Year 9 is the first year at Westminster School, and the start of five years of education with increasingly specialist teaching that will take in both GCSEs and A Levels. This is a natural moment for change: pupils are ready for greater independence, broader academic challenge, and the opportunity to join a new, dynamic cohort, with pupils coming in from a diverse range of schools.
Every year around 125 children join Westminster School in the Fifth Form (Year 9) at the 13+ entry point. Now, in becoming co-educational, the first girls will enter the School in Year 9 in 2028. While just under half of the pupils come from Westminster Under School, others come from a wide range of other schools and take up both boarding and day places with us. For details of feeder schools that sent pupils to Westminster last year, please refer to the 13+ Feeder Schools page.
Please read all the information below carefully and use our registration age checker to find out when you are able to apply for your child to join the School at 13+ entry, and to view the registration timeline.
13+ Entry Steps
Registration
- The first step in the 13+ entry process is for a parent to register their child when they are in Year 5 (the academic year of their tenth birthday) online; registration for the relevant year of entry will open on 1 October of Year 5 and will close on 30 September of Year 6.
- As part of the application process, as outlined in School Fees, parents are asked to pay a registration fee, followed by an entrance fee and an acceptance deposit if their child is offered a place. Any parent who is applying for a bursary to Westminster for their child, and feels unable to pay one or more of these fees, may also qualify for a waiver when being considered for a bursary. For assistance, please email the Bursar’s Department.
- The intent to apply for a bursary must be made at the point you register your child for a place at the School. Bursary applications should be completed only if your child is offered a place, communicated in February of Year 6. For more information about applying for bursaries and scholarships at 13+, please refer to our dedicated Bursaries and Scholarships page.
- Those applying for 11+ entry to Westminster Under School cannot, at the same time, apply for 13+ entry to Westminster School. Children who are accepted into Westminster Under School at the 11+ entry point will spend Years 7 and 8 there, and will then move to Westminster School in Year 9, at the 13+ entry point, without the need to apply again or to take further entry tests. We advise pupils who attend state or independent primary schools that finish in Year 6 to apply for 11+ entry to Westminster Under School and those who attend a school that finishes in Year 8 to apply for 13+ entry to Westminster School.
How many candidates apply for 13+ entry each year?
The School receives around 500 applications and invites approximately 250 applicants for interview.
School Visit
To get a sense of what being a pupil at Westminster School is like, parents can bring their child to visit the School when the child is in Year 5 – tours of the School take place each term in groups of up to five families. Every year there are also three 13+ open days in January, April and September. For more information about our open days and to arrange a 13+ visit, please visit our Open Days and Tours section.
Pre-interview Tests
- While a pupil is in Year 6, we decide whether to offer them a place. To help us make that decision, they take a pre-interview test in Mathematics, English and Reasoning at their prep school during October or November. These tests are taken online, and there’s no need for special preparation. We adjust the raw scores according to each child’s age, so that younger candidates aren’t put at a disadvantage. Westminster School uses the Independent Schools Examinations Board (ISEB) Common Pre-Tests. For more information about these, please refer to the ISEB website, where you can view example questions. Candidates based overseas can take these tests at their own school.
- Westminster also places a lot of importance on the report we receive from each candidate’s current school. We request these reports in November of Year 6 for all pupils who sit the pre-interview tests.
- Boys and girls who are at primary schools that finish at the end of Year 6 should register for 11+ entry to Westminster Under School. The system described above is for pupils who can remain at their prep schools until they are 13.
Further Tests and Interview
In mid-December of Year 6, we contact the parents of candidates who have performed well in the ISEB Common Pre-Tests, to invite their son or daughter for an interview. The interview stage comprises further tests in Mathematics and English (40 minutes each) in early January, followed by a separate interview in January / February. Overseas candidates will be required to come to Westminster for their interview, and for the Further Mathematics and English testing in January when they are in Year 6.
Offer of a place
After the interviews and further tests, the School considers all the information gathered before deciding whether to offer an unconditional place. The decision to offer a child an unconditional place means that it is believed they will be able to achieve comfortably the standard required for entry to the School when they are 13, while also enjoying a broad and varied education. Parents will hear whether their child has been offered a place by the end of February when their child is in Year 6.
An unconditional offer is made on the expectation of continued good conduct and academic progress at a child’s existing prep school, including an unreserved reference of support from their school in March of Year 8. The School’s intention at this point in the process is to ensure that Westminster is the right fit for a child, so that when they start at the School, in addition to their academic work they can take full advantage of all the extra-curricular activities that make school life richer and as rewarding as possible.
Further Information
The Waiting List
If a candidate is not offered an immediate unconditional place, their name may be put on the waiting list. From time to time the admissions team will ask head teachers to send an update on the progress of pupils on the waiting list and, when spaces become available, the School can offer a place to boys and girls on the waiting list. A child who is on the waiting list may be promoted to an unconditional place at any time up to the end of June in Year 8.
How do I choose between boarding and day?
The decision about whether to apply for a boarding or day place does not need to be made at the time of 13+ registration; in fact, sometimes a choice is made in a boy or girl’s final year at prep school. If you are undecided at the point of application, there is an option to make this clear on the form – the final decision on boarding versus day is required by the February of the year of entry. The School does not take international boarders for 13+ entry.
To arrange a visit to a boarding house, please email the Registrar. Every June the School hosts a Boarder Taster Evening for boys and girls in Year 7 who hold offers of places. This event is aimed at those candidates who, during the registration process, have expressed a preference for or interest in boarding at Westminster and continue to do so. While we will always aim to respect any boarding house preferences, we cannot guarantee that a candidate will be allocated the house they have requested. If a child is awarded a King’s Scholarship at 13+, they are required to board in College.
It is not usually necessary for parents applying for day places to meet housemasters during the application process. We also gently ask that parents avoid expressing a preference for a particular day house, unless there is a strong family connection. All our houses offer the same high standard of pastoral care, and when allocating day boys and girls, we aim to ensure each house has a balanced mix of talents and backgrounds.
Boarding at 13+ is weekly, term-time only, with Saturday morning school. All pupils under the age of 16 must have parents resident in the UK with whom they can stay at weekends.
Overseas Applicants
International pupils can board in the Sixth Form (Years 12 and 13) at Westminster. As stated in our Admissions and Awards Policy, Westminster School is not a suitable boarding environment for pupils under 16 years of age (Years 9, 10 and 11) whose parents live outside the United Kingdom. We are not, therefore, able to accept international pupils at 13+ or offer Child Student visa sponsorship.
Bursaries and Scholarships
We offer a range of bursaries and scholarships at Westminster. For further information and how to apply, please refer to the Bursaries and Scholarships page.
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
Westminster School has a well-established tradition of identifying and nurturing academic potential in pupils with special educational needs, including dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADD and ASD. If your child has been identified as having a specific learning difficulty, please contact Ms Erica Stillwell (SENCO & SEND Assessor) to enquire. Extra time and / or use of a word processor in our 13+ entrance examinations will only be granted if the criteria used for public examinations are met. Our Study Skills Department will require:
- An up-to-date report from an educational psychologist or other relevant medical specialist.
- A letter from the candidate’s current school confirming their normal way of working.
We will need to have received these by the registration deadline.
The Governing Body of Westminster School recognises its responsibility under the Disability Discrimination Act (1995), which prevents discrimination against disabled people in their access to education. Westminster School’s Policy on Admissions is available in full on our Policies and Reports page.
