This guide is for anyone applying to sit Classics or any combination involving Classics at the University of Oxford. In the sections below you can find out if you need to sit the test and how you go about doing that. There is also some advice on how best to prepare for the test and how important the test will be to your application to study at Oxford.
Any student applying to study Classics, Classics and English, Classics and Modern Languages or Classics and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Oxford University will have to sit the CAT test.
The CAT consists of three separate sections. You have to complete the part (or parts) that are relevant to your choice of course - and only those parts that test languages you have already studied: so either the Latin Translation Test, the Greek Translation Test or a more general Classics Language Aptitude Test (CLAT).
These tests have been computer-based since 2024 and candidates must arrange to sit the assessment at a Pearson VUE test centre local to them. Test dates change each year but will likely be late October in the year preceding you beginning the course, with registration opening as early as August the same year. Up to date information is available on the course homepage and it is worth staying on top of it: Oxford recommend registering at the first available opportunity.
What is the CAT?
The Classics Admissions Test (CAT) is an assessment set by Oxford University for all prospective Classics students to check their level of Latin, Greek - or their general aptitude for languages, in the case that they haven’t studied an ancient language yet.
The CAT consists of three parts: a Greek Translation Test, a Latin Translation test, and the Classics Language Aptitude Test. You will only need to sit the part relevant to your course, and only in those languages that you have already studied.
The Greek and Latin Translation Tests each consist of a short passage in both the prose and verse of the classical language, both of which you must translate into English. Passages are said to be of a difficulty broadly appropriate to A-level (or equivalent) students.
You can’t use a dictionary or grammar book, or take notes into the test, so it’s a good idea to practise ‘practical’ translation without any form of aid.
If you haven’t studied Latin or Greek at A-level or equivalent, the Classics Language Aptitude Test (CLAT) will examine your ability to analyse how languages work: it is not a test that depends on your knowledge of any specific language. Rather, Oxford are looking to understand your ability to learn and understand a new language rapidly.
As with all Oxford admissions tests, the idea is to get some additional idea of candidates’ abilities in language even before their A-Level results. These inform their offers that are sent out in January. In addition, Oxford is clear that the test provides valuable extra information which helps to differentiate between candidates who are otherwise equally well-qualified.
Who needs to sit the CAT?
Classics (Q800)
Students studying Latin and/or Greek at A-level must take the Translation Test(s) in whichever languages they are studying. If you are taking both Classical languages you will need to take Translation Tests in both Latin and Greek; if you are taking just, you will need to take only the test for the language you are already studying. If you are studying neither Latin nor Greek you will take the Classics Language Aptitude Test instead.
Classics and English (QQ38)
You must take Translation Test(s) in Latin or Greek, whichever you are studying to A-level.
Classics and English with Beginners' Latin or Greek (QQH8)
As this is a course for those who don’t study Latin or Greek at A-level, you need to take the third test only, the Classics Language Aptitude Test.
Classics and Modern Languages
Classics and Modern Languages options A. If studying Latin and/or Greek to A-level or equivalent, you need to take the Translation Test(s) in whichever language you are studying – or both. You must also sit the MLAT.
Classics and Modern Languages option A with Beginners' Latin or Greek. If you don’t study Latin or Greek then you need to sit the Classics Language Aptitude Test. You also need to sit the MLAT.
Classics and Modern Languages options B. If you study Latin or Greek to A-level then you need to take the Translation Test(s) in whichever languages you study. If you study neither, you must sit the Classics Language Aptitude Test. You must also sit the MLAT.
Classics and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
For both Q8T9 and T9Q8. If you are studying Latin and/or Greek to A-level or equivalent you must take the Translation Test(s) in whichever of those languages you are studying. If you are studying neither Latin nor Greek to A-level or equivalent, you must take the Classics Language Aptitude Test.
What does the CAT paper look like?
Each paper lasts 1 hour and is sat under timed exam conditions. Which papers you sit depends on the course you are applying for, and whether you are studying Latin or Greek to A-level or equivalent.
