Westminster underschool 11+ interview help please

Hi @ leeloo 1, We are planning for a bursary application to for our DS to WUS, i wanted to get your experience on it, happy to chat with you offline.

Thank you.
Amrin

Well done to your ds @chalkyc2 (and to you for surviving the process), I hope one of the offers is your favourite to make choosing easy?

We have one more school to hear from next week otherwise it's back to the drawing board. 😔

@leeloo1 thanks yes we were lucky and got two offers and one waitlist. Do you have options? Everywhere keeps saying it was a bumper competitive year for our boys.

Thanks @chalkyc2 it's been a frustrating and long drawn out process! How did your ds get on on offer day? Fingers crossed you had better news. 🙂

Ah that's a shame @leeloo1

It was a no for ds, but I've heard from a couple of other parents who have had offers. Well done to all the boys for getting so far and especially those who got places.

Thanks leelo1. Don't give up just yet on WUS as people do turn down places. Bursaries, as you know, are so competitive. We will consider it again for 6th form but ds happy where he is and I too was worried about the travel at 11 years old. My ds would have had to navigate S to Central London by tube himself - they need to be street wise from an early age!

@MrsPatmore - thanks for your helpful information about the bursary visit. It looks like we won't be needing it now, but it was still reassuring to read. It's lovely that the visitors were interested in the books he was reading too. 🙂

How frustrating that you had the offer, but no bursary information to go with it! That's a big part of the decision making process, I'm sure.

I'm so glad it worked out for the best for your ds though and fingers crossed it does for all our boys too.

Hi @leeloo1 , I was going to ask if you had any news. just checked and no email from them. I have pm you.

@MrsPatmore - thanks for your helpful information about the bursary visit. It looks like we won't be needing it now, but it was still reassuring to read. It's lovely that the visitors were interested in the books he was reading too. 🙂

How frustrating that you had the offer, but no bursary information to go with it! That's a big part of the decision making process, I'm sure.

I'm so glad it worked out for the best for your ds though and fingers crossed it does for all our boys too.

Hi @FOVapa - have you heard anything about a bursary visit yet? I just had an email saying that the Bursar won't need to visit us next week, but that if he needs to at a later date he'll arrange that with us.

I feel physically sick now, as reading between the lines ds probably hasn't got a place if they aren't wanting to visit us and he has so set his heart on Wus that he is going to be really distraught if he doesn't get an offer.

Hah @chalkyc2, I know what you mean. I'd never even heard of reeds or several of the other schools that get mentioned, but am strangely invested in who gets a place! I guess it's light relief from the stress of our own offsprings places! Fingers crossed that your ds does really well and get lots of offers from your more local school. Do let me know come offer day(s). 🙂

@leeloo1 - Just being nosy - thought Westminster out of our league both academically and financially!! I know re Reeds - I got way too invested in it for a school I don't even know the actual location of!!

@FOVapa - yes DS had interviews and sports assessments at our other 3 schools which are more local to us in south London so we are hopeful. City was always a bit of a shot in the dark as we're not at a prep and someone recommended it - and I go past it on the train at Blackfriars every day. Seems like it's become one of the most selective London schools!

All of the schools we applied for did have a home bursary visit - one was a separate independent company, the other three were the school bursars plus a teacher.
The WUS one liked ds posters (dinosaurs and a Top Gear one and commented on the Private Eye Annuals (embarrassingly a bit inappropriate but he likes satire and politics!). He also is interested in chemistry/science so had tied two bottles together to look at vortex activity and a plate of home grown crystals. Lots of books. Also messy and a bit smelly! I wasn't expecting them to go upstairs as none of the others did. I think things have changed though as his interview process was different to what you have all posted.

Sorry, I should have clarified, it was 3 years ago. He was offered a place on the afternoon of the last day before half term. Unfortunately, there was an admin cock up so we didn't know about the actual bursary level until after half term. We had to, very regretfully, turn the place down as the bursary wasn't at the level we felt we needed to be 'safe' financially. Ds is very happy where he is and life events have meant that not having that level of financial burden is now a relief. We know several boys who are having an outstanding and exceptional education there.

Thanks @MrsPatmore. Was the home visit from WUS for this year or last year?
also, do all the schools do home visits? We have not heard from 2 of them just yet and I was wondering if that is because he didn´t do well at the interview and was not going to get an offer..

@MrsPatmore, was that this year? What were they looking for in his bedroom I wonder?

We had an email about the bursary visit. They looked at ds bedroom, asked about his interests and went through the paperwork. Out of the four bursary visits we had, it was the most formal.

Thanks @leeloo1. First news, I must have read and forgotten. Good to know as I may need more time off work!
I guess they would call us at the end of the week to arrange for Monday or Tuesday as offers will come at the end of the week.
btw I keep reading about schools (like Reeds) I have never heard of too before! It is addictive but you learn a lot at the same time :-)

Here's the Wus screenshot

@chalkyc2 - that's so sweet of you, many thanks. Did your ds have an interview at Wus, or are you just curious about other schools? (I keep reading all the threads about reeds etc and I've never even heard of them! 🤦‍♂️)

@FOVapa - I thought I remembered your username! Congrats to your ds for getting an interview too. I'm glad he enjoyed it! I had no clue about the bursary home visit either and haven't heard from Wus directly, (I'm wondering if we won't hear about it unless the boys will be offered a place?) but it is on their admissions timeline. I'll try and screenshot in a minute.

@Jane077 - thanks for your pm, I'll reply in a minute. 🙂

We had the interview at WU today. DS had fun and enjoyed it and now the waiting ..10 long days!
@leeloo1 did they mention the home visit on w/c 10th somewhere? I have missed that and I was wondering when we should hear from them re bursary
@chalkyc2 we shared the CLS disappointment too. Did your DS secure any other interview?

Off topic apologies but @leeloo1 - glad you got a WU interview after our shared CLS disappointment! Roll on offer day...

@leeloo1 I have DM'd you. Hope you don't mind.