Classics Admission Test; 2x interviews.
Interview 1: discussions of translations for CAT, personal statement; Interview 2: philosophical problem, history questions.
Reading around subject.
Practice papers.
I would get used to having more academic discussions with teachers, and explaining what you are reading to friends and parents.
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: Classics Admissions Test (
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: One day
Length of interviews: 30 mins
Online interview: Yes
In one, there was a discussion of the translations I had made for the CAT, followed by some questions about my personal statement (I think I'd written something about Sophocles' Ajax, so that came up). In the other, I was given a philosophical problem to think about and then was interrogated for a bit about my answer. This was followed by some short questions about Ancient History. In other words, Interview 1: language questions; literature questions. Interview 2: a philosophy question; history questions.
I prepared by reading as many books about Classics as I could, focussing on the areas I'd mentioned in the personal statement.
I did lots of practice papers, and read as much Latin and Greek as possible.
I think my advice would be to trust yourself in the interview. They are looking for people who will be enjoyable to teach and who will learn quickly. You don't need to get everything right, and they like to see that someone will modify their opinions if they are presented with enough evidence. In effect, it's a practice