Although testing – and the test platform – have changed from previous sessions, test content will be similar. In past years, Oxford have made an up to date practise text available – on a mock-up of the Pearson platform, so you can practise in the correct conditions - in the months running up to the test date.
But past papers from previous entrance exam sessions are still relevant and valuable, and will help you build confidence in advance of the test day.
These papers describe an exam format as follows:
Latin (1hr)
Question 1: One passage of Latin poetry to be translated into English.
Question 2: One passage of Latin prose to be translated into English.
Greek Paper (1hr)
Question 1: One passage of Greek poetry to be translated into English.
Question 2: One passage of Greek prose to be translated into English.
Aptitude Test (1hr)
Section A: tests the workings of a real language.
Section B: tests how well you will adapt to a new language.
Section C: tests how well you know the workings of English.
The Classics Admissions Test (CAT) is an assessment set by Oxford University for all prospective Classics students to check their level of Latin, Greek or their aptitude for languages in the case that they haven’t studied an ancient language yet.
The idea of the test is to get some idea of candidates language abilities before their A-Level results so they can use that to inform their offers sent out in January. In addition to this, Oxford is very clear that the test is designed to give them extra information to help them differentiate between candidates who are otherwise equally well-qualified.
How important is the CAT test to my application?
Your result in the CAT plays a significant role in your acceptance or otherwise to Oxford, but it is not the be-all and end-all. As around 96% of Classics applicants get invited to interview, if you get a really low CAT score this might mean you don’t get an invite.
But the CAT isn’t just to get you through the door. Once you’ve completed your interview, your whole application is taken into consideration. So a great CAT score can stand against a wobbly interview and might tip things in your favour. That’s why it’s really vital you prepare properly and know what’s facing you in November!
How to Prepare for the CAT
Latin Paper
Oxford says the Latin translation in the CAT is pitched to be around the difficulty of A Level, but the reality is you will best prepared if you have a wider knowledge of the grammar and vocab including things that are not covered by the A Level syllabus.
An added difficulty is that you are sitting this A Level style paper right at the beginning of Year 13, with only one year’s worth of Latin A Level learned.
However, don’t panic just yet. With enough preparation and by utilising the tips below, you’ll have plenty of time to get in shape before the CAT.
What Latin grammar do I need to learn?
All the A Level grammar, both syntax and accidence. The verse paper often tests your working knowledge of case endings, singulars and plurals, and genders so make sure you know all 5 declensions off by heart. The prose paper by contrast will contain harder syntax, so knowing the uses of the subjunctive is key (sequence of tenses is really important here) and all indirect constructions and reported speech conventions.
Outside of the A Level grammar, you want to be learning idiomatic rules. There are a few common ones below, but you’ll come up against more when translating with a teacher or tutor to help:
Variations in “suus” translations: soliders, family etc.
Romam, Romae, Roma: the moving around cities and islands.
Verse word order: words being promoted or delayed outside of subordinate clauses.
Common contractions in the past tense: negasse, venere etc.
‘-ne’ becoming ‘-n’.
‘deabus’ and 3rd presenting 1st and 2nd declensions.
What Latin vocab do I need to know for the CAT?
As you may already know, there is no official Latin A Level vocab list because the people that set the exams are mean, bitter and have a twisted sense of humour. However… if you use a course book such as the excellent John Taylor series (Latin Beyond GCSE), the vocab in the back of those books are a great starting point.
Is there any English to Latin translation?
No. But… English to Latin is an excellent way to practice accidence and vocal learning.
How should I prepare for the Latin paper?
You need to prepare by training yourself in 3 categories: translation, vocab and grammar.
Translation
The best way to prepare here is definitely by translating A Level standard chunks of Latin many many times. It can be helpful to use the past papers for the CAT given by Oxford (which can be found here) but make sure you leave yourself one or two to do in the weeks before the test.
Even better than A Level prescriptive Latin is to stretch yourself (when feeling more confident) to translating actual Latin from Roman authors. Here you will pick up some more of the idioms and contractions. Go through it with a tutor or teacher though so your head doesn’t explode.
