Lucy Cavendish ESAT scores for Cambridge Engineering (mature college)

In the 2025 admissions cycle, applicants who received an offer for Engineering (H100) at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge averaged 6.14 in ESAT Mathematics 1, 6.1 in Physics and 6.03 in Mathematics 2, only 0.11 apart from highest to lowest, the flattest set among the 4 mature colleges. Lucy Cavendish admits only applicants aged 21 and over, so its ranks are computed among those 4 colleges alone: 3rd in Mathematics 1, 2nd in Physics and 3rd in Mathematics 2, the middle of that pool on every module. Across everyone who applied to the college that year the module averages were 5.18, 5.01 and 5.07, so offer-holders sat 0.96, 1.09 and 0.96 above the field. These are cycle averages, not entry requirements; Cambridge publishes no ESAT score threshold of any kind. The FOI response also gives no applicant counts per college, and a mature college's sample is smaller than an undergraduate college's, so these averages move more easily.

Lucy Cavendish ESAT scores at a glance (2025 cycle, mature college)

What offer-holders scored: Mathematics 1 averaged 6.14, Physics 6.1 and Mathematics 2 6.03; 6.09 across the three modules
What the whole applicant field scored: Mathematics 1 averaged 5.18, Physics 5.01 and Mathematics 2 5.07; 5.09 across the three modules
Applicant-to-offer gap: 0.96 in Mathematics 1, 1.09 in Physics and 0.96 in Mathematics 2, all close to one another
Rank within the mature college pool: Out of 4 colleges: 3rd in Mathematics 1, 2nd in Physics, 3rd in Mathematics 2
Distance from the mature pool median: 0.16 below in Mathematics 1 (median 6.3), 0.15 above in Physics (median 5.95), 0.25 below in Mathematics 2 (median 6.28)
Spread across the three modules: 0.11, highest in Mathematics 1 and lowest in Mathematics 2, the smallest of the 4 mature colleges

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 mature college's sample is usually smaller still, which lets a handful of candidates move an average. Lucy Cavendish admits only applicants aged 21 and over, so its ranks are computed among the 4 mature colleges alone and are not comparable with the 25 undergraduate colleges. 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, the module spread and the various gaps are calculated by FrontierVUE from the same response; Cambridge publishes no such rankings.

What Lucy Cavendish's ESAT numbers actually are

Here is the full set of figures for Lucy Cavendish from the University's official Freedom of Information response FOI-2025-956, covering the 2025 admissions cycle for Engineering (H100). ESAT results are reported on a 1.0 to 9.0 scale to one decimal place. The applicant column covers everyone who applied to the college that year; the offer column covers the offer-holders reported under the same college. Both are grouped by the college applied to in that cycle, and the University notes that some applicants change college or course mid-cycle. Lucy Cavendish is a mature college admitting only applicants aged 21 and over, so the people in this table are not the same population as at an undergraduate college; keep that in view throughout.

	Applicant average	Applicant range	Offer-holder average	Offer-holder range
Mathematics 1	5.18	2 to 8.9	6.14	3.7 to 8.9
Physics	5.01	1.8 to 9	6.1	3.8 to 8.6
Mathematics 2	5.07	1 to 8.9	6.03	3.7 to 8.9

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 5.09 and 6.09 are calculated by FrontierVUE from that same response. The ranges are the lowest and highest score in each group, not boundaries.

6.09

Overall three-module average for Lucy Cavendish offer-holders, 2025 cycle

5.09

Overall three-module average across all applicants in the same cycle

0.11

Spread between the three offer averages, Mathematics 1 highest and Mathematics 2 lowest, the smallest of the 4 mature colleges

The most striking thing in this table is not the averages but the width of the ranges. The applicant column covers almost the whole scale: 1 to 8.9 in Mathematics 2, 1.8 to 9 in Physics, 2 to 8.9 in Mathematics 1. The offer column is wide too, with lowest scores of 3.7, 3.8 and 3.7 and highest scores of 8.9, 8.6 and 8.9 across the three modules. One cohort of offers contained scores near the ceiling of the scale and scores in the high threes. A range shows what happened at least once, not what was typical, and it is not a boundary of any kind; Cambridge publishes no ESAT score threshold.

