Interview at westminster

Sorry to resurrect an old thread…. I was just wondering if anyone who has been through the Westminster 13+ assessments (in Y6) could let us know more about the written portion of the assessment and the interview. DC is applying this autumn and I’m preparing them myself at home, so I’d like to work out what kind of material to focus on specifically in English, which isn’t their forte… Is there creative writing in the written portion or just comprehension?

I hope all your DCs are enjoying the schools they ended up in!

It would be required for him to take the ISEB pretest by November 2023 and exams for Westminster in January 2024. Yes, 13+ exams take place as a part of or roughly at the same time as the 11+ entry tests for all other selective independent schools. His start date at WS would be September 2026. It’s all explained on the website.

Sorry to jump into the conversation. We are thinking of applying for 13+ for our son starting secondary in 2024 as well but wondered even if one was applying for 13+ entry do the 13+ exams not take place when the kids are still 11 along with the 11+?
Also, keen on knowing more on what’s required at 13+ entrance exams. Intrigued by the info on French and Latin requirement. I knew Kings expected children coming at 13 to be at par with the other students but wasn’t sure of Westminister!?

That's true, I think. If I look at my DS, he's very good at maths but, comparatively speaking when compared with others (particularly boys), his comprehension and vocab skills are way ahead so agree, English is probably more of a decider.

Congrats great news!

Personally, I think English is usually where there is a wider spread of ability for boys of this age and therefore can be the decider. When ds appeared for the WUS 11+ (a few years ago now) he was given a Ted Hughes poem to read and discuss. Not much preparation time so it does test their natural comprehension skills.

Well done to your DC. My DS was accepted at Westminster during Covid we chose not to take it up as we had not actually seen the school nor fancied the commute (but, as I say, partly clouded by Covid).

He was tutored as part of the 11+ (he came from an indie school, not a prep), but we didn't do anything to prepare him for the interview as I had assumed they wanted the 'real him'. We did mention it might be good to be prepared to talk about books etc but didn't actually then discuss what type of questions (whether current affairs, history, society - his general knowledge is naturally well developed) would come up but DS is quite confident with adults - less so with peers funnily enough - and can talk about most things.

I still think it would have been the ideal school for him but sometimes life comes in the way.

Good luck!

@AC7001 Thank you!! Hope it went ok for your DS.

Our DS wore uniform so did everyone we saw on that day.

Interview attire: did your DS wear their uniform or home clothes? Any tips at all? Thanks!

Math at St Paul 11+ is much more difficult but the Westminster (11+ and 13+ same exam) English is much more difficult.

Yes. Most said Math is easy and English is hard.

it makes sense that the 11+ and 13+ cohorts are very different. 13+ students are at prep schools so they must judge based on the student’s performance, the head master’s reference and the prep reputation for delivering prepared students to the Great school. It’s no good having a boy start 13 if they have to teach him Latin and French from scratch and get his maths up to speed. It’s too much for him and the school. 11+ boys will have 2 years to get ready so it’s more about raw ability than knowledge, through that ability should be already showing in good knowledge and interest.

So helpful everyone. We are also in the 13+ group so that explains why things might be different than the 11+.

Also, for 13+ interviews, you need to bring 2 exercise books out of Science, English, History, Geography, and RS, for discussion. Quite different from 11+ interviews I suppose.

Sorry, reread the email, 13+ interview is with one teacher (not two as said above) for 50 minutes

I think the format is different in 13+ and 11+. For 13+ after passing ISEB, you will sit written papers and be invited for interviews as well. The interview is with 2 teachers lasting 50 minutes. For 11+ you need to clear the 2nd stage written test and then be selected to go to an interview, which is much shorter.

We are doing 13+ and by looking at the duration of the interview, this part must be given significant weight (plus perhaps the school reference), whilst for 11+, it is the written papers and ISEB which are the principal deciding factor.

I attended Westminster for sixth form (albeit 20 years ago) and nobody cared about wealth…they were very very focused on academics. I had two of the best years of my life there!

I couldn't say I'm afraid OP as ds didn't actually take up the offer of the place. We applied for a bursary but sadly it wasn't high enough for us to accept. I think it would have been the perfect school for ds though but he went on to achieve 11 x 9's in his GCSE's so did amazingly well academically but I guess it's all the extras like world class speakers etc.

Of the dc we know who are/were there, almost all are from wealthier families or have parents with professional backgrounds; finance, law etc. However, we work for local government earning not that much and there is a significant intake at 11+ of boys from state primary schools. Unfortunately one boy we know, from an Indian background did experience bullying in the junior school and left to go elsewhere. The boys we knew all seemed nice and polite.