Sixth Term Examination Paper (STEP), 2x interviews
Both interviews: brief introduction, then solving problems, split into 2 distinct topics, building to a final conclusion
Reviewing A-level maths topics and things mentioned in personal statement
STEP Support Programme, then eventually doing timed past papers
Keep talking, and don't be afraid to ask for clarification
Remember this advice isn't official. There is no guarantee it will reflect your experience because university applications can change between years. Check the official Cambridge and Oxford websites for more accurate information on this year's application format and the required tests.
Also, someone else's experience may not reflect your own. Most interviews are more like conversations than tests and like, any conversation, they are quite interactive.
Test taken: Sixth Term Examination Paper (STEP)
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 4 hours
Length of interviews: 30 minutes
Online interview: Yes
Both interviews took approximately the same structure: after a brief introduction we jumped straight to solving problems. The contents of this was strictly mathematical (to assess academic ability, not of the nature of 'why I applied to Cambridge', 'why I chose this College', etc.) and the emphasis was on communicating reasoning and thinking through unfamiliar problems (though the mathematical content was familiar, and I was urged to ask for clarification if anything was not). Both interviews contained only two distinct topics, but the question would be elaborated upon as I made progress, such that we built up to a final result or conclusion.
The interviewers put me immediately at ease, and the tone of the interview was formal but not at all confrontational. The clear intention of the interviewers was to draw as much out of you as they could, not to linger or put you down in the trickier parts. I felt
Reviewed the topics I had listed as having covered (we were sent an email that asked us to state what parts of the syllabus we had done) using school resources, and looked for questions online that went beyond A-level problem solving skills - I found MadAsMaths was particularly reliable. The best thing I did was to ask some of the maths teachers at my school to do
Used the (free) Cambridge STEP Support Programme, to then build up to doing isolated past paper questions, full papers, and eventually timed full papers. Repeated process for STEP I (discontinued as an exam but still useful material), II and III in turn. After doing timed papers, I would then go through and attempt all the remaining questions. I tried to get the best feel for the topics I was strongest at, and would specifically look for in the real papers.
Do not feel afraid to ask for clarification in your interview. As you (inevitably) reach a point where you're struggling to see how to move forward, keep talking - the greater an insight your interviewers have into what you're thinking, the better placed they are to prompt you further along. Do not feel flawless, unhampered progression is the standard - it is not!