ESAT tutoring.
The route into engineering and science courses at Cambridge and Imperial. Modular, sat on screen under time pressure, and the gap between knowing the physics and scoring well on it is almost always pace.
At a glance
ESAT
Engineering and Science Admissions Test
You sit only the modules your course asks for.
Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology are offered as modules, and which ones you sit depends on the course you are applying to. Each is scored 1.0 to 9.0.
It is sat on screen, which changes how it feels: no margin to scribble in, no flicking back through a paper. Working on screen at speed is a skill of its own and is worth practising before the day rather than discovering on it.
The modules, at exam speed.
Mathematics 1 and 2
Required for most courses
- Algebra and functions
- Geometry and trigonometry
- Calculus
- Sequences, series and logarithms
- Probability and statistics
Physics
The commonest second module
- Mechanics and materials
- Electricity and circuits
- Waves and optics
- Energy and matter
- Fields and nuclear
Chemistry and Biology
Where the course requires them
- Atomic structure and bonding
- Moles and stoichiometry
- Energetics and rates
- Cells and biochemistry
- Genetics and physiology
The physics is not the obstacle. The clock is.
Most ESAT candidates know the content. What separates scores is working through it at exam speed on a screen, which is a different activity from doing it well on paper.
Worked at exam speed from the start
We work through past modules at exam pace rather than revision pace, because the two produce entirely different experiences of the same question.
On-screen technique
No margin, no flicking back. Working cleanly on screen with limited scribble space is worth practising deliberately.
Only the modules you need
There is no point preparing Chemistry for a course that does not ask for it, and we establish which modules your offers actually require before planning anything.
Multiple choice used properly
Elimination and estimation are legitimate and fast, and they are skills most candidates arrive without.
Four stages, starting with a free hour.
The same process every ILE student goes through. How we teach
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01
Diagnostic
A free 60-minute session on the modules you are sitting, to see which one is holding the score down.
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02
Module by module
Maths 1 and Maths 2 first where needed, since the science modules lean on them under time.
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03
Speed on familiar physics
The content is largely known; the difficulty is doing it quickly and without a calculator, which is its own practice.
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04
Timed modules
Full modules to time in the run-up, reviewed for where the seconds went as well as the marks.
Most students arrive at one of these points.
- Applying to Cambridge or Imperial.For engineering, natural sciences or related courses.
- Strong physicist, slow under time.The commonest profile by a distance.
- Unsure which modules to sit.It depends on the course, and getting it wrong wastes preparation.
- Unused to on-screen exams.It changes how the paper feels more than candidates expect.
- Starting in Year 12.The sitting falls early in the application cycle.
- Applying alongside A-Levels.Where the timetable needs planning rather than goodwill.
Before you book.
It depends entirely on the course. Mathematics is required almost everywhere and Physics is the usual second; we confirm what your specific offers ask for before planning.
The content is broadly comparable. The difficulty is pace and the on-screen format, which is why preparation focuses on working at speed rather than on new material.
The ESAT replaced them. It is modular, scored 1.0 to 9.0 per module, and sat on screen.
A full 60-minute lesson with your matched tutor, with no card details and no commitment. It is a real session rather than a sales call.
Yes, on Google Meet, anywhere in the UK.
Where students go next.
The first ESAT hour is free.
A full 60-minute session on whichever module you are least confident in, free and with no card details.