Sitting the ESAT in India: dates in Indian time, and the CBSE syllabus against the specification

The sitting you can book now is January

Booking for the October sitting closed at 18:00 UK time on 28 September 2026, which was 22:30 that Monday in India. If you have not booked, the sitting open to you is January: 4 to 8 January 2027. India has no fixed test days, so every day of that window is available. Late bookings are not accepted.

Who January is for. Cambridge and Oxford applicants must sit in October; the only exceptions are Cambridge mature colleges with a January deadline and Oxford's Astrophoria Foundation Year. If you are applying only to Imperial or UCL, you can choose January, and UAT-UK says neither sitting gives an advantage. If you already booked October, you sit between 12 and 16 October 2026 and your results come on 16 November 2026.

The board exams, JEE and the ESAT

• CBSE Class XII. In 2026 the papers ran from 17 February to 10 April: Physics on 20 February, Chemistry on 28 February, Mathematics on 9 March and Biology on 27 March. Both ESAT sittings for 2027 entry, October 2026 and January 2027, come before the months those papers ran in. Check the CBSE website for the 2027 date sheet.
• JEE Main. In 2026, Session 1 ran from 21 to 24 January and Session 2 in April. If you are sitting JEE as well as applying to the UK, check the 2027 dates on the NTA website against the January ESAT window.

What the universities ask of Class XII

• Imperial accepts CBSE and CISCE Class XII at "90% overall across five subjects with a score of 90% in relevant subjects".
• Cambridge accepts CBSE Class XII only for a named list of courses, and that list does not include Engineering or Natural Sciences. For those courses it asks for A levels, the IB, or "5 or more Advanced Placement (AP) Tests at Score 5, plus Grades A1 A1 A1 A1 A1 in relevant Class XII subjects".

Read each course page yourself before you plan around a qualification: the rules above are as the universities state them, and they differ by course.

CBSE Mathematics and Physics against the ESAT

The ESAT has five modules: Mathematics 1, Mathematics 2, Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Everyone sits Mathematics 1, most people sit two more, and your course decides which. The codes below are the ESAT specification's own, mapped against the CBSE Mathematics (041) and Physics (042) curricula for 2026 to 2027.

• Class XI Mathematics covers radians and the trigonometric functions (MM4.2, MM4.4), the binomial theorem (MM2.4), sequences and series (MM2), and straight lines and the standard equation of a circle (MM3).
• Class XII Mathematics carries the calculus through definite integrals and differential equations (MM6, MM7).
• The gap: the trapezium rule (MM7.5) is not in the CBSE curriculum text. It is a short topic; learn it on its own.
• CBSE Physics covers everything in the ESAT's Physics module, P1 to P7, and more.
• Chemistry and Biology: go through the ESAT specification line by line against your textbooks and mark anything you have not met.

Calculators and dictionaries are not allowed in the ESAT, so practise mental arithmetic and estimation early.

Booking and sitting it in India

• Create a UAT-UK account first, with your name exactly as it appears on your ID, then choose the ESAT and your modules and book a centre and time through Pearson VUE. The official website is esat-tmua.ac.uk.
• You sit it on a computer at a Pearson VUE test centre, not at your school.
• ID: an original, valid document with a photo, in the name you booked with. A passport is accepted at any centre; a government identity card or photocard driving licence only in the country that issued it. ID without a visible signature needs a signed bank card as well.
• The fee depends on where the test centre is, not on your nationality or home; see UAT-UK's website for the amount.
• Extra time is not given because English is not your first language. It is for candidates with a disability, learning difference or medical condition, with evidence.
• Modules cannot be changed, added or removed after booking. You would have to cancel and book again, and your slot may be gone.

Where to start

• The preparation plan: what to do, in order, working back from your test date.
• The free diagnostic: find your weakest module first.
• Practice by topic: every question filed under the specification topic and skill it tests.
• The mock papers: all five modules, with a timed test at the top of each module page.
• One to one teaching: how I teach, and how to get in touch.

Every question here is written and checked by me, Lucas Rey. I did my master's at Cambridge, then moved on to research at Oxford, and I teach the ESAT.