Oxbridge Physics, Year 12

Hi, Oxford care a lot about your PAT and your GCSEs, and those are the only things they will use to shortlist you for interview. Your personal statement is worth next to nothing there, as well as your supercurriculars. That being said, your GCSEs are on the worse end and even considering contextual std.dev adjustments, You will need a very very good PAT score to get shortlisted.
PAT preparation really just comes in the form of doing every past paper there is, and every adjacent admissions test possible (e.g. MAT, ENGAA, TMUA)

Hello, I am currently in year 12 and just wondering what supercurriculars or even work experiences I could get involved with starting now(mainly to do with Maths or Physics). I am aiming to do physics at Oxford. What are some great sources to prepare for the senior physics challenge, or even get ahead in the subject. What are some great books to read and some great PAT preparation websites? My gcse’s are low in my opinion compared to other applicants to oxbridge so I am slightly concerned(My gcses were 8888877655 and the school I did it in was a private school but like I was top 10% in gcse grades at my school). I am just looking for ways to increase my chances. I have attended one online lecture so far and my current predicted grades are AAAA(I do FM, Maths, Physics and ComputerScience). I would really appreciate any help. Thank you!

Are any of the 5s in English Language?

The 5 was in English literature.. and on of the 7s was in English language

That's okay and there's nothing you can do about the 5 in GCSE English Literature.
More importantly, the entrance requirements for Physics are: A*AA (with the A* in Physics, Maths or Further Maths)
...and for Maths even higher!!! A*A*A with the A*s in Maths and Further Maths if available.
So, 4A's would not meet the entry requirements. You need to get at least an A*AA or more.

Hello, I am currently in year 12 and just wondering what supercurriculars or even work experiences I could get involved with starting now(mainly to do with Maths or Physics). I am aiming to do physics at Oxford. What are some great sources to prepare for the senior physics challenge, or even get ahead in the subject. What are some great books to read and some great PAT preparation websites? My gcse’s are low in my opinion compared to other applicants to oxbridge so I am slightly concerned(My gcses were 8888877655 and the school I did it in was a private school but like I was top 10% in gcse grades at my school). I am just looking for ways to increase my chances. I have attended one online lecture so far and my current predicted grades are AAAA(I do FM, Maths, Physics and ComputerScience). I would really appreciate any help. Thank you!

Hello, I am currently in year 12 and just wondering what supercurriculars or even work experiences I could get involved with starting now(mainly to do with Maths or Physics). I am aiming to do physics at Oxford. What are some great sources to prepare for the senior physics challenge, or even get ahead in the subject. What are some great books to read and some great PAT preparation websites? My gcse’s are low in my opinion compared to other applicants to oxbridge so I am slightly concerned(My gcses were 8888877655 and the school I did it in was a private school but like I was top 10% in gcse grades at my school). I am just looking for ways to increase my chances. I have attended one online lecture so far and my current predicted grades are AAAA(I do FM, Maths, Physics and ComputerScience). I would really appreciate any help. Thank you!

hi! i’ve just completed all 3 of my interviews for physics at oxford and although i’m sure the PAT is the most important part in securing an interview and therefore an offer, supercurriculars are definitely useful! personally, i took part in a 3 day summer school at cambridge university (christs college) which included lectures on physics and engineering. i also read books - such as “physics and philosophy” by heisenberg - and watched documentaries - such as “a trip to infinity” - to immerse myself in the subject outside of school learning! i hope this helps as to giving some ideas of what supercurriculars you could do!

Your GCSEs are probably fine, PAT is more important as I understand.
Aside from wider reading in your subject area, you can look into maths/physics competitions, or science fairs (e.g. the Big Bang Fair), as well as MOOCs. Note the latter options are not necessary, they're just possibilities. Wider reading is sufficient.
Note that it's not about finding "great books to read" which you imagine the admissions tutors to have a list of and give gold stars for each one an applicant has read - that's not how it works. It's your reflections and analytical discussions of whatever book you happened to read which are what matters. Which book it's about (given the assumption it's about physics and ideally somewhat academic-related) is less important than what you can communicate you took away from reading it.
The same applies equally to other activities. Anyone can go ahead and read any book, do any MOOC, participate (and even do very well in!) any competition, or submit something for a science fair. Just doing that and writing it without any further analysis or reflection doesn't tell the admissions tutors much of anything except you can read/sign up to a competition/MOOC/science fair. They really just want to know what your personal interests in the field are by way of you telling them what you did to explore them! It's about showing not telling.

To prepare for SPC/BPhO, use a textbook like University Physics by Young and Freedman, or better yet, Physics by Halliday Resnick and Krane. Also see https://www.bpho.org.uk/Resources/upgrade-your-physics/Upgrade_Your_Physics_v3.pdf

Thank you soo much!!. I really appreciate this!.