PAT is gone. Oxford uses ESAT.
The Physics Aptitude Test is retired. For 2027 entry, Oxford Physics, Physics and Philosophy, and Engineering Science applicants sit Mathematics 1, Mathematics 2 and Physics.
Take the diagnostic- Modules
- Maths 1 · Maths 2 · Physics
- Each module
- 27 questions · 40 min
- Calculator
- Not allowed
Where your PAT revision goes
Oxford: “the syllabus and difficulty level of the October 2026 ESAT will be different from those of the previously used Physics Aptitude Test (PAT)”. Oxford Physics admissions (opens in a new tab). Use this table to find the right guide, not to assume a topic carries across.
Elementary maths, algebra and geometry
Mathematics 1 and Mathematics 2
M1-M5, MM1-MM3, MM8
Split across two separately timed modules. Mathematics 1 starts at units, number and ratio; Mathematics 2 picks up sequences, coordinate geometry and graphs of functions. Work through both guides, not one.
Trigonometry
Mathematics 1 and Mathematics 2
M5.18, M4.12, MM4
Mathematics 1 carries the ratios, exact values, 3-D problems and the sine, cosine and tangent graphs, but says outright that you are not expected to use the sine or cosine rules. Those are Mathematics 2, at MM4. Revising only one module loses the other's worth.
Calculus
Mathematics 2
MM6 Differentiation, MM7 Integration
Mathematics 2 only. Nothing in Mathematics 1 examines it.
Probability and statistics
Mathematics 1
M6, M7
Mathematics 1 only. Rebuild the checklist from that guide.
Vectors
Mathematics 1
M5 Geometry
Vector arithmetic, scalar multiples and vector proofs all sit in Mathematics 1.
Mechanics
Physics
P3 Mechanics
Kinematics, forces, Newton's laws, momentum and energy carry over. Hooke's law and elastic limits are here too, at P3.3 — not under Matter.
Waves and optics
Physics
P6 Waves
One heading in the ESAT guide, optics included. Its detail sets the scope.
Electricity and magnetism
Physics
P1 Electricity, P2 Magnetism
Two separate ESAT sections. Magnetism gets its own, larger than PAT treated it.
Natural world (orbits, satellites, the solar system)
Not examined
absent from P1-P7
No circular motion, no orbits, no gravitation beyond g. Stop revising it. Orbits appear in the guide only as a worked example about weightlessness.
Materials
Physics, in two places
P3.3 Force and extension, P5 Matter
Force-extension, Hooke's law and elastic limits are in Mechanics. Density and pressure are in Matter. Stress, strain and the Young modulus are in neither.
Nuclear and particle physics
Nuclear only
P7 Radioactivity
Atomic structure, decay, ionising radiation and half-life carry over. Particle physics does not: quarks and leptons appear nowhere in the guide.
Old PAT papers still help
Oxford has left its archive up. The last real paper there is 2023: “from 2024, it is not intended to release the PAT paper”, and the entry labelled 2024 is an admissions report. Those papers stretch the same problem solving. What they cannot do is time you at ESAT pace or give you an ESAT score. Build one checklist from the UAT-UK guides first, then practise each module on its own clock.
Official sources
- Oxford Physics admissions procedures
- UAT-UK course list for 2027 entry, which names the modules per course
- UAT-UK ESAT format and modules
- UAT-UK ESAT preparation materials
Checked 31 July 2026. Your course page and the UAT-UK guides are authoritative — recheck them before you book, because requirements change.