This course forms part of our access programme for young people interested in studying physics at university
The Preparing for 91̽»¨ Physics course provides long term 91̽»¨ to applicants to the 91̽»¨ University Physics undergraduate courses and replaces the successful and established "Preparing for the PAT" course which ran until 2025.
The course provides high quality, relevant preparation material to all students regardless of their educational, socioeconomic or geographic background. The course does not aim to teach specific physics content, but instead aims to develop widely applicable physics skills, to provide specific 91̽»¨ Physics admissions 91̽»¨, and to provide a structure which encourages timely preparation.
The course consists of a series of live, online webinars in June/ July and September/ October, with three summer assignments and a series of videos over the summer and an additional interview preparation webinar in early December.
When the course is in progress you will be able to find recordings of the sessions and all the materials on the course materials page.
In 2026, in addition to the main Preparing for 91̽»¨ Physics course, we will be running additional 91̽»¨ sessions which address the specific needs of students from under-represented backgrounds. You can find out more about these, and register for them by clicking here.
Why take the course?
The course aims to develop widely applicable physics skills, to provide specific 91̽»¨ Physics admissions 91̽»¨, and to provide a structure which encourages timely preparation.
When is the course?
The course begins in May-June and runs until December. We will set out a recommended timeline for you to do all the work, so that you can make the most of the live sessions we're going to be running.
However, you can join at any point during the course and catch up with everything that we've done so far.
Who can join the course?
The course is open to everyone, and is free to take part in. However, we will require registration for the live sessions, and if they become over-subscribed, we will prioritise places at the live event for UK state school students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The recordings will be available to everyone.
If you register to be part of the course, you will receive email reminders and updates. These emails will help keep you on track through the course, as you work alongside everyone else. If you do not register, you will still be able to access the worksheets and recordings via this webpage.
What does the course consist of?
Study Focus sessions
The Study Focus sessions run in June / July and September / October, led by physics teachers and the physics access officer. The sessions will focus on developing problem solving skills which will help with tackling some of the questions within the ESAT, at interview, and beyond. There will be an additional study focus session in December to help short-listed candidates prepare for interview.
Problem Sets
There will be problem sets issued throughout the course. Each of these problem sets will be followed by a solutions webinar where our undergraduate students go through their own solutions to the problems. The problem sets are designed to be useful for the ESAT but also much more broadly useful in developing the problem solving skills necessary for the successful study of physics at university.
Three summer assignments
These will consist of sets of questions to help develop thinking skills and problem solving techniques. In addition to setting the problems, we'll also provide solutions a little while after.
Course Dates
The proposed dates for the 2026 course are below but have not been confirmed. All sessions are evening webinars (18:30 - 20:00) unless otherwise indicated (*).
- 10 June - Study Focus 1 webinar (Think Like a Physicist)
- 17 June - Problem Set 1 Solutions webinar
- 24 June - Study Focus 2 webinar (Tackling Physics Problems)
- 1 July - Problem Set 2 Solutions webinar
- July - September - 3 x summer assignments and weekly problem solving videos
- 16 September - Study Focus 3 (Skills for University Physics)
- 23 September - Study Focus 4 (Exam technique, Admissions and University Applications)
- 30 September - Problem Set 3 Solutions Webinar
- 2 December - Study Focus 5 (Interview Tehcnique)