Westminster School Entrance Guide

There are specific Open Days for 13+ entry to Westminster School which are held regularly throughout the year. Families are also able to arrange a semi-private tour with up to five other families on specific dates. For 16+ entry to Westminster School, there are two Open Days a year in June and September which can be booked via the school website. 

Westminster is a very competitive school, and they have rigorous standards of entry. The entrance process should be started in year 5 or latest year 6 of a student's current schooling.

It is generally a good idea to get your child comfortable with the testing process early on, allowing them to gain familiarity with the type of papers encountered and how to best tackle them.

Assessments:

The 13+ assessment to Westminster has two stages. Stage 1 are the online pretests to be sat in the Autumn (October or November) of year 6. Stage 2 is the exam paper to be sat in the January of year 7, and will also include an interview.

Stage 1 ISEB Pretest:

This is a computerised assessment that consists of Maths (50mins), English (25mins), Verbal Reasoning (36mins) and Non-verbal reasoning (36mins). The maths that is covered is similar to the maths covered at school at this stage, with basic functions and also typical topics such as ratio's, percentages, algebra and fractions. The English online tests involve comprehension but also areas such as spelling, grammar, punctuation and scanning a short passage for meanings and inference. In verbal reasoning, questions can be on areas such as antonyms, synonyms, letter codes, and other word puzzles. Non-verbal reasoning involves pattern, shapes and three dimensional rotation i.e. aspects of spatial reasoning.

Good practice for these tests would be the Atom Learning website which is also used in many schools. It is very useful in that it has adaptive testing, which means that the questions get more difficult depending on how well the students performs, which is similar to the actual tests. New questions are thrown up in each session, which allows students to get plenty of practise and also become familiar with the online format (especially since students cannot go back and change their answers to a previous question).

Additionally, Westminster School may ask for school reports from your child's current school, at this stage, to help form a picture of their progress.

Stage 2 Entrance Exam:

This involves sitting an English and Maths paper (they are 40 mins each). The English paper consists of comprehension and a writing task, while the Maths paper looks at topics such as algebra, fractions, ratio's, percentages, functions, geometry and statistics. The best practice would be 11+ and 13+ Maths and English papers, and you can find some typical past papers here via our 13 plus examination pages.

If you decide to apply for a scholarship, the examination will be the Westminster 13+ Challenge paper.

Interview:

If your child is invited to interview, this will take place in January of year 7.

Owl Tutors has many tutors who cover interview practice at this stage, and it is a good idea to start this process early, so that students can gain familiarity with interview technique and strategies. Interview questions typically cover areas such as current learning, interests and pastimes, why a student wishes to study at the school, past achievements and some knowledge of current affairs. The school typically looks for well-rounded students who are academically strong but also have other interests such as musical or sporting interests as well as any more unusual or interesting hobbies.

Around 80 new children (both boys and girls) enter Westminster School at 16+ every year, making this a very popular entry point. Following registration, prospective pupils will be invited to sit examination papers in four of their proposed A-Level subject choices, with each paper lasting up to 45 minutes. These exams take place at Westminster School in the Autumn Term of Year 11. If a pupil is successful in these exams then they are invited for an interview day which includes a further assessment in Thinking Skills. Offers are made in December, some of which may be conditional on GCSE results.

Scholarships are available at Westminster School for 13+ and 16+ entry. Holders of academic scholarships are known as ‘King’s Scholars’ and have special privileges within the school, including a generous fee discount and the chance to become involved in the services at Westminster Abbey. King’s Scholars must become boarding pupils; 8 places are available at 13+ (boys only) and 4 places at 16+ (girls only). At 13+, boys applying for academic scholarships must sit the ‘Challenge’ papers, samples of which are available on the website. Their current headteacher must also write in support of this process. At 16+, academic scholars are chosen from their performance in the entrance examinations. 

Music scholarships are also available at Westminster School. These are worth 10% of the fees and also entitle the holder to two free music lessons a week. The process of application includes an audition in the Spring Term of Year 8, and a strong performance at Common Entrance or in the ‘Challenge’ academic scholarship papers detailed above. There is also a specific Organ Scholarship award which is only available at 16+.

Bursaries are available at Westminster School for both 13+ and 16+ entry. There are specific geographical criteria for the award of a bursary (applicants must live in London) and bursaries are only available for day places at the school. Bursaries may be worth up to 100% of fees; if a scholarship is awarded then the fee remission will form part of the bursary and they will not be added together. Application forms for bursaries are available via the website.