Westminster Under school vs City of London

[essexuser]

Dear All
If you're given a choice, would you choose Westminster Under school or City of London? I know it's personal choice and circumstances etc. but are there any good points to consider in choosing one school over other?

your response is very important for us!

Thanks,

£24k v 15.5k no?

Not an inconsiderable difference either way. It's not just the money though, it's how the way the fees influence who goes there.

For me it would be City, I just think it's the nicest school I've been to. I concur that it's much less public school and I felt much less comfortable in the surroundings of Westminster. I like that it's an ethnically and relatively socially diverse school and just turns out great boys. I had lots of friends who went to City and they were always a lovely, non arrogant non snobby crowd and remain the same in their 40's. I know lots of boys at City now and they're just lovely.

The £10k saving alone has to be worth serious consideration surely, especially if you've other kids and aren't uber wealthy.

My DS got 25% scholarship in CLS. I'm just comparing the factors between WUS and CLS ignoring money factor. If all other factors are same then money makes difference. If other factors are more valuable than money then it's a different scenario.

Thanks!

It's all about fit for the child then. What does your school say? We were told 'little Mavis is an XX boy' and that's where he got in.

And these days money is a consideration. Good jobs, property, inheritance... It can all go puff overnight, believe me. Unless you have all the fees saved away please bare that as a factor.

Bear (grizzly), not bare (naked)

Very good point OriginalMavis!

DS is at city with an academic scholarship. We didn't look at Westminster despite the fact that we were told it would be the best school for him as we couldn't afford it. If you can afford it go for Westminster I'd say. Have you already paid your deposit to all these 3 schools? The admission process is finished for 2016.

this being said, DS loves his school, and he said that everyone is so nice, he is really happy.

If you enter in Year 7 at WUS, you are pretty much guaranteed a place in the Great School. The 11+ exam standard is so high that, if selected, the school doesn't perceive you will have a problem with CE exam in Year 8. If you attend the Open Day, the school will tell you this.

It's only the internal WUS students coming up from Year 3/4 who have no guarantees in terms of passing the Pre-tests in Year 6.

Where do you want him to go afterwards? If you are even considering Westminster, go for WUS. Easier to transfer to col from there than vice versa. If you are thinking of anywhere else super academic, eg boarding Winchester in due course, go for WUS.

Well done him, btw. Bright lad.

@OrlandaFuriosa => as of now equal preference to WUS and CLS. Hence started this thread.

Thanks!

It seems to come down to:

Education - both good, usual story of bright kid doing well anywhere.

Opportunity - again both have good clubs, societies, sports, trips etc.

Culture - how good a fit for family - especially the boy. One being more of a bubble of priveledge, rubbing shoulders with the wealthy and very wealthy (plus the possible network built over time); the other being more of a mix of social levels, financial situations.

Fees, travel, boarding (if any if these have weight).

Gut feel.

@originalmavis , thanks for your summary.

I am not sure I agree fully with Mavis.

Westminster has never been obviously a "bubble of priviledge, rubbing shoulders with the wealthy and very wealthy". Indeed DS knew at least three boys who were living in rented ex-Council flats near the school. Boys there are bright. Friendships are formed on common interests, not what your parents do or how much they earn. There are presumably some flash rich kids but they are easy to avoid.

Differences in my mind are:

1. Westminster operates as a boarding school even though only a third are boarders. House system, two full afternoons of games, Saturday school and the ability of day children to come in for breakfast and stay late in the evening either to do homework, use the gym or rehearse a play etc. The City campus closes quite early and most clubs are at lunch time. We thought this was great. Teenage boys like being in each other's company and my son would arive early and leave late. Far better than him being at home playing computer games (though he did a fair amount of that as well.)

1. Girls in sixth form. This changes Westminster altogether. The intake is selective and the girls, who make up about a third of the year group, are bright and ready to make a contribution to school life. A generalisation (and perhaps another difference) is that many Westminster boys fall into the "bright but quirky" MN definition. Being with girls at this point causes the boys to pull their social socks up and provides a good transition to University. Sixth form at Westminster is fun.

1. Cost. Westminster is extra-ordinarily expensive. Though the extra money will been seen in smaller, seminar type classes, and lots of pastoral support, which may be twhy their results are so good.

But again it is about feel. They are very different schools. Where does your DS feel most comfortable.

@Needmoresleep, Thanks for your comments!

in the following, are you saying CLS is better due to less time at school and afternoon clubs? or the other way round?

"......The City campus closes quite early and most clubs are at lunch time. We thought this was great. Teenage boys like being in each other's company and my son would arive early and leave late......."

My son loved the very full boarding school type life that Westminster offered. However other boys will prefer getting home promptly and spending more time with family and not having to go into school on Saturdays. (Don't forget there are often matches or play rehersals on Saturday afternoons.)

Horses for courses. However it is definately not a decision that should be hbased on pejorative internet comments about bubbles of "priveledge". Both schools will have good eggs and bad.

@Needmoresleep , Thanks for your comments.

Yes, I won't take decision based on few comments/remarks/etc. what I'm looking from this thread is real-life experience from both WUS/WSS/CLS. I know CLS doesn't open on Saturdays. But I was not sure about WUS/WSS. is Saturday classes every week or alternate weeks or irregular? I heard that from Year 9 onwards it's regular?

Its from Yr 9. There are "exeat" weekends so probably two Saturdays out of three. In many ways it is easier to think of it as a Central London boarding school. DS loved his time there, so had no problem with it. The extra hours of teaching give scope for lots of non academic stuff. Some parents are surprised at the number of links with the Abbey, including things like Latin prayers and Abbey as well as choir/music, but these tend to strengthen the pastoral side rather than take on a specific religious tone. Not least because many pupils are not Christian. But again a difference. If history and tradition appeal, and in DS' case it was in a Hogwarts type way, then its hard to beat Westminster. (Luckily though there is no silly uniform Eton/Harrow style, and it is all quite relaxed, but there are still rituals around horse-hair pancakes etc which help foster a sense of belonging and being part of something special.)

The best for DS was being surrounded by other clever boys who saw learning as something to enjoy, with teachers who encouraged this. I am not sure if he will have picked up any useful networks, even if they exist. But he has taken away a love of learning and the ability to apply himself which is proving valuable at University.

Does WUS still do Saturday morning catchup lessons in Latin for those entering at 11+?

@Ladymuck , yes!

I think it's just for boys who haven't been learning it at school.

It's another consideration, especially if essexuser does in fact live in Essex!

jeanne16 - I have no prejudice against 'posh' students. I taught for nearly a decade at a 'posh' independent and both DDs attended the very same. Results are regularly in the top schools of the country.

That said, it was the least pretentious and most 'relaxed' environment I can imagine in a school. It is the pushy, overly ambitious parent body, streaming into 'scholarship' and 'CE' streams (SOOOO old-fashioned and pedagogically dodgy!) and hard to pin down 'arrogance' about the place which puts me off.

Different strokes for different folks.

@ohtobeanonymous, thanks for you comments.

you mean to say there shouldn't be any segregation between : 'scholarship' and 'CE' streams? all kids allowed to write single common entrance? or you mean to say we shouldn't care about whether child gets into 'scholarship' and 'CE' streams ?

Thanks