Vocab & Grammar
Everyone will have a different way of learning this, but an excellent tip to getting it to stick in your head is practicing English to Latin sentences and translations. The ability to create Latin by finding the right verb endings and cases of nouns actually means your brain is creating much quicker connections to those words and how they are used. In practice, what this means is when you come to translate from Latin, you’ll be twice as accurate with your noun and verb endings and be able to recognise their possible uses twice as quickly.
How to prepare for the CAT Greek Paper
As a quick heads up: if you’re studying Greek and Latin and have read the Latin advice above, most of what I say there is applicable to Greek and you will bore yourself silly reading the same words twice. For Greek advice that differs from the Latin, look closely at ‘What grammar do I need to learn?’ and ‘What vocab do I need to know?’.
What is the level?
Oxford says the Greek translation in the CAT is pitched to be around the difficulty of A Level, but the reality is you will best prepared if you have a wider knowledge of the grammar and vocab including things that are not covered by the A Level syllabus.
An added difficulty is that you are sitting this A Level style paper right at the beginning of Year 13, with only one year’s worth of Greek A Level learned.
However, don’t panic just yet. With enough preparation and by utilising the tips below, you’ll have plenty of time to get in shape before the CAT.
What greek grammar do I need to learn?
- All the A Level grammar, both syntax and accidence. In Greek that means: know your verbs. All the endings for regular verbs, irregulars (pretty much every verb!), µ? verbs and vowel contraction verbs should be learned and practiced (see below for how to do that!). On top of that, a good focus can be uses of the optative, subjunctive and participles. For those of you who study Latin too, make sure you don’t mix up participle use across the two languages. As well as verbs, pronoun and article translations are commonly mixed up and the cunning people at Oxford know this full well and will test out your a?t?-s time and time again.
- As there are so many irregular verbs, the grammar does not really extend beyond A Level as it does somewhat with Latin. So vocab learning becomes much much more important.
What Greek vocab do I need to know?
As you may already know, there is no official Greek A Level vocab list because the people that set the exams continue to be mean, bitter and have all developed a twisted sense of humour. However… if you use a course book such as the excellent John Taylor series (Greek Beyond GCSE), the vocab in the back of those books are a great starting point.
For more vocab, and principal part training, you can pick up a lot from translation practice (see below) or from other books that train English to Greek. One great example is Writing Greek and this is a worthwhile purchase anyway.
Is there any English to Greek translation?
No. But… English to Greek is an excellent way to practice accidence and vocal learning, if you can stomach it.
How to prepare for the Greek CAT paper
You need to prepare by training yourself in 3 categories: translation, vocab and grammar.
Greek Translation
The best way to prepare here is definitely by translating A Level standard chunks of Greek many many times. It can be helpful to use the past papers for the CAT given by Oxford (which can be found here) but make sure you leave yourself one or two to do before the test.
Even better than A Level prescriptive Greek is to stretch yourself (when feeling more confident) to translating actual Greek from Attic Greek authors (Attic Greek just means the standard Greek you’ve learned in school). Go through it with a tutor or teacher though so your head doesn’t explode.
Greek Vocab & Grammar
Everyone will have a different way of learning this, but an excellent tip to getting it to stick in your head is practicing English to Greek sentences and translations. The ability to create Greek by finding the right verb endings and cases of nouns actually means your brain is creating much quicker connections to those words and how they are used. In practice, what this means is when you come to translate from Greek, you’ll be twice as accurate with your noun and verb endings and be able to recognise their possible uses twice as quickly.
CAT Language Aptitude Test
What they’re looking for?
The language aptitude test is designed to ensure you will be able to cope with the fast pace of Latin and/or Greek learning in your first couple of years at Oxford. In this test they are looking for you to demonstrate you can spot patterns within in a language and that you can apply those patterns yourself.
If you enjoy language learning, but haven’t got Latin or Greek to A Level, this paper can actually be loads of fun, even despite its dry name. If you end up really enjoying this section, think about taking linguistic modules in Classics when you get to university; they will often involve the same challenges as this test.
Section A - Which rules are they testing me on?
