By application · Limited places · Oxbridge and Imperial admissions

Enquire About One-to-One Preparation

I teach one-to-one preparation for the ESAT, TMUA and STEP and for Oxbridge engineering interviews, and I wrote the solutions on this site. An enquiry starts with the form on this page, then a free 20-minute call, then a 75 to 90 minute academic diagnostic and a written roadmap. No hourly rate is published because the fee follows the programme, and a specific number comes after the call, before any commitment. Places are limited and taken by application rather than by the hour.

Send an enquiry
Contact page

Oxford Thermofluids Institute · Rolls-Royce sponsored DPhil · Cambridge MRes, Whittle Laboratory · ORCID

Not sure where to start? 5 places to go

Start with your question

Why visitors arrive: You have read enough of the free material and want to know whether one-to-one preparation is available and suitable.

Your question: Can I work with Lucas Rey on admissions test preparation, and how does that start?

You may also be asking

  • How much does it cost?
  • Is there a free introductory call?
  • Which tests do you prepare candidates for?
  • How soon can we start, and are there places?
  • What happens between sessions?

Where to go next

  • Who this is for: candidates sitting a UK admissions test for engineering, physics, mathematics or natural sciences, from the first year of sixth form onwards. Starting a full cycle before the test is early enough to change what is possible, not too early to begin.
  • How it starts: the form below, then a 20-minute call, then a 75 to 90 minute academic diagnostic and a written roadmap. Nothing is committed before the call.
  • What is not on this page: an hourly rate. Fees depend on the programme, and quoting a number against a form nobody has read yet would be a worse answer than the conversation.
  • Response time: typically one working day.
  • Already a student? Use your booking portal rather than this form.

Is one-to-one preparation the right fit?

Whether one to one preparation fits. A good fit: a target test in mind, this cycle or the next; some of the free material here already worked through; weekly sessions, and the work between them; the method fixed, not the syllabus re-taught. When a programme will not help yet: the test is in under three weeks, nothing started; the sessions, but not the work between them. Either way, try free first: sit the esat diagnostic, bring the result to the call; work a few practice questions, see how the solutions are written; join the weekly list if the answer is not yet.A GOOD FITWHEN A PROGRAMME WILL NOT HELP YETA target test in mind, this cycle or the nextSome of the free material here already worked throughWeekly sessions, and the work between themThe method fixed, not the syllabus re-taughtThe test is in under three weeks, nothing startedThe sessions, but not the work between themthe free plan, not an intake processTRY FREE FIRSTSit the ESAT diagnostic, bring the result to the callWork a few practice questions, see how the solutions are writtenJoin the weekly list if the answer is not yet
A GOOD FITWHEN A PROGRAMME WILL NOT HELP YETA target test in mind,this cycle or the nextSome of the free material herealready worked throughWeekly sessions, and thework between themThe method fixed, not thesyllabus re-taughtThe test is in under threeweeks, and nothing startedThe sessions, but not thework between themthe free plan insteadTRY FREE FIRSTSit the ESAT diagnostic, bringthe result to the callWork a few practice questions,see how the solutions are writtenJoin the weekly list if theanswer is not yet
A GOOD FITA target test in mind,this cycle or the nextSome of the free material herealready worked throughWeekly sessions, and thework between themThe method fixed, not thesyllabus re-taughtWHEN A PROGRAMME WILL NOT HELP YETThe test is in under threeweeks, and nothing startedThe sessions, but not thework between themthe free plan insteadTRY FREE FIRSTSit the ESAT diagnostic, bringthe result to the callWork a few practice questions,see how the solutions are writtenJoin the weekly list if theanswer is not yet
The four things that make a programme work, the two that stop it, and where a no goes instead: the free material rather than an intake process.

Being specific about this saves everyone a call. Most enquiries that do not work out are one of the two on the right below.

A good fit

  • You have a target test in mind, this cycle or the next one. A candidate starting a year out is welcome, and the roadmap is written for the time you actually have.
  • You have already worked through some of the free material here and know roughly where you are weak.
  • You can commit to weekly sessions and to the work between them, which is where most of the gain actually happens.
  • You want the method fixed, not the syllabus re-taught.

