Which Past Papers Should I Use for ESAT?

Cambridge does not release ESAT past papers. There is no official practice material from the actual exam.

For most admissions tests, past papers accumulate over years and become the foundation of any serious preparation. The ESAT doesn't have that. What exists instead is a collection of predecessor materials, specimen questions, and resources built by people who have never sat the exam — working from inference and secondhand accounts rather than direct experience.

That gap is exactly why we built Arc the way we did. Our questions aren't reconstructed from expectations or educated guesses. They're written by people who sat the ESAT themselves, drawing on direct recall of how the exam actually felt, where the difficulty sits, and how the question style has evolved across sittings.

But before getting to that — here's a practical guide to every resource currently available, what each one is actually worth, and how to use them without wasting time on material that won't move your score.

The Official Specimen Papers — And Why You Shouldn't Rely on Them

The UAT-UK website hosts specimen papers through Pearson VUE. These are the official materials, so it's natural to start here. Don't make that mistake.

The specimen papers are significantly easier than the real exam. They were released to help students understand the format, not to prepare them for the actual difficulty. Most of the questions are pulled directly from old NSAA past papers, which compounds the problem — the NSAA specification was broader and the difficulty curve was different from what the ESAT has become.

There is one legitimate reason to use them: the exam interface. The ESAT is computer-based, and if you've never sat a computer-based admissions exam before, spending an hour on the Pearson VUE platform to understand the layout, the navigation, and the timing display is worthwhile. Do that once, early in your prep. Then move on.

Using the specimen papers as a measure of your readiness is the most common mistake students make in the early stages. The difficulty gap between the specimen papers and the real exam is large enough that a strong performance here tells you almost nothing useful.

NSAA Past Papers — Your Primary Resource

From 2016 to 2023, Cambridge used the NSAA (Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment) as its admissions test. The ESAT replaced it in 2024, but the NSAA remains by far the most relevant preparation material available.

Section 1 of the NSAA is structured almost identically to the ESAT: multiple choice, divided by module, covering maths and each science. This is where to focus the majority of your past paper time. Work through these papers from the earliest year forwards.

Section 2 changed format across the years. From 2016 to 2019 it was long-form; from 2020 to 2023 it became multiple choice. The multiple choice years are worth completing for extra practice. The long-form years are useful for enrichment if you want to go deeper on a subject, but don't treat them as core ESAT preparation — the format doesn't transfer.

One caveat: the UAT-UK website flags certain NSAA questions as off-syllabus for the ESAT. The NSAA specification was broader, particularly in the advanced physics sections. These questions still build transferable skills, and if you're serious about maximising your score they're worth completing. Just know that some topics tested won't appear on the real exam.

ENGAA Past Papers — For Maths 2 and Physics Students

The ENGAA (Engineering Admissions Assessment) ran alongside the NSAA until 2023. Its Section 1 covers mathematics and physics in a multiple choice format, which maps directly onto ESAT Maths 2 and Physics.

If you're sitting either of those modules, the ENGAA is a significant additional resource. There's one thing to be aware of: there's meaningful overlap between the NSAA and ENGAA mathematics and physics questions each year. Going through both without a plan means repeating a lot of the same questions. Work through the NSAA papers first, then use the ENGAA to supplement — focusing on the questions that don't duplicate what you've already done.

On timing: because you'll often only be completing a handful of ENGAA questions rather than a full section, don't try to time yourself by the paper. Instead, hold yourself to roughly 90 seconds per question, which matches the intended pace of the real exam.

Like the NSAA, some ENGAA questions will be flagged as outside the ESAT specification. The same logic applies: use them for practice, but don't anchor your preparation to topics that won't be examined.

TMUA Past Papers — For Maths 2 Students Who Want More

If you're taking Mathematics 2 and you've worked through all the relevant NSAA and ENGAA material, the TMUA (Test of Mathematics for University Admissions) is the next place to look. It's been running since 2016 and provides a solid additional bank of multiple choice questions at a comparable level.

One important distinction: all questions on TMUA Paper 1 are relevant to the ESAT. Paper 2 is a different matter — it emphasises logic and proof, which aren't tested on the ESAT, so only some of those questions are worth your time. Don't work through Paper 2 indiscriminately.

A practical approach if you're starting prep early: alternate between NSAA/ENGAA papers and TMUA papers rather than exhausting one source entirely before moving to the next. It keeps the question variety higher and stops you pattern-matching too narrowly to one paper's style.

MAT Past Papers — Last Resort for Maths 2

The MAT (Mathematics Admissions Test) is Oxford's admissions test and has been running since 1997, which means there's a large archive of material. For ESAT purposes, the relevant section is Q1 of each paper: 10 multiple choice questions, broadly similar in style to ESAT Maths 2.

The MAT questions are generally harder than what appears on the ESAT and the style diverges somewhat. Treat this as a last resort — useful if you've genuinely exhausted everything else, but not the right place to spend time if NSAA and ENGAA papers remain.

The Honest Problem With All of This

Even if you complete every NSAA and ENGAA paper systematically, you're working with material that predates the ESAT. The exam has its own character now. The difficulty has shifted. The question style has evolved. And two sittings of real ESAT papers is simply not enough volume to build the pattern recognition and timing instincts that the exam demands.

Past papers are necessary. They're not sufficient.

What Arc Does Differently

Arc exists because we ran into this wall ourselves. We sat the ESAT, mapped every available past paper by concept and structure, and realised that the gap between the best available preparation material and what the exam actually requires was larger than anything on the market was addressing.

The exam interface in Arc is built to match the real Pearson VUE platform exactly — so the one thing the specimen papers are useful for (familiarising yourself with the UI) is covered from the first question of Set 1.

More importantly, every question in Arc is original. Written specifically for the current ESAT syllabus, calibrated to the difficulty of recent sittings, and built around the question structures and traps that the real exam uses. Not recycled NSAA questions. Not material from a syllabus that's been superseded. Questions designed for the exam as it exists now.

Set 1 is free. No card required. If you've exhausted the official materials and want to know what real exam-level difficulty feels like, that's where to start.