Westminster School

Situated next to the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, Westminster is one of the country’s leading academic schools. Every year more than 40% of Year 13 pupils are offered places at Oxford or Cambridge, with an increasing number being accepted to top universities in the USA. At A Level in 2022, 121 pupils were awarded at least three A* grades (or equivalent Pre-U D1/D2 grades). In the same year, 64 of 115 pupils achieved a full set of 9/8 (A*) grades at GCSE level, with every pupil sitting exams in English Literature, English Language, Mathematics, French and at least two of the three sciences.

Westminster has always been a boarding school and today approximately a quarter of pupils board: 178 in total including 64 girls. For boys under 16 it is weekly boarding only, but full boarding and boarding for international pupils is available in the Sixth Form. Six out of the school’s 11 houses have boarders, as well as day pupils; one house is girls-only boarding. The school benefits from a great deal of outdoor space for sport in its central London location; there are the playing fields at Vincent Square, and a Sports Centre that offers over 6,000m² of indoor space, both which are a ten-minute walk from the main campus. There is also a theatre, recital hall and Chapel, which are all very close by.

The Sixth Form at Westminster has been co-ed since 1973. Entry at 16+ is by competitive examination and candidates register online. For 13+ entry, pupils take the Independent Schools Examinations Board’s (ISEB) Common Pre-Tests at their prep schools in Year 6, after registering to the school in Year 5. King’s Scholarships are the School’s academic scholarships, and usually 12 King’s Scholars are chosen each year: eight boys at age 13+ entry and four girls at age 16+ entry. All scholars board at the School and all belong to College, one of the six boarding houses. For King’s Scholarships, boys entering the school at 13+ are pretested while they are in Year 6, and 16+ scholars are chosen based on the results of their entrance exams. A king’s Scholarship at Westminster may be supplemented by a bursary up to a maximum of 100% if there is proven financial need.