Westminster City School

[IWantToStayInLondon]

Hi,
It seems we live in a no go area where state secondaries for boys are concerned. We can't afford private education, how easy in that case to stick to my principles, and I doubt we could afford a house within a few metres of somewhere like Fortismere in Muswell Hill or Graveney in Tooting. We are not going to put huge pressure on both our sons by treating places at a grammar as the only alternative. They can give it their best shots if they want and we will do everything we can to help, but let's face it places are contested a 11:1 and so on. We would however be eligible for Church of England schools as I'm an Anglican priest (this is kind of why we can't afford to go private or buy a house in the right street). I agree it's not fair that schools paid for by all select from a few, and lord knows if I could just hop over the Tiber to join Pope Benedict's ordinariate we might be eligible for some very good schools which admit boys.
So the long and short of it is I was wondering if anyone has any views, good or bad, about Westminster City School (www.wcsch.com, not Nick Clegg's old school I can assure you). For what it's worth Ofsted says it's getting better, and we have a couple of years yet before applying but I don't know ...

Thanks in advance.

Twinned with Greycoats, but its reputation has gone down, while the girls' school has held its own. Very well-known academic sent her son there. Though I suspect some plugging of the holes was done.

Sorry, you're out of my patch, so I can't be of more help.

Hi, Don't know whether it is of interest to you but you do know that children of clergymen can get reduced fees at many private schools,

You've probably done this already, but have you looked at the "Good School's Guide"?

And you need to think laterally, and ask around. Again, you've probably done that.

Can you/would you move? Personally, I don't think it's good to move just for schools, but ... people do.

Coopers is a (nominally) C of E school in Upminster that has a glowing reputation for sport, music, and academic achievement, for example.

I know it was a few years ago now, but this story would majorly put me off the school.

I do wonder how the Catholic schools will deal with the Ordinariate thing, though. I suspect they wouldn't go to the top of the queue in any case.

What about Christ's Hospital...

Not easy.

I know 2 people in their twenties who went through Westminster City School and into good Universities and good jobs. However my impression of current students, admittedly a smallish sample who use the same bus, is pretty poor. We once saw a near riot as a large group of pupils pushed each other on and off the bus, but day to day the remarkable thing about pupils is the amount they eat. It is truly bizarre how each boy seems to get on the bus with arm fulls of takeaway food and gorge the lot. Friday was a very small boy sucking chicken bones in a quite disgusting way. Some are quite large, but even the small ones seem to eat extraordinary quantities of food. Over the years we have shared buses with kids from different schools but no one eats like this lot.

Do you live around the Abbey or Lambeth Palace? If so the local choice of boys schools is not great, with London Nautical generally preferred. If your child is musical they might have a shot at St Olavs, or clever and the Kent and Kingston Grammars are a possibility. What about St Cecelias in Wandsworth, or Blackheath Bluecoat School? The great thing about the area is that you get on a train South West from Vauxahll or South East from Waterloo.

Again if your son is musical what about one of the choir schools (Westminster Abbey or Cathedral - I dont think you need to be Catholic - or St Pauls). It at least takes you up to 13, and a good chance of bursary/scholarships to cover the next three years.

I wonder if you would have any chance of a church place at christs in Richmond

Someone I know was raving today about the Chelsea Academy. Mixed, CofE, science specialist, apparently great facilities with lots of after school activities, and only officially opened in November.

Dear Father,

Please kindly try your best to get your boys into the grammar school. If you are considering Westminster City School, then hopefully you have access to all five grammar schools in the south of London via train from Victoria.

Wesminster City School is honestly not that good, and will not do your children justice. Their results are just tragic, and I fear that kindly educated childred will find it difficult in the environment like that.

I encourage you with all my strength to do the best for your Children, sit with them, arrange Saturday school for them, ask your parish members to do this, and basically try for the grammar schools.

If not than go for Pimlico Academy, which is better here.

If not that then go for either:

• state boarding school, where you will have the "boarding need" as a Clergymen
• private schools on bursary place, which like the children of Clergy as they are usually very well raised in good values and ethic

If you try your best and still face the only choice as the Westminster City, then perhaps that was to be, but do your best first.