How to read these numbers at a mature college

These are averages, not entry requirements

Every figure above is an average or an extreme for one group of people in the 2025 cycle. Cambridge publishes no ESAT score threshold, and no college has published a minimum score of its own. The accurate phrasing is that Lucy Cavendish's offer-holders averaged 6.14 in Mathematics 1 that year, not that 6.14 is what you need. Actual scores in that group ran from 3.7 to 8.9; the average is only the centre of that spread.

Ranks are computed among the 4 mature colleges only

Hughes Hall, Lucy Cavendish, St Edmund's and Wolfson admit only applicants aged 21 and over, so their applicant pool is a different population from the 25 undergraduate colleges, and every rank on this page is computed among those 4 alone. In a pool of 4, both 2nd and 3rd are the middle, and Lucy Cavendish ranks exactly 3rd, 2nd and 3rd on its three modules, with distances from the pool median of only 0.16, 0.15 and 0.25. Setting it beside any undergraduate college would be meaningless, and this page does not attempt it.

No applicant counts, and a mature college's sample is smaller

Response FOI-2025-956 gives no number of applicants per college. A mature college receives fewer Engineering applications than most undergraduate colleges, so a few unusually high or low scores can shift an average noticeably. Lucy Cavendish's applicant ranges stretch from 1 to 9, which says the group varied enormously in level, and an average represents any individual in such a group rather weakly. Read these figures for direction, not as a stable baseline to track year on year.

The 1.0 to 9.0 scale, and mid-cycle college changes

ESAT results are reported on a 1.0 to 9.0 scale to one decimal place, so a module spread of 0.11 or a distance of 0.16 from the median is a small quantity on that scale and should be judged against the scale itself rather than as percentage points. The University also notes that some applicants change college or course mid-cycle, with figures grouped by the year of application, so the two columns under one college are not strictly nested and should not be treated as an exact roll-call.

One line to hold on to: this page answers what the mature applicants to Lucy Cavendish scored last cycle, not what you must score. The near-level shape across the three modules is worth letting into how you split your time; it should not be translated into any number you have to hit. Cambridge publishes no ESAT score threshold.

To see the 4 mature colleges side by side, or the cross-college comparison of the 25 undergraduate colleges, there is a separate piece on this site: Cambridge ESAT scores by college, which carries the comparisons and interactive charts for every college, with the two pools shown separately.

Three things specific to Lucy Cavendish

3 / 4

Where the Mathematics 1 offer average of 6.14 ranks in the mature pool, 0.16 under the 6.3 median

2 / 4

Where the Physics offer average of 6.1 ranks, the only one of the three modules above the pool median

3 / 4

Where the Mathematics 2 offer average of 6.03 ranks, 0.25 under the 6.28 median

Spread across the three modules

0.11

Mathematics 1 highest at 6.14, Physics at 6.1, Mathematics 2 lowest at 6.03, all but level

Versus the mature pool median in Mathematics 1

0.16 below

Lucy Cavendish 6.14 against a pool median of 6.3, in a pool that runs from 5.93 to 7.85 on this module

Versus the mature pool median in Physics

0.15 above

Lucy Cavendish 6.1 against a pool median of 5.95, in a pool that runs from 5.5 to 6.25 on this module

Versus the mature pool median in Mathematics 2

0.25 below

Lucy Cavendish 6.03 against a pool median of 6.28, the furthest of the three from the median

Applicant-to-offer gap

0.96 / 1.09 / 0.96

Mathematics 1, Physics and Mathematics 2 in order; Physics slightly larger, the two maths modules identical

Overall position

Middle of the mature pool on all three modules

Offer-holders averaged 6.09 overall, the whole applicant field 5.09

Put together, Lucy Cavendish's shape is flat and wide. First, the three offer averages are only 0.11 apart, the ranks of 3rd, 2nd and 3rd all sit mid-pool, and the largest distance from any median is 0.25, so no module stands out as clearly stronger or weaker. Second, both the applicant and the offer ranges are very wide, applicants from 1 to 9 and offer-holders from 3.7 to 8.9, which means the averages represent this group weakly: behind a 6.14 stands a very varied set of people. Third, the applicant-to-offer gaps of 0.96, 1.09 and 0.96 sit close together, so selection opened up a similar distance on each module. None of this makes Lucy Cavendish easier or harder to get into, and with no applicant counts in the FOI response there is no way to tell how steady these averages are.