As you’ll have seen at the top, Section A lets you muddle through a real, extant language (normally European and not widely studied) with questions often testing noun endings and the patterns and rules behind them. They will give you examples that look like a noun table from a grammar book and then ask you to fill in your own table using new nouns.
The language boffins from Oxford want to be able to see that you can find a regular pattern for the ending of a word and apply it in different cases or numbers (singular/ plural). They will also want you to spot exceptions to this rule and to find the rule that governs the exceptions.
A really good way to practice this and to train yourself to quickly spot the rule is to start by focussing on the letters that immediately end the word, both vowel and consonant. Also if you have a friend studying a language that you don’t (maybe they learn German or Italian), then borrow their grammar book and see if you can spot patterns in there without looking at the English explanation. Then see if you can replicate those patterns yourself.
Section B - How do I pick apart a fake language?
Section B is the longest and most heavily mark-weighted of the sections, and this is where the real workings of a conventional Latin or Greek base language are tested. Here you are given a fake language, often set up with certain parameters or quirks different from English, eg. ‘word order doesn’t matter’.
In Section B, like in the first section, examples will be provided for you to pick apart the rules from. These come in sentence form and in each example part there will normally be 2 or 3 new rules or endings they want you to spot.
The way to practice these is really just to do lots of them (past papers can be found here).
A key piece of advice though, is always do these questions in the order they give them to you, as they build on prior knowledge learned at the beginning of the section in the later questions.
Section C - What level of English do I need?
Most of us think we’re pretty good at English until we see something like Section C of the aptitude test. Often at school we aren’t asked to look closely at the workings of English and until we come to study a foreign language have no idea what, say, an ‘infinitive’ is or what to do with one.
In Section C you will not be asked technical questions about English as a language (Oxford aren’t interested in how many nerdy grammar words you know) but you will be asked to spot differences between uses of words and thus reveal you can spot the differences in English rules.
Like Section B, a good way to practice can be the past papers, but you can also do some training outside of this. Try picking a word you know has lots of different uses. Then see if you use it in in as many different ways as possible and work out which are similar and which are different. Here are some common examples to get you started:
- Before
- After
- Since
- Like
- As
- It
As an explanation of what I mean, here are 4 sentences with ‘before’ in them but with 3 separate uses of the word. Can you spot which ones are different and in what way?
- Before the war, the enemy clashed their shields together.
- Before we get there, we should make sure we have been to the loo.
- I hate to eat before swimming.
- Before swimming is Karen’s favourite time of day.
What CAT score do I need to get a place at Oxford?
There is no set ‘pass mark’ you should be aiming for in the CAT. In the majority of circumstances, Oxford will never actually reveal your CAT result to you. Since the CAT is only one part of the application, it won’t rule in or out a candidate straight away. As a general rule of thumb, however, you should make sure your Latin and/or Greek is at nearly A-Level standard to give you the best chance, if you are sitting these sections of the paper.
Is the CAT hard to pass?
As in the question above, there is no ‘passing’ or ‘failing’ when it comes to the CAT. However, the Latin and Greek tests are designed to be at around A-Level standard (please see above) despite being sat at the beginning of Year 13; this means candidates should find them challenging. For those sitting the aptitude test, the better your innate grasp of languages the easier you will find it, although you can practice some of the exercises to help your chances.
How long should I study for the CAT?
This will very much vary between candidates, however you should make sure you have set aside suitable time to practice the topics and categories listed in the ‘How to Prepare’ section above. If you’re unsure how much time this will take, discuss it with a tutor or talk to your teacher at school. This being said, the earlier you start the better and many candidates begin their preparations in July/August for the exam in November.
If I do badly in the CAT, is that it for my application?
Absolutely not, although it will hurt your chances. Your personal statement, essays, CAT and interview are all viewed together when assessing you as a candidate, so if you do struggle with the CAT, there will be more pressure on the other elements.
Tuition for the CAT test
Keystone has a range of specialist tutors who can assist students approaching university aptitude tests for Oxbridge including the CAT. Our Classics Admissions Test tutors have extensive experience with the CAT, both through having successfully sat the test and then gone on to tutor it. Contact us to find out more.