Westminster School is one of the older independent schools in the UK. It was originally a charity school founded by Benedictine of Westminster Abbey. Its existence ensured its survival during the dissolution of the monasteries in 1540 and his daughter Elizabeth I re-founded the school in 1560. Today, Westminster educates 750 students and has two entrance points, in Year 9 and Year 12.
How to get into Westminster School
Entering in Year 9:
As of 2028, Westminster will accept both boys and girls into Year 9, at the 13+ entry point. Westminster Under School also admits pupils at 4+, 7+, 8+ and 11+. While just under half of the pupils come from Westminster Under School, the remainder come from a wide range of other schools, and take up both boarding and day places at the school.
13 Plus Entrance Process for Westminster:
As an academically selective school Westminster uses entrance exams to select which candidates are suitable to gain a place. They use a 2-stage process, with students being selected to move to the next stage based on their relative performance.
- Stage 1 is the ISEB Common Pre-Test, usually sat at their current prep-school during October and November of Year 6. This is a computerised test consisting of English, Maths and Reasoning.
- Stage 2 is for those students who have performed strongly in the ISEB Common Pre-Test and have a satisfactory reference from their current school. In January of Year 6 applicants are invited to sit Westminster’s own tests in English and Maths and complete an interview.
If successful at Stage 2 parents will receive a letter by the end February detailing one of the following:
- An unconditional place. The decision to offer a child an unconditional place means that it is believed they will be able comfortably to achieve the standard required for entry to the School when they are 13, while also enjoying a broad and varied education. This type of offer is made on the understanding of continued excellent conduct and academic progress at their existing school.
or
- A place on the schools waiting list
Are Westminster’s own tests difficult?
As with all entrance tests, the Stage 2 tests are designed to challenge and stretch applicants. Both tests are paper-based, 40 minutes long and typically sat one after the other. In previous years they have included the following:
English: Applicants have been asked to comprehension, using either poetry or prose. The texts have been considered challenging for a range of reasons:
Length: They are often longer than the average 11+ comprehension, requiring students to read quickly and accurately in the time allotted.
Composition: The text chosen have often included a lot of dialogue and/or have included advanced use of vocabulary and writer’s technique.
Questions: The majority of the marks in the English assessment are awarded for the more challenging reasoning or inference-based questions requiring boys to comment on writer’s technique or provide personal reflection/opinion.
Maths: The Maths paper has focused predominantly on Number related questions. Previous applicants have commented that the Maths is particularly challenging, even more so than that within the ISEB Common Pre-Test. The level of difficult has been associated with:
Topic Coverage: Although the Maths reportedly covers the 11+ curriculum, it does delve into some extension level topics such as Algebra.
Question Types: A lot of the questions are multistep requiring students work through each step before being able to move on to the next. Applicants have also commented that the majority of questions are word problems, often the most challenging question type in Maths.
What questions do Westminster ask at interview?
Like many school interviews the Westminster interview seeks to explore the following about each student:
- Family (e.g. What do you like to do on the weekend as a family?)
- School (e.g. What do you most enjoy about your current school?)
- Academic Learning (e.g. What is your favourite subject and why?)
- Reading (e.g. Do you enjoy reading?)
- Extracurricular (e.g. What activities do you get involved in at school outside of the classroom?)
- Hobbies (e.g. What do you do in your spare time at outside of school?)
- Westminster (e.g. Why would you like to come to Westminster?)
Over and above these more ‘standard’ types of interview questions, Westminster do routinely incorporate more challenging academic and problem-solving questions for boys to answer on the spot. These could be mathematical, but they may also be a moral or ethical conundrum.
Entering in Year 12 (Sixth Form Entry):
The school welcomes around 200 students into its Sixth Form each year, both boys and girls, boarding and day pupils. Entrance examinations and interviews take place in the November of Year 11, i.e. the year proceeding a students proposed entry to the school.
16+ Entrance Process:
The 16+ entrance process has two stages, with applicants being selected to move to the next stage based on their relative performance.
Stage 1: In the September of the year prior to proposed entry, applicants are examined in the four subjects in which they wish to study at A Level, each test lasting 45 minutes.
Stage 2: Those who have performed most strongly are then invited in for both general and subject specific interviews.
If successful at Stage 2 parents will receive a letter by the end December detailing the offer of:
A conditional place. This is conditional on a candidate achieving a minimum of eight (I)GCSE passes at A / 7 grade, of which at least four are at A* / 8-9 (in the subjects to be studied at A Level.) Some candidates will also be placed on a waiting list.
Entering via a Scholarship
What is the Westminster Challenge?
The Westminster Challenge, known as simply ‘The Challenge’, was originally introduced by Henry VIII but re-established by Elizabeth I when she re-founded the school. It is this reason that recipients of Westminster’s academic scholarship are known as Kings' Scholars. This is the 13+ entrance scholarship examination set by Westminster School. The Challenge is sat by pupils in April of Year 8 and results are published in May. The fee for King’s Scholars is the day cost for the given academic year.
There are 48 King's Scholars at Westminster with 12 selected each year. Of the 12, 8 are students who have sat ‘The Challenge’. Each year Westminster publishes a list of King's Scholars: . You can also find out more about the King's Scholars in the video on Westminster’s website:
For the 13+ Scholarship (i.e. The Challenge) applicants have to sit examinations in a range subjects including Mathematics, English, French, Science, Latin, History and Geography. Fortunately, Westminster publish past papers:
Is there a 16+ scholarship?
Kings Scholarships are also awarded at 16+, to those students who have performed exceptionally well in entrance examinations and interviews.
Do Westminster offer any other scholarships?
There are also Music scholarships to be won at 13+ and 16+, worth 10% of day fees. Students must audition, in addition to having passed the Common Entrance or Challenge examinations. More information on these can be found here:
Why is Westminster so popular?
Westminster is considered one of the most academic independent schools in the UK. It achieves excellent outcomes for its students each year, in terms of exam results: in 2024, at GCSE, 117 (of 124) students gained at least ten 7-9 grades, with 94 gaining all 8-9 grades. At A Level, 89 of 201 students gained at least three A* grades, and 47 achieved four A* grades. Consequently, it attracts parents and students with high academic expectations. In our experience, prospective applicants with the following qualities have been competitive candidates in the school’s admissions process:
- an excellent academic record to date
- an enquiring mind and genuine passion for learning
- an ability to think critically about their learning
- an academic confidence and ability to work independently
Is Westminster hard to get into?
Owing to its academic reputation and success Westminster attracts a lot of applications and a such the entrance process at 13+ and 16+ are very competitive. Consequently, the school can afford to be highly selective, and we have known of instances where strong applicants do not win places. Thus, it is important to go into the entrance process with an open and realistic frame of mind.
Tutors for Westminster School Entrance
Keystone has over a decade of experience providing tuition to families who wish to send their children to some of the leading UK independent schools including Westminster School.
The tutors we work with are experienced in the intricacies of the 13 plus common entrance, the ISEB pre-test and 16 plus entrance to Westminster.
For more details on how Keystone can help with preparation for entry to Westminster school, please call the office for a chat with one of our client managers, or contact us via our request a tutor form.