When a programme will not help yet

  • The test is in under three weeks and no preparation has started. At that point the free plan is a better use of the time than an intake process.
  • You want the sessions but not the work between them. The programme is built around that work and does not function without it.

Send an enquiry

How an enquiry starts: the form, five questions, with a reply typically in one working day; a free 20-minute call with no obligation; a 75 to 90 minute academic diagnostic; and a written roadmap for the time you actually have. Nothing is committed before the call, and the fee comes after the call, before any commitment.[01]The formfive questions, a replytypically in one working day[02]20-minute callfree, and withno obligation[03]Academic diagnostic75 to 90 minutes[04]Written roadmapfor the time youactually haveNOTHING IS COMMITTED BEFORE THE CALLTHE FEE COMES AFTER THE CALL, BEFORE ANY COMMITMENT
[01]The formfive questions, areply typically inone working day[02]20-minute callfree, and with noobligation[03]Academicdiagnostic75 to 90 minutes[04]Written roadmapfor the time youactually haveNOTHING IS COMMITTED BEFORE THE CALLTHE FEE COMES AFTER THE CALL,BEFORE ANY COMMITMENT
[01]The formfive questions, a replytypically in one working day[02]20-minute callfree, and with no obligationNOTHING COMMITTED ABOVE THIS LINE;THE FEE COMES AFTER THE CALL[03]Academic diagnostic75 to 90 minutes[04]Written roadmapfor the time you actually have
From the form to the roadmap. A specific number follows the call; nothing before it commits anyone.

Five questions, and they are the five that determine whether a programme can be built and what it should look like. Parents, guardians and students are all welcome to enquire.

  • Target test: ESAT, TMUA, STEP, interview preparation, or a combination. The Oxford PAT and MAT have both been retired: Oxford physics and engineering candidates now sit the ESAT, and MAT candidates the TMUA or the ESAT. Each of those pages has free practice on it, and working some of it before the call makes the first conversation far more useful.
  • Exam date: the sitting you are working towards. This sets the whole shape of the programme.
  • Current level: curriculum and predicted or achieved grades. IB HL, A-Level, AP and IGCSE are all familiar.
  • Timeline: when you would want to start, and how many hours a week are realistically available.
  • Budget band: a range is fine. It is asked so nobody wastes a call finding out the answer, and it is not used to price you.

    Your message will be used to respond to your enquiry. Read the privacy policy.

    What does a one-to-one programme involve?

    [01] Weekly

    Live one to one

    A session a week with one named person who stays with the student throughout. There is no pool of interchangeable tutors and nothing is subcontracted.

    [02] Between sessions

    Problem sets and an error log

    Tailored extension problems, and a personal error log that turns repeated mistakes into a list that gets shorter. This is the part that moves the score.

    [03] Monthly

    Written parent reports

    Topics covered, pace, which errors have been eliminated, and the next milestone. Written down, so progress is checkable rather than asserted.

    Where the Lesson Happens

    Every lesson runs on a shared Bitpaper whiteboard. The student and I write on the same page at the same time, in the browser with nothing to install, and the board is kept after the session, so the worked solutions are there to come back to.

    Full detail on programmes and curricula is on the mentoring hub. Consultants and schools have their own routes: For Consultants and For Schools.

    Questions people ask before enquiring

    • Why is there no price on this page? Because a rate card would price the wrong thing. Programmes differ in length, intensity and scope, and the fee follows the programme. You get a specific number after the call, before any commitment.
    • Is the first call free? Yes. The 20-minute introductory call costs nothing and carries no obligation.
    • What if there are no places? You will be told that directly rather than put on a nurture sequence. If a place opens later and you asked to be told, you will be told.
    • Do you teach subjects outside admissions tests? Yes: mathematics, physics and engineering for students aged 13 to 18, plus undergraduate thermofluids and fluid mechanics. See the mentoring hub.
    • Can you guarantee an offer? No, and nobody honestly can. Admissions decisions weigh the test alongside grades, the personal statement and the interview, and no tutor controls that.
    • Where does my enquiry go? To Lucas directly, and to nobody else. See the privacy policy.

    Part of

    This page sits within the broader knowledge structure on lucasrey.com:

    • Teaching - Engineering-informed teaching, mentoring, and quantitative reasoning.

    Related content from the same research and engineering work: