ESAT Practice Tests and Mock Exams: Free Timed Simulator
Sit a full ESAT mock exam under real conditions. It is free, runs in your browser, and needs no account or email address. The simulator below runs three 40-minute modules of 27 multiple-choice questions, with the same no-calculator, no-formula-sheet constraints as the real test and a clock that keeps running whether you are ready or not. Choose Mathematics 1 plus the two modules your course requires (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics 2), set standard or extra time, and work through original questions written to the current UAT-UK specification.
If you are still planning your preparation, start with our complete guide to preparing for the ESAT, which covers registration, key dates, scoring and what counts as a good result.
We currently have 3 sets of ESAT practice questions, with more in development.
Note: To replicate the ESAT test environment, complete the practice test in a quiet environment in full screen.
Find these practice tests useful? Check out our other resources for students sitting the ESAT.
The complete guide: format, key dates, scoring and a preparation timeline.
Official specimen papers plus the legacy NSAA and ENGAA archive.
Learn how to structure and write a UCAS personal statement.
ESAT mock exam conditions: three modules, 40 minutes, 27 questions
The ESAT is modular. Everyone sits Mathematics 1, then two further modules chosen from Mathematics 2, Physics, Biology and Chemistry according to what the course requires. Each module is 27 multiple-choice questions in 40 minutes, so the whole test runs to 120 minutes.
You get no calculator and no formula sheet. There is no negative marking, which matters more than most candidates realise: a wrong answer costs exactly what a blank costs, so there is never a reason to leave one empty. Each module is scored separately from 1.0 to 9.0 and reported to one decimal place, so a strong Mathematics 1 will not paper over a weak Physics.
Module choice is fixed once you book and cannot be changed at the test centre. Practise the exact combination you intend to sit, not a general mix. For a full breakdown of the ESAT’s structure and format, read our ESAT preparation guide.
Pacing is the skill that decides your score
Most students who underperform on the ESAT are not short of mathematics or science skills. They are short of time. Twenty-seven questions in forty minutes leaves under ninety seconds each on average, and that average conceals the real problem: some questions take twenty seconds, and others will happily swallow five minutes if you let them.
Every question is worth one mark. Spending ten minutes rescuing one hard question while three easy ones go unanswered is a bad trade, and it is the most expensive habit we see in students’ practice papers.
Two habits are worth drilling until they are automatic. First, answer everything. Blanks score zero and guesses cost nothing, so a final minute spent filling in the gaps is pure profit. Second, take a fast first pass and bank every question you can do quickly, then return to the difficult ones with whatever time is left.
Neither habit can be learned from an untimed question bank. Working through problems with no clock develops your mathematics and does nothing whatsoever for your triage, which is why timed practice needs to start earlier than most candidates think.
Where the NSAA and ENGAA papers fit into your practice
The ESAT is a new test, and the stock of official past papers is correspondingly thin. Work through the official specimen and sample materials and you will exhaust them quickly, and exhausting them early is a genuine setback, because they are your only perfectly representative timed practice.
The legacy Cambridge papers fill the gap. The ESAT replaced the NSAA (Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment) and the ENGAA (Engineering Admissions Assessment), and the Mathematics and Physics sections of both overlap closely with the ESAT in style, difficulty and the kind of fast applied reasoning they reward. They are the best available proxies, and unlike the official ESAT materials, there are years of them.
A sensible order of use: work through the NSAA and ENGAA papers for volume and speed, hold the scarce official ESAT materials back for full timed run-throughs nearer the test, and use the practice tests above as often as you like to rehearse the interface and the pacing. You can download the legacy papers, the official specimen materials and the content specification from our ESAT past papers and resources page.
Common mistakes to avoid
Practising untimed. Comfortable, and almost useless on its own. If every question you attempt has unlimited time, you are training a skill the test does not measure.
Choosing the wrong modules, or booking late. The most damaging ESAT errors are administrative rather than mathematical. Confirm exactly which modules each course needs, and book the day booking opens. There is no late entry.
Answering like it is an A-level paper. The ESAT rewards the fastest route to a correct answer, not a complete method. Full working earns nothing here.
Letting mental arithmetic slide. With no calculator, slow hand-calculation quietly drains the time budget on questions you can otherwise do.
Spending the official papers too early. Ration them. They are the closest thing to a dress rehearsal you will get, and they are finite.
Not reviewing on the same day. Patterns in your mistakes only register while the attempt is fresh. A paper you never review is a paper you have mostly wasted.
Never seeing the real interface. Sit the official Pearson VUE practice version at least once, so the screen itself holds no surprises on test day.
Want expert help with your ESAT preparation?
Our Oxford and Cambridge graduate tutors build targeted plans around your weak modules and the time pressure that trips most candidates up. See how we can help.
Frequently asked questions
No, and that is deliberate. These are original questions written to the current UAT-UK specification, so you can practise the exact format without burning the official material. UAT-UK publishes specimen papers plus an archive of ENGAA and NSAA papers from 2016 to 2023, and those are finite. Use ours to build stamina and technique, and save the official papers for timed rehearsal closer to the test.
Yes, free, and no account is needed. We currently have 3 sets of ESAT practice questions, with more in development.
Only the three you will actually sit. Everyone takes Mathematics 1, then two further modules set by your course. Cambridge Engineering and Oxford Physics and Engineering need Maths 1, Maths 2 and Physics. Cambridge Natural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine take Maths 1 plus any two of Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Maths 2. Imperial Design Engineering is the exception, at just Maths 1 and Maths 2. Your module choice is fixed once you book and cannot be changed at the test centre, so practise the exact combination you intend to sit.
No. There is no formula sheet and no calculator. You are given an erasable notebook and pen for rough work, and you can ask for more sheets during the test, but anything you would normally look up has to already be in your head. Our simulator runs under the same constraint for exactly this reason.
Each module is scored from 1.0 to 9.0 separately, and there is no pass mark and no grade boundaries. Imperial is the only university publishing anything concrete, and it states plainly that a high score does not guarantee success and a low score does not rule you out. Treat your practice scores as a way of finding your weakest module rather than as a prediction of your result.
No. One sitting per admissions cycle. Most Oxford and Cambridge applicants must sit in the October window, which for 2027 entry runs from 12 to 16 October 2026, with booking closing on 28 September 2026.
Not by itself. Universities read the score alongside your grades, personal statement and reference, and at Oxford and Cambridge the interview carries real weight. Imperial says explicitly that a low score does not mean an unsuccessful application. Where the score matters most is in deciding who gets shortlisted for interview.
Fewer than most people think, done properly. Two or three full timed sittings with a genuine review afterwards will teach you more than eight rushed ones. Pacing is the skill the ESAT actually tests, and you only learn it with a clock running.