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The six-week ESAT plan

Start with one timed diagnostic in every required module. Rank gaps by recoverable marks per hour, repair Mathematics 1 fluency because every module assumes it, then move from clean untimed work to 89-second decisions and full sittings.

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Your first session is a measurement, not revision

Sit a 40-minute set in each module your course requires, on separate days if necessary. Use a desktop, no calculator and one blank sheet. Mark it, then label every missed or slow question.

Code	What happened	First repair
K	Knowledge was missing	Recall sheet, then five varied applications
R	Knowledge was there; route was not	Compare two solutions and practise the shorter cue
E	Algebra, arithmetic, sign or unit failed	Slow clean reps, then a three-question timed set
T	Correct route, but too slow or left blank	Bank-and-return drills, option testing and estimation

For each topic, estimate:

\text{priority score}=\frac{\text{marks you can plausibly recover}}{\text{focused hours needed}}.

This is a planning ratio, not a predicted score. Four unit-conversion misses fixable in two hours outrank one exotic question likely to consume four hours.

The order that buys the most

Only required modules. A beautiful Biology week earns nothing for a course requiring Physics.
Mathematics 1 fluency. The official specification says every other module assumes it. Fractions, rearranging, units, ratio, graphs and estimation pay rent in the sciences too.
Short, repeated recall gaps. Chemical tests, exact trig values, circuit relations or hormone roles can return several reachable marks quickly.
Repeated route errors. If the same probability tree, equilibrium shift or force diagram fails twice, it is no longer random noise.
Long-tail hard topics. Earn these after blanks, unit slips and two-minute algebra have stopped leaking marks.

Use a default week of about eight focused hours: four 75-minute sessions, one 90-minute session and one two-hour review. If you have less time, shrink every block proportionally. Do not delete marking and review; that is where the next week's priorities come from.

Weeks 1 and 2: expose, then repair

Week 1: diagnostic and quick wins

Complete and mark every required-module diagnostic.
Build the K/R/E/T error table and calculate rough priority scores.
Repair the top Mathematics 1 fluency leak and the two shortest recall gaps.
Finish with one 9-question set in 13 minutes. Record attempted, correct and guessed.

Week 2: the two biggest mark leaks

Choose two high-priority topics, not six. For each, use a 75-minute block: 15 minutes recall from memory, 25 minutes careful problems, 20 minutes mixed timed questions, and 15 minutes error rewrite. Retest the original diagnostic questions two days later without notes.

Week 3: turn knowledge into a short route

Mix topics now. The target is not instant brilliance; it is a decision inside 20 seconds: solve, estimate, eliminate, or bank.

Worked example A probability question with a hidden second root

A bag contains $n$ red counters and $n+2$ blue counters, where $n>3$ . Two counters are drawn without replacement. The probability that they have the same colour is $7/15$ . How many counters are in the bag?

\frac{n(n-1)+(n+2)(n+1)}{(2n+2)(2n+1)}=\frac7{15}.

15(2n^2+2n+2)=7(4n^2+6n+2),

n^2-6n+8=0\Longrightarrow(n-2)(n-4)=0.

The condition $n>3$ selects $n=4$ , so the total is

\boxed{n+(n+2)=10}.

Correct: one denominator preserves both same-colour cases, and the stem condition selects the valid root.

Trap: using $n/(2n+2)$ twice treats the second draw as replacement. Stopping at $n=2$ ignores the condition.

Code the delta. If you missed the changing denominator, repair dependent probability. If factorisation was slow, algebra has cross-module priority. If the model was clear but took four minutes, practise setting up the single fraction without narrating every branch.

Week 4: make 40 minutes feel normal

Sit three full module sets across the week. Use checkpoints at 13, 26 and 38 minutes. At each checkpoint, the next action is automatic: bank a sticky question, fill any blank before the end, and return only if the remaining time has a job.

Review for longer than you sit. For every error, write:

\text{clue missed}\longrightarrow\text{short route}\longrightarrow\text{check}.

Example: “same colour” means add red-red and blue-blue; then check that probabilities total at most 1. Recalculate priority scores from this week's evidence. Do not keep Week 1's plan out of loyalty.

Weeks 5 and 6: simulate, then taper

Week 5: two complete sittings

Do two back-to-back sittings using your exact module combination, with realistic handovers and no pause. Leave at least two days between them. On the days between, fix only repeated errors: the same cause twice is a pattern; a single monster question is not a curriculum.

Your scoreboard has four numbers per module: correct, attempted, avoidable errors and blanks. A higher attempted count with five extra execution mistakes is not progress. Aim for a cleaner first pass and fewer unplanned two-minute battles.

Week 6: one final read, not a panic rewrite

Early week: one final full sitting and a calm post-mortem.
Middle: short mixed sets, exact recall and the top three recurring traps.
Final 48 hours: no new topic with a long prerequisite chain.
Final day: ID, route, booking confirmation, food, sleep and one light formula-recall pass.

If you fall behind, preserve the order: diagnostic evidence, required modules, Mathematics 1 fluency, repeated leaks, timed integration. Cutting an obscure chapter is sensible. Cutting the only full sitting is not.

Sources

UAT-UK, ESAT specification hub: 27 questions in 40 minutes per module, Mathematics 1 assumptions and examinable content.

UAT-UK, Prepare: official familiarisation materials and the warning that practice performance need not predict exam-day performance.

The hours and ordering are a study recommendation, not a score guarantee. Re-rank topics from your own timed evidence every week.

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