Westminster Under School - how diverse are the boys in culture/religion?

[nh6007]

Westminster Under School at 7+, how diverse are the boys in culture/religion? how ridiculously academic is it now? how long is the school day for the boys? Anyone I've spoken to about it recently only has experience 20-40years ago and schools evolve.

[Usernamealreadyexists]

Why don’t you visit it?

[OptimysticMom]

Boys at WUS come from different cultures, parts of London and well beyond, as well as different schools.
Not sure what you mean by ‘ridiculously academic,’ but they cover curriculum over and beyond a year above NC/other private schools.
Boys are NOT bombarded with HW. The day itself is very busy, that by the time they get back home, they do get down time & yes, boys are tired. Most of the learning takes place at school.
School starts at 820 and juniors finish at 320, whilst most seniors finish at 4.

[nh6007]

Thank you @OptimysticMom. Are there many boys who live in NWLondon or is it more of a west/south london cohort?
My son wasn't prepped and we didnt think that he was academically at the level (we had him sit the assessment as prep for other schools) - having read some threads from parents who think their sons are maths geniuses etc I feel quite intimidated. Obviously proud too. Just dont want him to be a fish out of water.
Do you happen to know if there are school coaches or rotas that might go to NWLondon?

[nh6007]

Thank you @OptimysticMom. Are there many boys who live in NWLondon or is it more of a west/south london cohort?
My son wasn't prepped and we didnt think that he was academically at the level (we had him sit the assessment as prep for other schools) - having read some threads from parents who think their sons are maths geniuses etc I feel quite intimidated. Obviously proud too. Just dont want him to be a fish out of water.
Do you happen to know if there are school coaches or rotas that might go to NWLondon?

[OptimysticMom]

Yes the boys come from all over London and even outside (Essex, Ilford, etc). There is no official school coach; people do tend to share a cab company if of interest.
Yes, Maths is a determiner so if your son has scored high enough in the test he should have a good chance.
How did the interview go?
With the newer admissions system, not ALL boys are math genii (know as a matter of fact), so please don't feel intimidated. If there is any issue, I would advise not to put pressure as you don't want your son to be trying to catch up all the time... It can be a miserable place if its not suited to your child's abilities.

[Michaelahpurple]

7+ is probably the least diverse intake but still not as white as you quite likely find at some other west London preps. And thereafter it climbs further. By year 7 it is highly diverse, if by that you mean subcontinent asian and some East Asian. Not a large number of black children but some.

If you don't trust the pics in the brochure then look at the Facebook feed - it is a pretty diverse crowd.

West London is the biggest group but the boys come from all over - there is always a north London bus as far as I remember (last child left this summer past). When my eldest joined I totted up and his class of 20 odd came from about 11 postcodes.

It has a lovely and very very inclusive atmosphere and most of them are very normal - they really aren't all maths geniuses (even if some of their mothers think they are!).

It is is also very kind socially - the school and boys are in my experience very accommodating of difference.

[Manchester7]

Hi @nh6007 - sounds like congratulations are in order and you are right to be proud! (I presume you got an offer on Friday.) Your son has done brilliantly to get a place. I have no direct experience of the school but from everything we found out (we applied this year but DS did not get an interview - very disappointed) one of the things I liked was the diversity. As others have said there seems to be a wide range of children coming from various parts of London. Good luck with your decision, and congratulations.

[icantbelievethis001]

@Michaelahpurple your post is very reassuring since we had the same concerns about diversity and whether our DS would fit in.

[sanam2019]

I certainly have friends from Hampstead and Marylebone whose sons attend WUS, they come from all over. Socioeconomic diversity is always more limited in the prep than in the senior school (where it is of course also limited). Given the fees, the cultural diversity also tends to reflect the cultural diversity of people who work in six figure jobs, so as @Michaelahpurple says, Europeans (especially Russians?) / Asians are very common, similar to other prep schools.