Hi,
I'm new to Mumsnet but may have some useful background on WUS that may help allay irasciblemum's fears or others contemplating the Under School for their offspring. I was on the teaching staff there for some time and can assure you that the wealth/social standing of parents counts for very little in the context of your son's overall success and feelings of acceptance at the school. In my day the exceptional wealth of a few parents (and I do mean only a few) was regarded as more than somewhat infra dig by the boys as well as staff. Friendship & peer groups cut right across social and wealth boundaries.
If your son is a bright and reasonably confident boy then he will prosper socially and academically. Even those who are a bit 'eccentric' - but without behavioural issues - do really well at the school and give the place an amazing diverse atmosphere (the same applies to the teachers!).
The Under School is unlike any other prep school I know of. The drab grey uniform with a flash of pink & the occasionally scruffy appearance of the boys belies the depth of quality of pretty much everything that goes on at the school. The institution is not 'polished' to appear something it is not. Parents who want conformity to the cliched prep school experience should look elsewhere. What you will get is a lot of discussion of ideas, a lot of penetrating questions about difficult concepts, huge achievement and a genuine desire to learn - more often than not for learning's sake. As well as the academic stuff there is a lot of high quality music teaching, competitive sport and a variety of trips both local and wider ranging.
Not long ago I was asked by a friend's son for some advice about WUS as a place to work as he was considering applying for a teaching post there. I wrote this:
?xxxx tells me you may be interested in prep school teaching. It's quite different to teaching in the state sector but mostly in a good way. You generally have a lot more freedom to teach the way you want to teach rather than follow the strictures of the National Curriculum (private schools do not have to follow the National Curriculum). However, your Head of Department may have very firm ideas about what and how you teach! The Common Entrance exam (taken by 13yr old) looms pretty large and all need a good pass to get into a better independent secondary school.
If you're applying for jobs in prep schools beware the boarding schools! Getting sucked into boarding will drain you completely (after you have had a full day's teaching)... and then there's week-ends.... My advice is to avoid at all costs since you now have a family of your own.
Day preps vary markedly. Not all independent schools are good schools, some are awful with low-calibre, "boisterous" pupils, poor/mediocre staff and are 'bums-on-seats' operations to generate income. Some of the best preps have brilliant kids, teachers out of the top drawer and are inspiring places to work. Day preps value teachers who can offer more than their subject, so if you're a good/half decent soccer player (and you're applying to a soccer playing school), or even at all 'gamesy', you need to emphasise this on your CV. It's a critical selling point, also your Cambridge background will be a really powerful selling tool.
The best preps pay their staff well - significantly better than equivalent state sector scales. When I was at Westminster we were the second best paid teachers in the country (by some distance), second only to Eton who pay their staff astonishing amounts of money. Holidays are usually longer but you will have earned them. End of term reports are a lot of work, as are exams (the kids get examined a lot) but that goes with the territory.
Westminster Under School is an academic powerhouse. 20% of the kids are officially classified as 'gifted'. It has produced Britain?s youngest chess Grand Master and regularly scoops an armful of top scholarships to Westminster, Eton and Winchester. (Westminster School has produced more Nobel Prize winners than Japan). The kids come from a catchment that is centred on Chelsea and Kensington, whose parents are big in the media, business and the City. Some disappear off their 'country house' for the week-end. There was a strong American contingent when I was there (very demanding mothers!) but there are also a lot of kids who come from less wealthy professional homes whose parents strive hard to pay the fees. As a teacher there I was always impressed by the parents, of course there were a few arrogant types but most were fully supportive if they felt you were fair, took a personal interest and worked hard for their kids. I was embarrassed by their generosity at Christmas time.
There is a full fees bursary scheme for bright kids from less-well off backgrounds. I remember one boy from a Bermondsey council tower block with a single-parent Mum, who did really well at the school. Strange as it may seem, the school is not at all snobby or up itself; it's a meritocracy with a lot of hard-working, happy kids. Entry to the school is by competitive exam - there are 6 or 7 applicants for each place. I've seen parents weeping with anxiety whilst waiting outside the school to collect their kids after the exam. It is one of the top schools in the country (and possibly beyond) and places at it are coveted. 90% of the kids go on to Westminster School but only if they do really well at the Common Entrance exam.
I cannot recommend the place too highly. It was/is a brilliant place to teach and immensely rewarding in all sorts of different ways. If you do end up working there (or any really good prep school) my advice would be to set the bar high in your teaching (they will almost certainly surpass it) and work them hard because it will be expected. You will have much more freedom in your teaching but they will expect results, however you will enjoy it.
Don't hesitate to get in touch if you need more advice of any sort.?
Of course I am a bit partial about the place given my background but quite a few other contributors to this forum also mark the place out as different to most other prep schools.
Hope this helps.