Girton College ESAT scores for Cambridge Engineering

In the 2025 admissions cycle, applicants who received an Engineering (H100) offer from Girton College, Cambridge averaged 6.24 on ESAT Physics, 5.79 on Mathematics 1 and 5.78 on Mathematics 2. Placed back in the pool of 25 undergraduate colleges, both maths modules rank 24th, above only one other college: Mathematics 1 sits 0.57 below the pool median of 6.36 and Mathematics 2 0.44 below its median of 6.22, in a pool whose lowest offer averages on those modules are 5.6 and 5.7, so Girton lies close to the floor. Physics is the relative high point at 6.24, 18th in the pool and 0.23 below the 6.47 median. The spread across the three is 0.46. Everyone who applied to the college that year averaged 4.74, 4.38 and 4.6, so offer-holders sat 1.05, 1.86 and 1.18 above the field, with the largest climb on Physics. These are cycle averages, not entry requirements; Cambridge publishes no ESAT score threshold of any kind.

Girton ESAT scores at a glance (2025 cycle)

What offer-holders scored: Physics averaged 6.24, Mathematics 1 5.79 and Mathematics 2 5.78; 5.94 across the three modules
What the whole applicant field scored: Physics averaged 4.38, Mathematics 1 4.74 and Mathematics 2 4.6; 4.57 across the three modules
Applicant-to-offer gap: 1.86 on Physics, 1.05 on Mathematics 1 and 1.18 on Mathematics 2, so Physics separated the two groups most
Rank within the undergraduate college pool: Out of 25 colleges: 18th on Physics, 24th on Mathematics 1, 24th on Mathematics 2
Distance from the pool median: 0.23 below on Physics (median 6.47), 0.57 below on Mathematics 1 (median 6.36), 0.44 below on Mathematics 2 (median 6.22)
Spread across the three modules: 0.46, highest on Physics and lowest on Mathematics 2, with the two maths modules all but level

These are averages and extremes for applicants and offer-holders at this college in the 2025 Engineering (H100) cycle, not entry requirements; Cambridge publishes no ESAT score threshold. The FOI response gives no applicant counts per college, so sample sizes are unknown and a handful of candidates can move an average, which matters most for ranks near the foot of the pool. Ranks are computed within the undergraduate college pool only, and are not comparable with the mature colleges, which admit applicants aged 21 and over. ESAT results are reported on a 1.0 to 9.0 scale to one decimal place. 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. FrontierVUE is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the University of Cambridge or any of its colleges.

What Girton's ESAT numbers actually are

The University's official Freedom of Information response FOI-2025-956 lists ESAT scores for Engineering (H100) applicants and offer-holders, college by college, for the 2025 admissions cycle. For Girton, the first thing to notice is where the three offer figures land: Physics at 6.24 in front, the two maths modules all but level behind it at 5.79 and 5.78, and those two already close to the pool floors of 5.6 and 5.7 on their modules. ESAT results are reported on a 1.0 to 9.0 scale to one decimal place, so every figure below sits on that scale. Both columns are grouped by the college applied to in that cycle, and the University notes that some applicants change college or course part-way through.

	Applicant average	Applicant range	Offer-holder average	Offer-holder range
Mathematics 1	4.74	1.2 to 8.9	5.79	4.2 to 8.9
Physics	4.38	1.1 to 8.9	6.24	3.6 to 8.9
Mathematics 2	4.6	1.1 to 8	5.78	4.1 to 7.8

The averages and the lowest and highest scores in the table come line by line from official response FOI-2025-956; the overall three-module averages of 4.57 and 5.94 are calculated by FrontierVUE from that same response. The ranges are the lowest and highest score in each group, not boundaries.

6.24

Physics offer average, the high point of Girton's three modules, 18th of the 25 undergraduate colleges

1.86

Physics gap from the applicant average of 4.38 to the offer average, the largest of the three

0.46

Spread between the three offer averages, highest on Physics and lowest on Mathematics 2

5.94

Offer average across all three modules (applicants: 4.57)

None of Girton's three modules reached 9 in either column that cycle: the top applicant and offer-holder scores on Mathematics 1 and Physics were all 8.9, and Mathematics 2 sat lower still, with a top applicant score of 8 and a top offer-holder score of 7.8. The floors were 4.2, 3.6 and 4.1, so Physics has both the lowest offer floor of the three at 3.6 and the highest offer average at 6.24. This is still one year and one group of people, not a line drawn anywhere; Cambridge publishes no ESAT score threshold.

