Westminster Under School

[lvd]

For any parents with sons at Westminster Under (or who know parents with sons at the school): what do you think of the new Master? Have there been any changes in the school since her arrival? Are teachers and students happy? The Open Day in October was very chaotic and it was hard to get a feel for the Master (and for the school) on that day. We had visited previously and liked both the school and the prior Master but now have some doubts. I'd be grateful to read any thoughts from people who are more familiar with the school. In particular, I'm interested to know about the balance of the school between academics and other activities. The prior Master seemed to value a well-rounded education with sports, music and arts complementing the strong academics; the new Master seemed much more focussed on "cerebral boys" and didn't discuss things other than core academic classes.

Tennis Mom: not considering Wetherbys at all. Characterless and corporate with no soul.Thought carefully about Sussex House however due to the fact that our top secondary school choices would in any case be Westminster and St Paul's, WUS and CC best options. Still undecided but leaning towards WUS due to commute, what about you?

Just wanted to say well done to everyone on all the acceptances. We received out letter yesterday and DS was accepted to CC. Now we just have to make the difficult decision between it and Kings College Junior Scool. Can anyone shed light on the primary differences between these 2 schools?

Mominatrix - Well done to you and ds. CC and Kings are fantastic options. I loved the vibe at Kings when we went to visit for the open day. That said I thought that the atmosphere at CC was great too. Academic for sure! But both schools seem to encourage diverse interests. Assuming that you're planning on having ds avoid the unpleasantness of 11+/13+ entry process, I guess the main difference is IB vs A-levels at the seniors schools. I am not that knowledgeable about the detailed differences between the two approaches. My impression is that the IB requires students to study a wider variety of subjects whilst the A-levels are more concentrated on a few subjects chosen by the student. Regardless both are going to be academically rigorous because that's the nature of St. Paul's and Kings College. In any case, congrats and good luck with your decision. :)

Hi! My DS ( 7y) just did the CC and Kings C. 7+ exams and got offers to both . We were going to go for WUS as well but decided not to due to distance . The offer for CC came on wed 1.2. And the Kings C. On thu 2.2. He's in year 2 and will start at the new school next sep in year 3 . Anyone else going to CC 7+ next sep?

The result for CC were going to be sent out on the 3.2. But in the interview the Head told us they might send them early which they did to our relief since the wait was horrible !!!

Kings is adding the choice of doing the A levels in the senior school . So no difference there between the senior schools anymore like I thought earlier. You can choose either the A levels or the IB in the future...
mominatrix , are u 7+ or 8+ ? We got the same two offers and chose CC.

We're on the wait list for one of these preps and are hoping for some movement next week. If anyone is holding more than one offer for CC/WUS/KCJS et al it would be great if you could decline the ones you don't want asap rather than taking it up to the wire - I don't think my nerves can stand much more!

By the way for those of you with offers and/or wait list places could you share your DS month of birth? I am trying to work out whether boys born in the summer months have a chance of ever getting offers at 7+ or if the odds improve dramatically for them at 8+, 10+ and 11+. I have an August (late) baby from what I understand it is very rare for boys born after May to get an offer at 7+.

Sleepless - my fingers are crossed for you! It seems like peorple iften have 2, 3 or even four offers to consider, so hopefully by the time decisions are made and lists reviewed, your little one will have a place. Funny about birthdays - DHs friends from schools (he was at such ones) and they are all late year/spring babies (but he is a summer but very very smart).

Thanks wahwah. I'm delighted that he got a wait list place and 'passed'. It's tricky explaining the process to a 6yr old - even if he is a smart 6 yr old! We only sat one exam for reasons to do with other DC and our location so we are holding out for this one school. I do hate waiting though...

Sleepless , DS is jan child

Maybe there is something in the theory - six months is a long time in a six year olds life! Any chance he could sit next year too, or possible redo the exam if he is such a late-on-in-the-year child? Its seems a bit unfair if he is up against children almost a year older - onv not on an academic front mut emotionally (more mature to sit an exam and 'shine' in an interview). I am sure he will go far - to get through the stages at 6 is a good achievment! I hope mummy and daddy get him a nice reward for doing so well! Don't stress it - it'll all work out!

Nordicmom, it is for 8+ entry (so entry into year 4).

Based on my limited experience, age is a huge factor at 7+ - all the boys who were successful at the very top schools at 7+ were winter babies (I am not including Latymer Prep as it seems , at least from DS's school, that most people get it and that it takes from all birth months).

8+ is a different ballgame, and DS's school was very successful with boys from all seasons gaining entry into the top schools.

Our preference changes by the hour, but we are leaning towards CC as it just seems to offer that little bit more, plus is bikeable distance to us.

