Oxford Classics Admission Test prep

[se21mum]

Hi, my DS is applying to study Classics at Oxford in 2026. He has been studying Latin and Ancient Greek at A level so will have to take the CAT admission test.

Please does anyone know where he can buy books, mock tests or materials to help him prep? Anything available online or useful vocab to learn? He tacks the CAT on 23 Oct so has about 3 weeks left to revise! Thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice.

https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses/course-listing/classics

Has he used the sample paper and other info on the CAT pages? He really shouldn't need anything other than the past papers etc they provide.

The CAT models the type of unseen translation that is on the A level exams so it should be the type of exercise he is already prepping for and practising at school.

There are sample tests online for him to look at - no need to pay for anything. Other than that he should just revise his grammar and vocabulary that he is already meant to be learning for A level.

Agree with the above. That's all dd's friends have been doing, and what their school recommends (and has a good track record with candidates).

This won't be a popular response but Oxford Tutors have exam prep which is very effective and helpful. It basically makes you a more efficient test taker in terms of how you use your time answering the questions. My DD worked with them last year before taking the TSA.

https://oxfordtutors.com

But the TSA is a test which is fundamentally different from the tests you take at A level and no one has experienced before, whereas the CAT is modelled on what students are preparing for A level.

So I can see why a tutor for a new type of test you’ve never tried before might offer reassurance, but unless he is generally doing badly at Latin and Greek translation (and so needs a tutor to get him up to scratch), it seems a waste of money to pay for someone who is going to make him do exactly what he is already being trained to do by his school teachers.

Thanks for sharing tips and advice. He has been doing the sample papers on Oxford’s own website. I just wanted to make sure there wasn’t a booklet or resources which explained the correct translations or scoring system which he had missed hearing about. Thanks so much for the reassurance x

No, Oxford don't publish mark schemes.
If he's practised the sample papers, could he ask a school teacher to go through his translation with him and talk to him about places where he got stuck or didn't get it right? If he's learning Latin and Greek at school, any of his teachers would be able to tell him what the correct translation is. I appreciate they may not have time though.

My DD is also taking the CAT (although Latin only) and she's just been locking in on vocab & grammar. Practising old tests online & random passages from Loeb books (which are really helpful as they have the English & latin & they do some lesser known texts; they also available in Anc Greek).
Good luck for him🤞

Thanks for those suggestions and good luck to all those preparing for admission tests! 💪