Preparing with Lucy Cavendish's shape in mind

01Step one

Split the time three ways

With only 0.11 between Lucy Cavendish's three offer averages and every rank mid-pool, start by dividing revision time evenly between Mathematics 1, Physics and Mathematics 2, rather than deciding in advance that one of them can have less.

02Step two

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. With this college's ranges stretching from 1 to 9, the college averages say almost nothing about any individual; your own baseline is what should allocate the time.

03Step three

Break the weakest module down to topic level

Take the module that came out worst and break it into topics, then drill those topics in the practice centre. Mature applicants have often been out of the classroom for a while, and rebuilding the rusty foundations pays better than chasing a high score in one 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. Lucy Cavendish's offer group averaged 6.09 across three level modules; whole-paper rhythm is worth more practice than a peak in any one subject.

Where practice weight goes for Lucy Cavendish's shape

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

Mathematics 1 (3rd of 4, 6.14)Offer range 3.7 to 8.9, gap 0.96

Target accuracy and speed, clearing arithmetic slips first
File errors by topic, not by which paper they came from

Physics (2nd of 4, 6.1)Offer range 3.8 to 8.6, gap 1.09, slightly the largest of the three

Mid-level mechanics and circuits as the standing workload
Under timing, leave no half-attempted items and settle the physics run first

Mathematics 2 (3rd of 4, 6.03)Offer range 3.7 to 8.9, gap 0.96

Algebraic manipulation and function work to fluency, with one mixed set a week
Treat it alongside Mathematics 1 without merging the two just because they share a rank

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. FrontierVUE is not affiliated with or endorsed by the University of Cambridge or any college; this page only organises and interprets officially released data.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What ESAT score do you need for an offer at Lucy Cavendish?

There is no such score. Cambridge publishes no ESAT threshold, and Lucy Cavendish 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 mature college averaged 6.14 in Mathematics 1, 6.1 in Physics and 6.03 in Mathematics 2, with actual scores in that group running from 3.7 to 8.9 in Mathematics 1, from 3.8 to 8.6 in Physics and from 3.7 to 8.9 in Mathematics 2. A range that wide is not what a score threshold looks like.

One offer-holder scored only 3.7 in Mathematics 1. Does that mean a low score does not matter?

That reading does not hold. The bottom of a range only shows that a 3.7 occurred at least once among the people reported with an offer under Lucy Cavendish in the 2025 cycle; it does not show that this was common, or that it will happen again this year. The same group averaged 6.14 and reached 8.9, and the University notes that some applicants change college or course mid-cycle, so the two columns are not strictly nested. The FOI gives no applicant counts, the group may be small, and a single low score says little about the whole. Treating the floor of a range as a safe zone is the most dangerous misuse of this data.

The three averages are almost identical. Does it matter which module I practise?

Level averages describe the shape of the college's group, not yours. Lucy Cavendish's three offer averages of 6.14, 6.1 and 6.03 are only 0.11 apart, which means no module can be sacrificed and revision time should be split evenly. What actually decides where your time goes is your own module-by-module baseline. The college figures tell you not to lean; your baseline tells you which way you are leaning.

Can Lucy Cavendish's averages be compared with an undergraduate college?

No. Lucy Cavendish admits only applicants aged 21 and over, so its applicant pool is a different population from the 25 undergraduate colleges, and the ranks on this page are computed among Hughes Hall, Lucy Cavendish, St Edmund's and Wolfson alone: 3rd in Mathematics 1, 2nd in Physics, 3rd in Mathematics 2. Those ranks are calculated by FrontierVUE from the same FOI response; Cambridge publishes no such ranking. Lining the pools up against each other is meaningless, and since the FOI response gives no applicant counts per college and a mature college's sample is smaller, the averages themselves wobble more.

Sources

Official sources

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