This video is for all Oxford applicants who need to take the PAT or Physics Admissions Test as part of the admissions process for any of the following courses: Physics, Physics and Philosophy, Engineering Sciences or Materials Science.

The PAT is now a hybrid test - this means that the questions will be online but you will be asked to write your answers in a printed booklet which is then scanned by your school or test centre and sent to us.

Here we will take you through an online practice PAT and advise the best way to prepare so that you can feel confident on test day.

Our admissions tests aim to stretch the strongest applicants so don't worry if you find the test hard - it's supposed to be.

The best way to prepare for the PAT is to explore thoroughly practice materials you will find on our website. We know that applicants who practise tend to do better, so we strongly recommend that you familiarise yourself with the test content, structure and format so you can do your best on the day.

Now let's take a look at the practice online PAT

The test landing page will give you the instructions you need. Please read these carefully as they include important information about your test, and tips on navigating the platform. Once you have started your test, you will be able to view these instructions again at any time via the 'i' button at the top of the right side of the screen.

The PAT test is 2 hours long and has 23 questions. You can access the questions in any order and return to them to work on further.

Once you click on 'Start the test' you will be presented with the questions.

Always make sure you scroll down to the bottom of the screen so you don’t miss any parts of questions. You can see the number of marks a question carries in the top right hand corner.

When doing your own practice test, remember to explore using the online scientific calculator, the highlighter and the annotating tool.

To use the online calculator, click on the icon in the top right of the screen. Please note no other calculators are permitted.

To use the highlighter, click on it so that it turns yellow - it is now ready to use. You can remove highlighting by clicking on the 'bin' icon which automatically appears above. You can also add and save an annotation to highlighted text, and display and hide the annotations, as required.

Using the accessibility button, you can also enlarge the screen's font size and select coloured overlays or high contrast.

You can use the 'back' and 'next' buttons in the bottom left hand corner to navigate between the questions. Click on the 'I have answered the question' button when completed or click on the 'Flag' button to bookmark it. You will be able to 'Review and submit' each answer before moving to the next question or just do this after you have answered all the questions. 

At this point,  you will still be able to return to any question by clicking on it. This is true whether or not you have clicked on the 'Flag' or the 'I have answered the question' buttons on each question.

The timer for your test is centred at the top. This will go yellow when there are five minutes left of your test.

The final screen will provide you with a summary of the remaining time, which questions you have answered and ask you to confirm submission. By clicking on 'Cancel' you will be able to go back and further review your answer.

Have a go at the PAT online practice test at: ox.ac.uk/pat

When practising, you can download and print a practice answer booklet or just write your answers on paper to hand.

When you take your PAT test, you should use a black pen to write in the answer booklet and complete your personal details in block capitals.

It is important you tell us if you have any difficulties navigating the online question paper when doing the practice test. Get in touch at oxford.testcentresupport@tcs.com

as soon as possible so we can help.

For all information and guidance on Oxford's admissions tests go to: ox.ac.uk/tests