What actually happens in an Oxbridge Biological Sciences interview
I watched the nine mock interviews published by Oxford, Cambridge and their colleges for biological sciences courses, and wrote up what they had in common. This guide is what I found.
Seven pages, written for parents and applicants. You do not need any Biology to read it.
What's in the guide
- The shape of an interview: the four stages every one of the nine followed, from personal statement to the bit that actually gets marked
- One question, worked through: the elephants question that came up twice, and what the tutors were really scoring
- Six lessons from the debriefs: what the tutors said afterwards about what they were listening for
- What to do between now and December: preparation that works, and preparation that feels useful but isn't
- All nine interviews: linked so you can watch them yourself
- My own interview story: including the bit where I told a Cambridge professor that whales are bigger than humans
A confirmation email arrives first. Click the link inside it and the guide is yours. Check your spam folder if you don't see it; it sometimes ends up there. You can also get in touch if you'd rather just ask me a question.
The nine interviews on YouTube
The nine mock interviews that Oxford, Cambridge and their colleges have published for biological sciences courses, as of September 2026. All free, all worth watching. If you only watch one, watch a whole one rather than clips; the pacing is the part a summary cannot give you.
Links kept up to date here, so the PDF does not have to be reprinted every time a URL changes.
Oxford Biology
- Biology demonstration interview, with Dr Beth Mortimer
- Mock interview: Nora
- Mock interview: Ollie
- Mock interview at Somerville College
Oxford Biomedical Sciences
Oxford Biochemistry
Cambridge Natural Sciences (Biological)
- Natural Sciences interview at Sidney Sussex, example one
- Natural Sciences interview at Sidney Sussex, example two
- Biological Natural Sciences example interview, Downing College
Who wrote this
I'm Flora. Cambridge MSci, Oxford PGCE, seven years teaching secondary science, ten years tutoring Biology. I applied from a state school and worked most of it out myself.
If you read the guide and want to talk about your child's application, send me the course, the school year and the predicted grades and I'll tell you what I'd do next, whether or not you end up working with me.