Access to Oxford for all

We are committed to attracting applications from all students with the potential to benefit from study in the Department of Physics and we have a programme of activities and events designed to support and encourage applicants from all backgrounds. Our events are aimed at students in Years 10-13 and aim to increase interest in pursuing physics at university and raise awareness of what to expect when applying to Oxford.

Access events

We run a series of events across the year to provide support for anyone interested in applying to study Physics at Oxford and for their teachers and adult supporters.

 

Adult Supporter Event

This 1.5 hour, online session is for the adult supporters of prospective applicants to physics at Oxford; whether they are parents, guardians, grandparents, youth group leaders, or play any other role in a young person's life. 

This session will run for the first time on the 6th March 2024 at 7pm and aims to provide information about the application process for physics and the physics course and department, as well as more general information about university applications, admissions and life. Please visit the event page to find out more and to register to attend.

Taster mornings

These are short, online events for Y12 students who are wondering about studying physics at Oxford. These typically run in November and February. Please visit our Masterclasses and Taster Mornings page to find out more.

Oxford Physics Y12 Masterclasses

These are full day, online events to dig into the details of studying Physics at Oxford, and how to prepare yourself to make a strong application. These typically run in March and June.  Please visit our Masterclasses and Taster Mornings page to find out more.

'Preparing for the PAT' online course

This is an online course to build problem-solving skills in physics and maths which runs each year from June to October. The course consists of eight webinars as well as problem solving sets and summer assignments and can be joined at any time during the course. Please visit our Preparing for the PAT Course page to find out more. 

All dates are provisional and may be subject to change.

The PAT

The Physics Aptitude Test is part of the Oxford admissions process. You can find all the latest information at www.physics.ox.ac.uk/pat.

Here's a quick introduction to the PAT from our Access Officer: 

https://youtu.be/PkSK2Vm04Tc

Interviews

As part of the admissions process, we interview shortlisted candidates.

You can find the department's official information about interviews here.

A demonstration interview is available here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLz3a8NYtik

In December, we run Remote Interview Workshops. These are for shortlisted candidates who meet the university's eligibility criteria for this programme, and all eligible students will be contacted individually. 

We have created a pack for teachers who would like to run a mock interview for their students.