Clare ESAT Scores (Cambridge Engineering, H100)

In the 2025 admissions cycle, applicants who received an Engineering (H100) offer from Clare College, Cambridge averaged 7.34 on ESAT Physics, the highest offer average among the 25 undergraduate colleges. The same group averaged 6.8 on Mathematics 2 (3rd) and 6.18 on Mathematics 1 (16th). The spread across those three figures is 1.16, and it is the thing to remember about Clare: its weight sits on Physics rather than being shared evenly across the three modules. All of these are averages and extremes for two groups of people in one cycle, not a bar anyone has to clear; Cambridge publishes no ESAT score requirement.
Clare ESAT scores at a glance (2025 cycle)
Offer-holder averages by module
Physics 7.34, Mathematics 2 6.8, Mathematics 1 6.18
Range across those offer-holders
Physics from 5.9 to 8.9, Mathematics 2 from 5.0 to 9.0, Mathematics 1 from 3.1 to 9.0
Rank within the undergraduate pool
1st of 25 colleges on Physics, 3rd on Mathematics 2, 16th on Mathematics 1
Gap to the pool median
0.87 above on Physics (pool median 6.47), 0.58 above on Mathematics 2 (pool median 6.22), and below the 6.36 pool median on Mathematics 1
Spread across the three modules
1.16, highest on Physics and lowest on Mathematics 1
Applicant-to-offer gap
2.47 on Physics, 2.09 on Mathematics 2, 1.32 on Mathematics 1

These are averages, extremes and derived rankings for Clare Engineering applicants and offer-holders in the 2025 cycle. They are not a bar to clear: Cambridge publishes no ESAT score threshold of any kind. The FOI response gives no applicant count per college, so the sample size behind each figure is unknown and a handful of candidates can move a small college's average. Rankings are calculated separately for the undergraduate and mature-college pools. Pool ranks, pool medians, the overall three-module averages and the various gaps are calculated by FrontierVUE from the same response; Cambridge publishes no such rankings.

01

What Clare's ESAT scores actually look like

A freedom of information response from Cambridge (FOI-2025-956) sets out ESAT scores for Engineering applicants and offer-holders, college by college, for the 2025 cycle. For Clare, the first thing that stands out is not a single high number but how the shape changes between the two columns. Applicant averages across the three modules are almost identical (4.86, 4.87, 4.71), yet the offer column opens out into 6.18, 7.34 and 6.8. The difference is not something the applicant group brought with it; it appears only after selection.
Applicant averageApplicant rangeOffer-holder averageOffer-holder range
Mathematics 14.861.1 to 9.06.183.1 to 9.0
Physics4.871.1 to 8.97.345.9 to 8.9
Mathematics 24.711.7 to 9.06.85.0 to 9.0

Taken across all three modules, Clare applicants averaged 4.81 and offer-holders 6.77. ESAT reports a scaled score from 1.0 to 9.0 to one decimal place. Every cell describes what actually happened in the 2025 cycle; none of it is a requirement placed on the next cohort.

The most telling cell in the table is the Physics offer range. People who received an offer scored between 5.9 and 8.9 on that module, while the same group runs from 3.1 to 9.0 on Mathematics 1 and from 5.0 to 9.0 on Mathematics 2. The floors of the three ranges sit that far apart because Clare's offer group that year contained almost no low Physics scores. It is still one year and one group of people, not a line drawn anywhere.
02

How to read these numbers

These figures answer the question "what did people at this college score last year", not "what do I need to score". The two look similar but are different in kind: the first is a distribution that already happened, and Cambridge has never given an answer to the second. To place Clare among all 29 colleges side by side, see the Cambridge college ESAT score comparison.
7.34 is an average, not a bar to clear
It is the average Physics score of Clare Engineering offer-holders in the 2025 cycle. Cambridge publishes no ESAT score threshold of any kind. Within that same group, actual Physics scores run from 5.9 to 8.9; the average marks the centre of that spread, not its entrance.
Sample size unknown: the FOI gives no applicant count per college
The response gives averages and extremes only, with no applicant or offer count for any college. College cohorts differ a lot in size, and in a year with few candidates a handful of results can lift or depress an average. Read these figures for direction, not as a stable benchmark to compare digit by digit.
Rankings are pooled: mature colleges sit outside this one
Clare's 1st, 3rd and 16th places are all calculated within the 25 undergraduate colleges. The mature colleges, which admit applicants aged 21 and over (Hughes Hall, St Edmund's, Wolfson, Lucy Cavendish), draw on a different pool, so rankings are computed separately and this page never lines their figures up against Clare's.
Some candidates changed college or course mid-cycle
The response notes that some applicants move between colleges or courses during the cycle, with figures grouped by the year of application. The group counted under a college is therefore not necessarily identical to the people who end up reading Engineering there. That does not change the trend, but it does mean these are not an exact roll-call.
Use this page to read a shape, not to set a target. Clare sits further up than most of its pool on Physics and mid-pack on Mathematics 1. That shape is worth letting into how you split your practice time; it should not be translated into a number you have to hit.
03

