King's ESAT Scores (Cambridge Engineering, H100)

In the 2025 admissions cycle, applicants who received an Engineering (H100) offer from King's, Cambridge averaged 5.82 on ESAT Mathematics 1, 5.63 on Physics and 5.8 on Mathematics 2. Those three figures sit within 0.19 of each other, which is the first thing worth remembering about this college: no single module stands out as the tighter one. At the same time, King's Physics offer average ranks 25th of the 25 undergraduate colleges and sits 0.84 below the pool median, while Mathematics 1 and Mathematics 2 both rank 22nd. All of these are averages and extremes for two groups of people in one cycle, not a threshold of any kind; Cambridge publishes no ESAT score requirement.

King's ESAT scores at a glance (2025 cycle)

Offer-holder averages by module: Mathematics 1 5.82, Physics 5.63, Mathematics 2 5.8
Range across those offer-holders: Mathematics 1 from 4.5 to 7.6, Physics from 3.2 to 8.9, Mathematics 2 from 4.5 to 7.2
Rank within the undergraduate pool: 22nd of 25 colleges on Mathematics 1 and Mathematics 2, 25th of 25 on Physics
Gap to the pool median: 0.54 below on Mathematics 1, 0.84 below on Physics, 0.42 below on Mathematics 2
Spread across the three modules: 0.19, highest on Mathematics 1 and lowest on Physics
Applicant-to-offer gap: 1.48 on Mathematics 1, 1.29 on Physics, 1.32 on Mathematics 2

These are averages, extremes and derived rankings for King's Engineering (H100) applicants and offer-holders in the 2025 cycle. They are not entry requirements: Cambridge publishes no ESAT score threshold. The FOI response gives no applicant numbers per college, so sample sizes are unknown and an average can be moved by a handful of candidates. Rankings are calculated separately for the undergraduate and mature-college pools. Pool ranks, pool medians, the three-module overall averages and the various gaps are calculated by FrontierVUE from the same response; Cambridge publishes no such rankings.

What King's ESAT scores actually look like

A single FOI response, FOI-2025-956, sets out ESAT scores for Engineering (H100) applicants and offer-holders, college by college, for the 2025 cycle. For King's, each module comes with one set of applicant figures and one set of offer-holder figures. Reading all four numbers across a row tells you far more than any single average does.

	Applicant average	Applicant range	Offer-holder average	Offer-holder range
Mathematics 1	4.34	1.1 to 9.0	5.82	4.5 to 7.6
Physics	4.34	1.0 to 8.9	5.63	3.2 to 8.9
Mathematics 2	4.48	1.1 to 8.6	5.8	4.5 to 7.2

Taken across all three modules, King's applicants averaged 4.39 and offer-holders 5.75; those two overall figures are calculated by FrontierVUE from the same response. ESAT reports a scaled score from 1.0 to 9.0 to one decimal place. Every figure here describes the 2025 cycle as it happened; none of it is an entry requirement.

The single most telling cell in the table is the Physics offer range. Among people who received an offer, Physics scores run all the way from 3.2 to 8.9, covering almost the whole 1.0 to 8.9 span of the applicant group itself. No ESAT score threshold appears anywhere in the public record.

How to read these numbers

College-level score data is easy to misread, because it looks like a line you have to cross. It is not. The five points below are the assumptions you need to accept before using this page; drop any one of them and the conclusion tilts.

This is not a cut-off

Cambridge publishes no ESAT score threshold. The figures 5.82, 5.63 and 5.8 describe how one group of people happened to score in the 2025 cycle. They summarise an outcome; they are not a condition of entry. Within that same group, the lowest Physics score was 3.2.

Sample size is unknown

FOI-2025-956 gives no applicant or offer numbers per college, so there is no way to know how many people sit behind each King's average. Where numbers are small, one or two extreme scores can shift an average by a few tenths, which is reason enough not to treat 5.63 as a stable benchmark.

Always read the range, not just the mean

Looking only at the mean flattens the real distribution. King's offer-holders occupy three ranges: 4.5 to 7.6 on Mathematics 1, 4.5 to 7.2 on Mathematics 2 and 3.2 to 8.9 on Physics. That third range is close to twice as wide as the other two.

Rankings are pool-specific

The mature colleges, which admit only applicants aged 21 and over, form a separate pool whose applicant body is not comparable with the undergraduate colleges. King's sits in the undergraduate pool, so its 22nd and 25th places are positions among 25 undergraduate colleges and should never be lined up against mature-college figures.

The scores are scaled scores

ESAT results are reported as a scaled score from 1.0 to 9.0 to one decimal place, so the distance between 5.63 and 5.82 is a real step on that scale. Cambridge also notes that some applicants change college or course during the cycle; the figures group people by the year in which they applied.

The whole section in one line: treat this page as a frame of reference, not a target line. It can tell you roughly where your current mock scores would have sat among that year's applicants and offer-holders. It cannot tell you what score gets you in, because no such number exists in the public record.

What is distinctive about King's

Set King's against the undergraduate pool it belongs to and two features hold at once, pulling in opposite directions: its three modules are unusually even, while all three sit low in the pool. Taken together, that pair is what actually matters for how you prepare.

0.19

Spread across the three module offer averages

22 / 25

Pool rank on Mathematics 1 and Mathematics 2

25 / 25

Pool rank on Physics

1.48

Applicant-to-offer gap on Mathematics 1

	King's offer average	Undergraduate pool median	Gap to median	Rank in pool
Mathematics 1	5.82	6.36	0.54 below	22nd of 25
Physics	5.63	6.47	0.84 below	25th of 25
Mathematics 2	5.8	6.22	0.42 below	22nd of 25

Medians and rankings are computed within the 25 undergraduate colleges only, excluding the mature colleges that admit applicants aged 21 and over. For the full side-by-side picture across all 25 undergraduate colleges, see our Cambridge college ESAT score overview at /exams/esat/guides/cambridge-college-scores.

