Westminster/St Paul's reserve lists

[BagLady75]

My DS is on reserve list for both Westminster and St Paul's for 13+ entry in 2014. Funny enough, quite a few boys from his prep are too, and quite few boys we know in other preps...and in fact I can't think of ever hearing of someone getting an actual rejection from either school. Do they ever give a flat no? And does this mean they have huge reserve lists? I'd be grateful to learn more if anyone has info.

We do know a couple of boys who received an received a "no" from Westminster/St Paul's, but in our son's year at his own prep, two out of seven applicants were offered places outright, and five went on a reserve list. A couple of them eventually got their places.

I heard that St P over-offered, ie had a greater number of acceptances than usual, and so are having to add an extra class this year (2013), maybe they are therefore being more cautious for 2014. Maybe people who previously would have boarded at eg Winchester or Eton are choosing day school instead?

Yes, I know children who have had straight rejections from Westminster.

Yes, St P has been overwhelmed with acceptances for 2013 and has had to create a "bulge" class, and have significantly reduced their offers for 2014. I don't know if W is facing a similar problem... Maybe you should wait until September (when parents are obliged to accept or decline conditional offers), then find out where your son is on the reserve list..

Westminster don't rank the waiting list like that.

They keep an eye on the numbers, work out if they can make further offers and if so how many, and then will seek further prep school references about those on the list (or may phone up to ask about specific boys). They'll be looking to see if there has been good progress in the areas which meant those candidates were 'near miss' rather than 'offer now'. Then they'll reconsider all those on the waiting list in light of new info, and make offers to those showing best at that point.

A list doesn't have to be in a strict order. I'm sure St P runs their in pretty much the same way as W. Inevitably though, some "near miss" boys (in careful consultation with their respective prep school heads) will be give priority over others.

My DS has his St Pauls interview last week for Sep 2015, and Dr Bailey said that they had seriously over offered for the last two years. He said that this year they had vastly increased the number of boys they gave a straight 'no' to and decreased the number on the waiting list, as they felt that it was unfair on the WL boys as so few ever got a place. Sorry - not what you want to hear, I know...

StP is a very academic school, so if only borderline, would think very seriously about whether to accept from the WL.

Thanks everyone for the replies. I'm relieved to hear there are some actual rejections as it does presumably make a WL place more meaningful. But I also take Mrs Salvo's point that we should think hard about whether it is the right school even if DS does get promoted. We're actually more keen on Westminster than St Pauls due to distance but I assume admissions and standards are fairly similar at the two.

I disagree re waitlist places - I think that there is an element of luck in test and interviews - as I understand St P ask for a lot of academic info beforehand and so all boys interviewed have to be pretty bright . My son was successful but I'm sure those on the waitlist are equally bright but may have had a bad day - if a place came up I'd grab it !

Both are big, well established schools with secure finances. They don't need to fill evey place, and are experienced at choosing not just clever boys but clever boys who will be a good fit at the school. They won't make an offer to a boy they do not think can stand the pace.

From my son's school, 7 applied to St Pauls, all were interviewed (as are all boys who apply), 2 were offered main list places, 2 offered waiting list places and the other 3 given straight 'no's. However, this is for 2015 and it would appear that they are tightening numbers by quite a bit to avoid the over offer problems that they've had for this September.

All those 7 were top set in everything. The 2 that got main list places had additional things to offer - music in one case and sport in the other.

I too think there's an element of luck, particularly with the interview. Our son was offered a place at St Paul's, while a couple of very able friends at a different school were put on the reserve list for both St P and W. It's a very stressful time for the parents but if your son is promoted from the reserve list at either, grab it with both hands. Rest assured, both schools ask for loads of information from prep school heads, to make sure your son is the right fit for the school. Meanwhile, look elsewhere. One boy was offered a place at W only after he did exceptionally well in the entrance exam to another school...

Westminister- brilliant school

Hello homework queen
Please can you tell me what topics your son had on his online test for St. Paul's. In particular how can they test English story writing.

Muni this is a zombie thread. There is another thread a couple of pages down about this year's process which is probably a better place to post as the online test was new this year.