The ESAT from Singapore: dates in Singapore time, and H2 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 01:00 on Tuesday 29 September in Singapore. If you have not booked, the sitting open to you is January: 4 to 8 January 2027. Singapore 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 A level timetable and the ESAT

From the SEAB calendar for the 2026 A level examinations:

The H2 Chemistry practical on 14 October falls inside the October ESAT window of 12 to 16 October. If a school exam clashes with your ESAT, UAT-UK's advice is: if you are not applying to Cambridge or Oxford, sit in January instead, and it will not count against you; Cambridge and Oxford applicants should message UAT-UK through their account.

Entry requirements, as each university states them: Cambridge asks for "typically AAAA at H2 Level, or AAA at H2 plus at least a Merit at H3"; Imperial asks for "a minimum of three subjects at H2 level with grade A". Check the course page for the subjects your course names.

H2 Mathematics 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.

• H2 Mathematics (9758) examines functions and graphs, sequences and series, and calculus, and its topic 5.2 includes the expansion of (1 + x)ⁿ for any rational n, which covers the binomial expansion in MM2.4.
• What H2 assumes rather than teaches. The syllabus lists the laws of logarithms, the equation of a circle, trigonometric identities and basic calculus as assumed knowledge from O Level Additional Mathematics. If you did not take Additional Mathematics, fill those in yourself, in particular the circle equation (MM3.2) and exponentials and logarithms (MM5).
• The gap for every H2 student: the trapezium rule (MM7.5). It is in neither 9758 nor its Additional Mathematics appendix. It is a short topic; learn it on its own.
• H2 goes well beyond the ESAT in places: vectors in three dimensions, complex numbers, Maclaurin series and a full statistics course are not examined in Mathematics 2.
• H2 Physics, Chemistry and Biology assume O Level knowledge, and their topic lists are supersets of the ESAT's Physics, Chemistry and Biology.

The quickest way to find your own gaps is to go through the ESAT specification line by line against your notes, and mark anything you have not met. Calculators and dictionaries are not allowed, so practise mental arithmetic and estimation early if you rely on a graphing calculator.

Booking and sitting it in Singapore

• 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.
• 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.