Oxbridge Admissions
Classics Admissions Tutoring & PreparationOxford & Cambridge — Latin, Greek & the ancient world
Classics no longer has an admissions test at Oxford, and Cambridge never had one — so your personal statement, submitted work and interview do the talking, with some colleges setting short language tasks on the day. Prepare with an Oxford classicist who can build your Latin and Greek and get you interview-ready.
Find a Classics tutorHow Classics is assessed
No admissions test — what counts now
Oxford has discontinued the Classics Admissions Test (CAT), and Cambridge has never set a written admissions test — so for 2027 entry there's no test to sit. Instead, Classics applications turn on your written work, your interview, and the short language tasks some colleges set on the day. Here's how each university assesses applicants.
Oxford: no admissions test
The Classics Admissions Test has been discontinued. For 2027 entry, Oxford sets no written test for Classics or its joint courses. You're assessed on your UCAS application and personal statement, submitted written work, and interview — where some colleges set a short translation or language task.
Cambridge: assessment at interview
Cambridge has no pre-registered test, but most colleges set a short assessment if you're shortlisted — typically translation, comprehension or commentary on an unseen passage. There's no advance registration; your college arranges it. The unseen is in Latin or Greek for the three-year route, or in English for the four-year beginners' route.
Written work — and beginners welcome
Both universities ask for submitted written work (Cambridge wants two recent humanities pieces, at least one in English) and lean heavily on interview — discussing your essays, wider reading and unseen passages. And you don't need Latin or Greek already: the four-year routes are built for complete beginners.
Applying for a joint course like Classics and English or Classics and Modern Languages? You'll be assessed in your other subject too — so check its requirements alongside these.
Requirements vary by university, course and college and can change between cycles. Always confirm the current requirements on the official Oxford and Cambridge course pages before you apply.
Your Tutors
Meet our Classics tutors
An Oxford classicist who can build your Latin and Greek from the ground up — and get you ready for written work and interview.
Alexandre
Oxford Classics
Hi, I'm Alexandre and I'm studying Classics at Oxford, with five A*s at A-Level and Academic Exhibitioner at Westminster School. I have a solid grounding in Latin and Greek grammar and literature — and recent familiarity with the OCR exam board — so I can help both with exam technique at GCSE and A-Level and with developing the wider understanding of classical languages and culture that strengthens an Oxbridge application.
I'm keen to teach Latin and Greek at all levels — for exams and for the wider appreciation of classical language and literature that enriches an application — and I also tutor verse composition. I'm a native French speaker too, so I'm happy to teach French and English at GCSE. Having helped younger students at school with their applications, I can support you with personal statements, super-curricular reading and interview practice, including the unseen-translation tasks some colleges set.
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