How to read these numbers

5.79 is an average, not an entry requirement

It is the average Mathematics 1 score of Girton Engineering offer-holders in the 2025 cycle. Cambridge publishes no ESAT score threshold, and no college has published a minimum of its own. Within that same group, actual Mathematics 1 scores run from 4.2 to 8.9; the average marks the centre of that spread, not its entrance. The accurate phrasing is that offer-holders averaged 5.79 that year, not that 5.79 is enough.

No applicant counts, and ranks near the foot of the pool move most

Response FOI-2025-956 gives averages and extremes only, with no applicant count or offer count for any college. Girton's maths offer averages of 5.79 and 5.78 sit close to the pool floors of 5.6 and 5.7, and the places near the foot of the pool are separated by small margins, so a few candidates' scores could shift the 24th place either way. Read these figures for direction rather than as a stable baseline to track year on year.

Mature colleges do not belong in the same ranking

Hughes Hall, St Edmund's, Wolfson and Lucy Cavendish admit only applicants aged 21 and over, so their applicant pool is a different population. Every rank on this page is computed inside the undergraduate pool of 25 colleges, which is where Girton sits. Ranking across the two pools would be meaningless and is not attempted here.

A 1.0 to 9.0 scale, and some candidates moved mid-cycle

ESAT results are reported on a 1.0 to 9.0 scale to one decimal place, so a 0.46 spread or a 0.57 gap from the median should be judged against that scale. The response also notes that some applicants move between colleges or courses during the cycle, with figures grouped by the year of application, so the group counted under Girton is not necessarily identical to the people who end up reading Engineering there.

One line to hold on to: this page answers what people who applied to Girton scored last cycle, not what you must score. The 24th place on both maths modules describes where Girton sits relative to other colleges, not how little maths matters at Girton. Cambridge publishes no ESAT score threshold of any kind.

To place Girton alongside every other college, there is a separate cross-college piece on this site: Cambridge ESAT scores by college, which carries the comparison and the interactive charts for all 29 colleges. This page goes deep on one college and does not repeat that material. FrontierVUE is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the University of Cambridge or any of its colleges.

Three things specific to Girton

24 / 25

Where the 5.79 Mathematics 1 offer average ranks in the undergraduate pool, whose floor is 5.6

18 / 25

Where Physics ranks, with an offer average of 6.24, the furthest forward of the three modules

24 / 25

Where Mathematics 2 ranks, with an offer average of 5.78, in a pool whose floor is 5.7

Spread across the three modules

0.46

Physics highest at 6.24, Mathematics 1 at 5.79, Mathematics 2 lowest at 5.78

Versus the pool median on Mathematics 1

0.57 below

Girton 5.79 against a pool median of 6.36, the widest of the three gaps

Versus the pool median on Physics

0.23 below

Girton 6.24 against a pool median of 6.47, the narrowest of the three gaps

Versus the pool median on Mathematics 2

0.44 below

Girton 5.78 against a pool median of 6.22

Applicant-to-offer gap

1.86 / 1.05 / 1.18

Physics, Mathematics 1 and Mathematics 2 in order; Physics starts from the lowest applicant average of the three at 4.38

Overall position

All three modules below the pool median

Offer-holders averaged 5.94 overall, the whole applicant field 4.57

Put together, Girton's shape has two features. First, the maths offer averages of 5.79 and 5.78 both rank 24th, close to the pool floors of 5.6 and 5.7 and 0.57 and 0.44 below the medians. Second, Physics is the college's relative high point: 6.24 ranks 18th, and the 1.86 climb from the applicant average of 4.38 is the largest of the three gaps, so Physics was the module that separated applicants from offer-holders most sharply at Girton that cycle. Two caveats follow at once. Averages near the foot of the pool do not make Girton easier to get into: both maths offer ranges still run from the low fours to 8.9 and 7.8, and with no applicant count in the FOI there is no way to tell how many people sit behind each average. And Physics, although the high point, still sits 0.23 below the 6.47 pool median; "relatively strong" is a comparison between Girton's own three modules and nothing more.