We cycle scooter to school - so much nicer than the tube! I like to be within walking/cycling distance of school and work! Must have something to do with when I first came to London when there were lots of bomb scares on the tubes - and where I worked - and next to my house, so I did start to wonder!!).

Mominatrix -- if CC is closer, within cycling distance, then that would be a big plus factor for me. Less stress if you can rely on your own two feet to get to school. :)

A few thoughts (as I relive the experience of trying to chose a school for my son...): the differences between the schools is negligible in terms of the quality of education. The main difference, I think, is that CC is a large school on a large campus and WUS is a small school on a more concentrated campus (both have good facilities, just different scope). The size has two implications: i) boys at CC have lots of opportunities to run around outside every morning and afternoon break, plus lunch time, plus mornings if there's no assembly, boys play football or climb in the playground or just have fun outdoors; WUS has Vincent Square for games but I don't' think the boys have as much freedom to just run out to the square whenever they have a short break so access to outdoor space and fresh-ish air is one advantage of CC; (CC is often called a "sporty" school -- I don't think it's necessarily more sporty, it's just that the boys have more freedom to engage in sports informally if they like to do so; ii) the large size of CC means boys are encouraged to be independent. This can be a challenge for some boys as it really is down to them to listen to announcements at assembly about clubs, sport, music etc and sign up accordingly. It has been a joy for us to see how our son has grown in self-confidence since starting at CC.
As everyone has said, you can't go wrong with either choice (or indeed a handful of other choices as there are obviously other very good boys' schools in London!).

That is really interesting and helpful cherokee! I've only seen a bit of WUS from dropping and collecting my DS from his 11+ there last week - where do the boys go at break times if not over to Vincent Sq? Are there hidden playgrounds elsewhere? Admittedly I saw the way in and a scruffy hall only, so probably not the best judge of the facilities!

The WUS boys use Vincent Square just across the road from the school for all playtimes. It is very large , has a large grass expanse , hard-surface court for football etc, tennis courts and an adventure playground so loads of space. The facilities in the school are quite extensive and the buildings although they don't look huge are larger than one would imagine, it's an old hospital. Facilities include science labs , library , a large hall in the main buildings and a new dinning/hall in the new building across the road where the new art suite is. There is a large music department in the basement. Westminster School has just bought the old horticultural halls a 5 minute walk away and will have their own sports centre by the autumn term to be used by both the schools. Sports takes place in Vincent Square or Battersea Park for some sports, The Oval for cricket nets and The queen mother sport's centre (5 mins walk away) for swimming and a few indoor sports. What is very special about the school is the intellectual activity and the quality and pastoral care given by the very personal approach of the teachers. They really value the individual. If you get offered a place they will be , I am sure, very happy to give you a proper tour.

Would appreciate any advice from current parents of boys at WUS for our DS who will be joining this September. Also is there a school bus covering Kensington/Notting hill area?

Both are great schools, so there are only no bad choices.
CC is probably the less risky choice. This is not about the mixed messages about the new headmistresss. It is because CC is acting as an 'automatic' feeder to St Paul, while for WUS a new set of exam (13+) has to be taken to decide which school to go to. Statistics on leaver from WUS are somewhat misleading as the 11+ entry from State Schools automatically get into WS without further exam (like the 8+ in CC to St Paul).

Our DS is in St Paul and we have had to make a similar choice. We opted for CC at the time because DS loved the sport facilities and DS and me felt selecting once was quite enough to get the best students. We wanted the school not to focus on the next entry exam but on the academics itself (DS wants to be an inventor, scientist...). While we are very happy with the choice, I guess we would have been the other way as well.
As for commute it is generally probably easy to go to CC because it goes against traffic. CC has a private bus, but I understand this is also the case for WUS

Hi everyone
We are on wait list 8+ at WUS and wondered if anyone is any closer to deciding between WUS & CC.
Have no idea where we are on waiting list but any feedback would be gratefully received and will help me judge if we have even a slim chance or no chance at all! Waiting is awful!

How the waiting list works: on the cut off date, the schools tot up how many definite 'yeses' they get, then look at the names on the wait list. It is not numbered or ranked. They then decide who they want to make an offer to and who will be on the 'reserve, reserve' list. As you have probably noticed nthe tread, some boys have two or three options, which they are mulling over, so even if offered reserve for one school, may well be holding out for their first choice.

I am not sure how long this merry go round carries on for. I suppose when them music stops and hopefully everyone has a chair!

Just declined our Kings offer so hopefully someone will be soon getting good news... :)
I'm really interested to see who'll be joining us at CC 7+ next year !

We will be declining our Kings spot as well, so a spot will open up for someone on the reserve list at 8+.

It's also quite interesting to see that it's often the same ones getting a bunch offers and the rest none . Felt oddly guilty and sad for one of my friends who only did Kings and didn't get it when we got both Kings and CC and didn't use the other one.