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 boys must be registered by the end of Year 6, but it is strongly advised that registration should take place before then. Ideally a boy should be registered by the end of Year 5 (the academic year of his 10th birthday). In fact boys can be registered from birth.
There are no Open Days for 13+ entry but tours of the School take place several times a week.
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. Most boys sit the tests in late November or early December.
- 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.
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.