Approximately 120 boys enter Westminster School at 13+. Between 45 and 50 of these boys come from our Under School; most of the remainder come from prep schools in London and the Home Counties. Boys who attend state primary schools are advised to transfer to the Under School or to another prep school at 11+. A quarter of the boys who join at 13+ decide to board.
For 13+ entry it is strongly advised that boys should be registered by the end of Year 5 (the academic year of their 10th birthday). In fact boys can register from birth. Although registration will close at the end of Year 6, please note that, following the tests in November, we may allocate all of our available places. We therefore cannot guarantee that places will be available immediately for those who register and sit their tests after November. Strong candidates may have to be placed on the waiting list.
To find out about visiting the school please click here .
Please click here to download the 13+ registration form.
While a boy is in Year 6 (the academic year of his 11th birthday)
- He comes to Westminster School for a morning to sit tests in Mathematics, English and Verbal Reasoning. These tests take place in late November.
- He returns to Westminster for an interview and oral English test. Most boys are interviewed during the Lent Term (January - March).
- Westminster School requests a reference from the boy's current head teacher.
We are currently reviewing our test and interview procedures. The system outlined above will certainly apply for boys who are registered for entry in 2015. Parents of boys registered for 2016 or beyond will be notified well in advance of any changes to the test and interview procedures.
After completion of this process, parents receive one of three possible letters:
1. An offer of a conditional place. (For more information about conditional places please refer to the next section about Year 8.)
2. An offer to place the boy's name on the waiting list for conditional places.
3. A letter explaining that the boy's application will not be taken forward.
While a boy is in Year 8 (the academic year of his 13th birthday and his final year at preparatory school)
A boy who holds a conditional place must sit our entrance examinations in order to secure his place at Westminster School. Because of the selection process in Year 6 these entrance examinations are 'qualifying' and not 'competitive'.
Parents, in consultation with their son's present school, choose from two sets of entrance examinations:
The Challenge (in May)
This is the Westminster scholarship examination but it is also used as the entrance examination by approximately half the candidates.
Common Entrance (in June)
These papers are used by most leading independent schools and they are more straight-forward than the Challenge papers.
In The Challenge and Common Entrance boys must sit examinations in the following subjects:
Mathematics, English, French, Science, Latin, History, Geography and Scripture (Common Entrance only).
The pass mark for the Common Entrance papers is 70%. A boy who does not reach the qualifying standard in The Challenge will be asked to sit Common Entrance.
For a more detailed explanation of the 13+ admissions process please refer to the Further Information booklet which is sent out with the prospectus.
Scholarships and bursaries
Scholarships and means-tested bursaries up to 100% of the fees are available including the Queen’s Scholarship and Music Scholarship.
School fees
Please refer to the latest list of fees.
There are three terms per academic year.