Westminster School

Focus

Intellectual curiosity

Day fees

$43,600 - $47,700

Boarding fees

$62,500

Pupils

770

Ages

13–18

Academics

96 per cent of IGCSE results are 7–9 grades.

84 per cent of A-Level results are A* or A grades.

Spear’s Review

Westminster School has been in existence since the 14th century and was linked to Westminster Abbey until the 1868 Public Schools Act established the school as an independent body.

At this highly academic institution, students are encouraged to develop an open-minded approach to learning and to maintain an atmosphere of mutual respect and compassion. Approximately 180 pupils board each year. Academic results are consistently exceptional.

Head teacher

Dr Gary Savage grew up in Suffolk. He read history at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, taking a double first before completing a PhD on the political culture and foreign policy of later 18th-century France. He was head of history and master-in-college at Eton College, and then became under master at Westminster School for four years. From 2010 he was headmaster at Alleyn’s, and in September 2020 he returned to Westminster School as head master.

Admissions

According to the school:

Each year Westminster School offers Lower School (Years 9 to 11) places to boys at 13+ entry and Upper School (Years 12 and 13) places to boys and girls at 16+ entry. Entry for 13+ begins with visiting the school for the first time in Year 5. In Year 6, boys take ISEB common pre-tests in mathematics, English, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning. Interviews follow, as well as further tests in mathematics and English, and a report from the boy’s current school. Unconditional offers are then made for entry into Year 9 aged 13. The system described above is for boys who can remain at their prep schools until they are 13. Boys who attend primary schools, finishing in Year 6, should be registered for 11+ entry to Westminster Under School.  

Registration for 16+ entry opens in the summer a year before entry. Entry is by competitive examination and interview. Candidates choose four entry examination subjects – the four subjects they plan to take for A-Level. The offer of a place is conditional on a candidate achieving a minimum of eight (I)GCSE passes at A/7 grade, of which at least four are A*/8-9 in the subjects to be studied at A-Level. 

At all points in the admissions procedure, Westminster School aims to find pupils whose academic and other abilities appear to match the ethos and standards of the school and whose personal qualities suggest they have the potential to contribute to the school community and to benefit from the many opportunities that are offered.

Feeder schools

For 13+ entry: Westminster Under School, The Hall, Sussex House.

For 16+ entry: Wycombe Abbey School, City of London School for Girls, North London Collegiate School.

University and college places

18 per cent advance to Oxford; 15 per cent to Cambridge.

5 per cent advance to Ivy League schools.

Accessibility

Heathrow; 40 minutes

Location

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