak module is visible on its own rather than absorbed into an overall total.

Module list, timings, question counts, calculator rules and scoring checked against the official UAT⁠-⁠UK page: About the ESAT. Sitting dates and fees change each cycle and are not repeated here.

Which modules Archie teaches — and which he does not

Cognivia Tutoring covers Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Economics. Mapped onto the ESAT, that means four of the five modules:

• Mathematics 1 — sat by every candidate.
• Mathematics 2 — the second mathematics module, specified by several engineering and physics courses.
• Physics — required alongside Mathematics 1 and 2 for most engineering courses.
• Chemistry — specified for Imperial’s MEng Chemical Engineering, and one of the free-choice options elsewhere.

Lessons are booked one at a time, and a 5-pack is held in a My lessons account rather than committed to a timetable in advance, so the hours can be spread across whichever modules need them.

Which courses use the ESAT, and which modules they specify

Four institutions list ESAT courses in the UAT⁠-⁠UK course list for 2027 entry: Cambridge, Imperial College London, Oxford and UCL. What matters as much as the university is the module combination it names.

Taken from the UAT⁠-⁠UK Course List 2027 Entry (last updated April 2026), published on the UAT⁠-⁠UK site under “Check if your courses require an admissions test”, and cross-checked for Cambridge against its own admissions tests page. Courses are summarised by module combination rather than listed individually, and a new list is published each admissions cycle.

Why ESAT preparation is not TMUA preparation

Both tests are run by UAT⁠-⁠UK, both are multiple choice, and both are sat without a calculator. They are not, however, the same shape, and the differences below all come from UAT⁠-⁠UK’s own descriptions of the two tests.

The pace figures are simply the official timings divided by the official question counts: 40 minutes for 27 questions on an ESAT module, and 75 minutes for 20 questions on a TMUA paper. The subject coverage differs too — an ESAT candidate sits modules across two or three subjects, while the TMUA is mathematics only, with Paper 2 given over to what UAT⁠-⁠UK calls “mathematical reasoning, and simple ideas from elementary logic”.

If you are sitting both, the TMUA page covers that test in the same detail.

Every figure above is taken from the official UAT⁠-⁠UK pages for the two tests: About the ESAT and About the TMUA.

Who you would be working with

Lessons are with Archie Dyer, the founder of Cognivia Tutoring and its only tutor.

• Second-year Theoretical Physics student at UCL, after a First in his first year.
• 43 out of 45 in the IB, with 7s in HL Maths, Physics and Economics.
• 10 A*s at IGCSE.
• Tutoring for over two years, in Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Economics.
• Sat the ESAT himself as a university applicant.
• Enhanced DBS checked.

Mathematics 1, Mathematics 2 and Physics is the combination named for most of the engineering courses in the table above, and it is the part of this test closest to what Archie studies daily. A 7 in HL Physics and a first-class first year in Theoretical Physics is an honest match for those three modules in particular. UCL is itself one of the institutions that uses the ESAT, for its Electronic and Electrical Engineering degrees.

None of that is a claim about what any student will score. It is simply the reason this test, rather than a general maths lesson, is worth booking with him.

How he teaches. In Archie’s words: “I find where the understanding actually breaks down, which is usually two or three topics further back than where the marks were lost, and we rebuild from there. I keep lessons relaxed. I would far rather a student asked me something they think is obvious than sat quietly and nodded.” The free 30-minute trial is the way to judge that for yourself: bring a topic you find difficult. There is more on the About Archie page.

Preparing for the January 2027 sitting

For 2027 entry the second ESAT sitting runs from 4 to 8 January 2027. Booking opens on 26 October 2026 and closes on 21 December 2026, and results are released on 8 February 2027.

26 October 2026

Booking for the January sitting opens. That leaves ten weeks before the test.

21 December 2026

Booking closes at 6pm UK time. UAT⁠-⁠UK says it cannot make exceptions to its deadlines.

4 to 8 January 2027

The test is sat at a Pearson VUE test centre.

A lesson a week from late October is ten lessons, which is two 5-packs at £210 each online. Some students want fewer lessons and more timed papers on their own; the free 30-minute trial is the place to work out what suits. Check with your university which sitting it accepts: Cambridge and Oxford applicants generally sit in October.

Dates taken from UAT⁠-⁠UK’s Key Dates page. Checked on 11 October 2026. Full detail is in the guide to TMUA and ESAT test dates.

Oxford and Cambridge interview preparation

Archie also has experience preparing applicants for Oxford and Cambridge interviews in mathematics- and physics-based subjects. For many applicants the ESAT is followed a few weeks later by an interview, and the two reward the same habit: reasoning aloud through a problem you have not seen before.

A one-hour lesson can be used as interview practice: an unfamiliar problem worked through aloud, with feedback afterwards on how the thinking was explained, not only on whether the answer was right. It costs the same as any other lesson, £45 online or £55 in person around Marylebone, London.

As with the test itself, nothing here is a promise about an offer. Interviews are conducted by the colleges, and Cognivia Tutoring is not affiliated with or endorsed by either university.

Prices and practical details

ESAT preparation is priced as IB and A-Level, and the price is the same whichever module the hour is spent on. A 5-pack is held in a My lessons account, which suits students splitting their preparation across two or three modules.

• 1 hour, 1:1. Every lesson is with Archie, built around one student. There are no group classes.
• Online on Google Meet, or in person around Marylebone, London (+£10). The Meet link is in your confirmation email; times are shown in your own time zone.
• Free 30-minute online trial, no card needed. A relaxed session to meet and see if it clicks.
• 24 hours’ notice to cancel, by email or phone. See the refund policy.
• Payment by Stripe at booking. Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay.

Full prices for every subject and level are on the pricing section of the home page. Parents receive a short note after each lesson on what was covered and what to practise next.