Three things specific to Clare

7.34

Physics offer average, 1st of the 25 undergraduate colleges

1.16

Spread across the three offer averages, weighted towards Physics

2.47

Physics applicant-to-offer gap, the largest of the three modules

6.77

Offer average across all three modules (applicants: 4.81)

Physics

Offer average 7.34, ranked 1st

0.87 above the 6.47 pool median, and the top of the pool's 5.63 to 7.34 band

Mathematics 2

Offer average 6.8, ranked 3rd

0.58 above the 6.22 pool median, in a pool topping out at 6.99 on this module

Mathematics 1

Offer average 6.18, ranked 16th

Mid-pack, a little under the 6.36 pool median, and the sharpest contrast with its own Physics rank

On the applicant side

Module averages of 4.86, 4.87 and 4.71

Almost level with one another, so the module gap opens up only on the offer side

Read the three together and Clare's profile is clear. Physics ranks 1st, carries the largest applicant-to-offer gap at 2.47, and has the highest floor of the three offer ranges at 5.9: all three point the same way, that Physics separated this college's offer group most sharply. Mathematics 1, ranked 16th with a gap of only 1.32, did less of that separating at Clare. None of this means Clare is easy to get into or that maths matters less; it means a mark carries different amounts of information depending on the module.
04

How to train for the shape Clare has

The sequence below follows from the shape above. It is not official advice and not a line anyone has drawn for you. It assumes you already accept one thing: practice time across the three ESAT modules never had to be split evenly, and Clare, with a spread of 1.16, is a college that wears its priorities openly.
01Step 1

Put Physics on the main line

Clare's offer group bottoms out at 5.9 here, averages 7.34 and ranks 1st in the pool. Get physics to a steady state first, then talk about gains elsewhere.

02Step 2

Treat Mathematics 2 alongside Physics

An offer average of 6.8 ranks 3rd and sits 0.58 above the 6.22 pool median. Like Physics, it is on Clare's stronger side and does not belong in the secondary pile.

03Step 3

Build a floor on Mathematics 1, do not chase

6.18 ranks 16th, mid-pack and a shade under the 6.36 median. Make accuracy and speed on routine questions solid, then hand the time you save back to the first two modules.

04Step 4

Reassemble the three modules under full timing

After module drills, sit the paper whole and timed. Clare's combined offer average of 6.77 comes from none of the three collapsing, not from one spike. The 1.16 spread orders your priorities; it is not a reason to drop a module.

Where practice weight goes for Clare's profile

Priorities inferred from the 2025 offer-group distribution, not an official requirement

Physics (1st, 7.34)Highest offer average in the pool, largest gap at 2.47
  • Mid-to-hard mechanics and circuits as the standing workload
  • File errors by quantity and model, not by which paper they came from
  • Under timing, protect the physics run first and leave no half-attempted items
Mathematics 2 (3rd, 6.8)0.58 above the 6.22 pool median, on the stronger side
  • Bring algebraic manipulation and function work close to physics-level fluency
  • Keep one mixed set a week so practice does not circle the comfortable types
Mathematics 1 (16th, 6.18)Mid-pack in a pool with a 6.36 median
  • Target accuracy and speed, clearing arithmetic slips first
  • Once steady, drop to maintenance and return the time to the other two

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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What ESAT score do you need for a Clare offer?
There is no such number. Cambridge publishes no ESAT score threshold of any kind. What can be said is the distribution: in the 2025 cycle, Clare Engineering offer-holders averaged 7.34 on Physics, 6.8 on Mathematics 2 and 6.18 on Mathematics 1, with actual scores running from 5.9 to 8.9 on Physics and from 3.1 to 9.0 on Mathematics 1. An average describes where a group sat, not a condition of entry.
Is Clare an especially hard college for Cambridge Engineering?
On this data Clare's difficulty is concentrated in one module rather than spread across all three. Its Physics offer average of 7.34 ranks 1st of the 25 undergraduate colleges and Mathematics 2 ranks 3rd, but Mathematics 1 ranks only 16th, mid-pack. The accurate description is "tight on Physics", not "hardest overall". The FOI response also gives no applicant count per college, so the sample size is unknown and small gaps between colleges should not be over-read.
My physics mocks are under 7.34. Is Clare still worth applying to?
7.34 is an average, not a line. Clare's 2025 offer-holders actually scored between 5.9 and 8.9 on physics, and the average simply marks the centre of that band. Remember too that the sample size is unknown, so a few candidates can move a college's average. Using one module average to rule yourself out misreads what this data is.
How should I split time across the three modules for Clare?
Clare's three offer averages span 1.16, an unusually explicit ordering: Physics 1st, Mathematics 2 3rd, Mathematics 1 16th. A sensible split puts physics on the main line, treats Mathematics 2 alongside it, and takes Mathematics 1 to steady accuracy before dropping to maintenance. This is an ordering read off a distribution that already happened, not an official instruction, and you should still reassemble all three under full paper timing.
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