Highest module

Mathematics 1, offer average 5.82

Even so it ranks only 22nd, which shows that being the college's highest module is an internal comparison, not a strength within the pool

Lowest module

Physics, offer average 5.63

25th of the 25 undergraduate colleges and 0.84 below the pool median of 6.47, the lowest-placed figure on this page

Almost no tilt between modules

A spread of 0.19

5.82, 5.63 and 5.8 sit inside a very narrow band; nothing in this data suggests King's is looser or tighter on any one module

Distance from applicant to offer

1.48 on Mathematics 1, 1.29 on Physics, 1.32 on Mathematics 2

The three gaps are themselves close, with Mathematics 1 slightly the largest; each is the distance between two groups of people, not a score you are required to gain

A lower average does not mean an easier college

All three modules fall in the pool's lower band

This data covers ESAT alone and comes with unknown sample sizes; inferring how hard a college is to get into from its score averages is a conclusion the data cannot carry

How to prepare for a college shaped like King's

Because King's three modules differ so little, there is no sensible way to bet on one of them. And because the college sits low in its pool, its own offer averages alone give a narrower picture than the pool around it. Here is how that turns into a weekly plan.

01Step 1

Locate where you currently sit

Take one full ESAT mock and compare each module against the applicant averages of 4.34, 4.34 and 4.48, then against the offer averages of 5.82, 5.63 and 5.8. The point is to see which stretch between the two groups you land in. This step locates you; it does not judge you.

02Step 2

Lift all three together

The spread across King's three module offer averages is just 0.19, and nothing in the data marks any one of them as the softer option. Splitting practice time roughly evenly across the three fits the shape this college shows far better than loading up on one subject.

03Step 3

Read the gap as data, not as a quota

From the applicant average to the offer average, the distance is 1.48, 1.29 and 1.32 across the three modules, three figures that themselves sit close together. That is the distance between two groups of people in one cycle, not an improvement anyone is required to make. Pace your review by your own recurring errors, and move the next block of time to whichever topic keeps breaking.

04Step 4

Then check against the pool median

The medians of the 25 undergraduate colleges' offer averages are 6.36 on Mathematics 1, 6.47 on Physics and 6.22 on Mathematics 2, all above King's own offer averages. It is a scale for comparing colleges, and it shows where a mock score would sit within the pool. It is not a number anyone has to reach.

05Step 5

Do not reduce the application to a score

This FOI data covers ESAT and nothing else. Once your scores are where you want them, do not stop at this page, and do not use it to reason backwards about anything it does not measure.

Where to put your effort for King's

Offer averages of 5.82 / 5.63 / 5.8, a spread of 0.19

Even effort across three modulesA spread of 0.19 leaves no module looking softer

Mathematics 1 and Mathematics 2 both rank 22nd
Physics ranks 25th, the lowest-placed of the three

Calibrate against rangesOffer-holders occupy ranges, not a line

Mathematics 1 runs 4.5 to 7.6
Physics runs 3.2 to 8.9
Mathematics 2 runs 4.5 to 7.2

Treat the median as the upper referenceUndergraduate pool medians of 6.36 / 6.47 / 6.22

All three medians sit above King's offer averages
The median is the midpoint of 25 college averages, not a line for any individual

Take comparisons to the overviewThe full 25-college layout lives in the site overview

Overview: /exams/esat/guides/cambridge-college-scores

Tap a branch to unfold

One last return to the start. King's Physics offer average is the lowest-placed in the undergraduate pool, yet within that very group the lowest score was 3.2 and the highest 8.9. A college average tells you the shape of one year's cohort. About everything else, it says nothing at all.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What ESAT score do you need for King's?

There is no such score. Cambridge publishes no ESAT threshold, at university or college level. What is on record is how King's Engineering (H100) offer-holders averaged in the 2025 cycle: 5.82 on Mathematics 1, 5.63 on Physics and 5.8 on Mathematics 2. Within that same group, Physics ran from 3.2 to 8.9 and Mathematics 1 from 4.5 to 7.6. Use the averages as a reference point, never as a pass mark.

Are King's ESAT scores low compared with other Cambridge colleges?

Within the undergraduate pool, all three modules fall in the lower band: 22nd of 25 on Mathematics 1 and Mathematics 2, and 25th of 25 on Physics, which is 0.84 below the pool median of 6.47. Two caveats matter. The FOI response gives no applicant numbers, so sample sizes are unknown and small-sample averages move easily. And the data covers ESAT alone, so concluding that the college is easier to get into is not something these figures can support.

Does King's care more about maths than physics?

Not from this data. The three module offer averages are 5.82, 5.63 and 5.8, a spread of just 0.19, packed into a very narrow band with nothing standing out either way. Physics is indeed the lowest of the three, but by a margin far too small to support a claim about what the college prefers. These figures report scores; they say nothing about how modules are weighted.

How should I use these King's ESAT figures when preparing?

Use them as a frame of reference. King's offer-holders averaged 5.82, 5.63 and 5.8 across the three modules, while the medians of the 25 undergraduate colleges' offer averages are 6.36, 6.47 and 6.22, so all three King's figures sit below the median. Comparing your own mock scores against both sets shows where you would sit within the pool. Work the three modules together, since King's module spread is only 0.19 and no single one is worth betting on. All of these are 2025-cycle averages, not cut-offs; Cambridge publishes no ESAT score threshold of any kind.

Sources

Official sources

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