Preparing with Girton's shape in mind

The sequence below follows from the shape above. It is not official advice, and not a line anyone has drawn for you. Girton's shape is easy to read backwards: a 24th place on both maths modules looks like permission to ease off maths, but a rank only describes where Girton sits relative to other colleges, and the maths offer ranges still reach 8.9 and 7.8.

01Step one

Make Physics collapse-proof

Girton's offer group averaged 6.24 here, the high point of the three, with the largest gap at 1.86, so this is the module that separated the two groups most that cycle. Its offer floor of 3.6 is also the lowest of the three, so first get mechanics and circuits to a point where they produce no low scores under timing.

02Step two

Do not scale back maths because of the 24th place

5.79 and 5.78 rank 24th, but the offer ranges still run from the low fours to 8.9 and 7.8, so maths scores varied widely within this college's offer group. A rank describes the relative position of colleges; how much you practise should follow your own baseline.

03Step three

Take your own baseline, module by module

Sit a timed paper from the past paper list at /papers/esat and record accuracy and timing for each module separately. What you are looking for is your own weakest module, not the college's ranking on that module.

04Step four

Go back to full timed sittings

Run the modules back to back to rehearse the switches and the time budget, then work through the per-question solutions and error analysis. Girton's combined offer average of 5.94 comes from none of the three collapsing, not from one spike.

Where practice weight goes for Girton's profile

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

Physics (18th, 6.24)The high point of the three, largest gap at 1.86, lowest offer floor at 3.6

Get mechanics and circuits to produce no low scores under timing
File errors by quantity and model, not by which paper they came from

Mathematics 1 (24th, 5.79)0.57 below the 6.36 pool median, offer range 4.2 to 8.9

Target accuracy and speed, clearing arithmetic slips first
Keep one mixed set a week so practice does not circle the comfortable types

Mathematics 2 (24th, 5.78)0.44 below the 6.22 pool median, offer range 4.1 to 7.8

Bring algebraic manipulation and function work to a level that no longer slows the paper
Alternate with Mathematics 1; the two offer averages are all but level anyway

Tap a branch to unfold

The ESAT past papers live at /papers/esat, and some papers are free to try; the free labels on the list page show which ones are currently open.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What ESAT score do you need for an offer at Girton?

There is no such score. Cambridge publishes no ESAT threshold, and Girton has never stated a minimum of its own. What can be said is what happened in the 2025 cycle: applicants who received an offer at this college averaged 6.24 on Physics, 5.79 on Mathematics 1 and 5.78 on Mathematics 2, while the lowest scores within that same group were 3.6, 4.2 and 4.1 and the highest were 8.9, 8.9 and 7.8. Offers went both to candidates near the top of the scale and to candidates in the threes and fours, which is not what a score threshold looks like.

Both maths modules rank 24th of 25. Is Girton easier to get into?

That inference does not hold. Girton's maths offer averages do sit close to the floor of the undergraduate pool, 0.57 below the median on Mathematics 1 and 0.44 below on Mathematics 2, but the same group's maths scores still run from the low fours to 8.9 and 7.8. The FOI response gives no applicant counts, so a small group can move an average, and the places near the foot of the pool are separated by small margins, so the 24th place may come down to a few candidates in one year. A lower average more likely reflects who applied that year and says nothing about how hard the college is to get into.

Physics is Girton's high point. Should I concentrate on Physics?

First be clear what "high point" means. The Physics offer average of 6.24 is the highest of Girton's three, and the 1.86 gap the largest, so Physics separated applicants from offer-holders most sharply at Girton that cycle; but 6.24 still sits below the 6.47 pool median, in 18th place, so "high" is relative only to Girton's own maths modules. The sensible course is to get Physics to a point where it produces no low scores under timing while keeping accuracy and speed steady on both maths modules, rather than staking everything on one. The combined offer average of 5.94 comes from none of the three collapsing.

The top Mathematics 2 score among offer-holders was 7.8. Does a high score on it count for little?

That is not what the figure says. 7.8 only means that, among Girton's 2025 offer-holders, the highest Mathematics 2 score happened to be 7.8, and the top score across all applicants was 8. It is an extreme from one year and one group, and with no applicant count in the FOI there is no way to tell how many people that group contained. It says nothing about whether a high score is worth having, and nothing about Girton taking any particular view of the module. Cambridge publishes no ESAT score threshold, and has never published a weighting for any module either.

Sources

Official sources

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