Contact me on [email protected] if you want more assistance with the process, as I am going through it this year and can probably give you some good hints (hopefully).

Also, do not jump over to Pope Benedict just yet.

Best, kris

Can I just say that Nick Clegg went to the independent Westminster School: www.westminster.org.uk/ which is different from the state Westminster City School

i't's not fair that schools paid for by all select from a few

How true. Church schools spring to mind.

Don't Christ's Hospital do reduced fees for the children of clergy?

Why not send him to Pimlico Academy ?
Recent Ofsted judged it Outstanding .

kris - what are the five grammar schools reachable from Victoria - are they in the croydon/sutton area?

gingeroots - you scare me with this report on pimlico academy. this ofsted thing just lost all its significance to me.

A place where some 50% of kids do not get 5 gcsce's at a-c outstanding? Sounds sceary to me. Lts compare it to some schools that have some 90% of all GCSEs at grade A. What are they super duper outstanding?

Sincitylover...

1. st olaves, based in orpington, 23 minutes direct from victoria, and 10 minute walk afterwards through a nice suburban neighbourhood

1. wilsons and 3. wallington, both based in wallington (though wallington is also accessible via a more direct route.. forgot the name of the station). 25 minites.

1. sutton - 23 minutes direct

1. tiffins... this one is more complex, as you take a bus to vauxhall and take a train from there to kingston upton thames. total journey time 25 minutes.

good luck!

kris123 - yes Ofsted ,league tables are scary.
Tick boxes and the school knowing how to play the game .
Practice Ofsteds seem to be the norm now ,ok I suppose if the school has the money to pay for it and the consultants .

thanks kris - I put my ds1 (now year 9) in for Tiffin in 2007/8 (untutored) not really expecting too much - he came about 150th which given the no tutoring etc didn't think was too bad.

We were also going to try Dartford Grammar but sort of gave up with that one due to test/touring round schol.

He actually ended up in local well performing comp. Im not sure whether he would have fared better in a grammar.

There's no reason why he shouldn't excel at his current school although I personally find it too big and feel a distinct lack of warmth/rapport between staff and students. Whether that would have been better in a grammar who knows.

With ds2 (now year 5) will prob try the local LEA 'selection' not putting down any of the schools I wouldn't consider of course, possibly a grammar and possibly try for scholarship.

Our local vicar sent his son to Westminster City school but think they found the travelling a bit much and he now goes to ds1s school (which is c of e)

I went to look at it too (tho not religious) and thought it OK.

should have said test/touring round school fatigue

re pimlico - colleague's wife teaches there and he told me that they have mixed ability classes - whether that's still correct I don't know but I would want my dcs ability streamed at secondary school.

Mixed ability classes do seem like a good idea, almost like grammar school system, but if managed rightly, its more flowing, enabling children to have a good and bad years i guess.

Would be interesting to hear someones views from own experience. I would hate my child to go to a school and be in form Z, or so called stupid class, as it can be higly dismotivational.

actually teach at this school.

1. Please do not use the story reported above to make your decision, this was a long time ago and was an isolated incident as a female teacher i have no concerns over safety, while pregnant the boys looked out for my safety, carrying books for me, holding doors, making sure the corridors were clear etc. and in my role at the school i spend much time working with boys one on one and have NEVER feared for my safety.

1. The results at the school on paper do not look good however what statistics do not tell you is the school is committed to taking pupils from a range of different ability levels and the progress the boys make is good. Boys are taught in streams with the top being pretty much a grammar stream, the capabilities and achievements of this group are extra ordinary. Those in lower streams are taught in very small classes with much extra support.

1. The school offers such a wide range of experiences for its pupils with trips locally and all over the world, boys are encouraged to take part in extra curricular activities. The leadership team at the school is committed to improving the school further and as our recent ofsted report said we are an improving school.

1. Despite this the school is a boys school that means there is a boisterousness in the playground and between lessons etc. This does not faze most boys who either enjoy being part of the running around, football, basketball games etc. or find a quiet place such as the library to go to.

Does any one know, how many boys are taking the list test for Westminster School 13 plus, 2014 entry ?Thanks