Applicants to PPE (philosophy, politics and economics) or to Economics and Management still look for past papers of the TSA, Oxford's Thinking Skills Assessment. Since the 2026 cycle, the departments concerned use a different test, the TARA, run by UAT-UK, the same consortium as the TMUA and the ESAT. The content remains close; the format changes.
The TARA: what it measures
The TARA, Test of Academic Reasoning for Admissions, is not a knowledge test. It assesses reasoning and written expression, in three compulsory 40-minute modules:
- Critical Thinking: 22 multiple-choice questions on arguments, their assumptions and their flaws.
- Problem Solving: 22 multiple-choice questions of numerical and logical reasoning.
- Writing Task: one essay chosen from three topics, 750 words at most.
The first two modules are each scored on a scale from 1 to 9, with no marks deducted for wrong answers. The essay is not scored: it is sent as written to the universities. No calculator, no dictionary.
Which Oxford courses require it
Oxford's economics department requires it for PPE, Economics and Management, and Economics and History. The psychology department requires it for Experimental Psychology and for Psychology, Philosophy and Linguistics; it publishes last year's figures: 682 applications, 251 interviews, 102 offers. UCL also uses it for some courses. The exact list is to be checked on each course page.
The economics department states that the final decision draws on the whole application: past and predicted results, the school reference, the personal statement, the TARA and the interviews. The test carries weight without deciding everything.
TSA Oxford past papers: still useful
The two multiple-choice modules bear the names of the two question types of the old TSA, critical thinking and problem solving, and the economics department's page still links to documents labelled TSA. TSA past papers therefore remain good practice on the content. They do not replace the TARA specimen test published by UAT-UK, which alone gives the exact format, the timing per module and the on-screen interface.
What costs a French lycée student marks
The Critical Thinking module is a fast-reading exercise in English, on short texts where you must find the hidden assumption or the conclusion. A student trained in the French dissertation knows how to analyse an argument, but must learn to do it in under two minutes per question, in a language that is not their own. The Problem Solving module requires mental arithmetic and logic without a calculator. Finally, the essay is written in 40 minutes, in English: it gets no score, but tutors read it.
Calendar and fees. For 2027 entry to Oxford, the TARA takes place from 12 to 16 October 2026, after registration opened on 1 June and booking ran from 20 July to 28 September. Registration for the January 2027 sitting opens on 26 October 2026. Fee outside the UK and Ireland: £133. Dates and fees published by UAT-UK and Oxford departments, checked on 3 October 2026.
Getting ready
For an applicant the following autumn, preparation starts in the spring of première (Year 12): regular reading of opinion pieces in English, timed practice on reasoning questions, a few essays written under time pressure and reviewed. The TARA specimen test serves as a dress rehearsal at the end of the summer.
I prepare the Problem Solving part in private lessons, along with the rest of the maths in the application, and we build the application, personal statement and interview included, at Carmine. For all the tests, see Oxford and Cambridge admissions tests.