Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Westminster School vs Kings college Wimbledon sixth form for girls?

5 replies

Cosmiclyfe · 08/02/2019 20:02

Hi, I was wondering which sixth form is better in your opinion e.g. academically and with extracurriculars as both are very good schools with very good results but the prestigiousness of Westminster seems to take precedence over Kings as to which one is better.

Thanks

OP posts:
Talksunderwater · 08/02/2019 21:46

They are both great schools. If your DD is lucky enough to get offers for both, she can’t really go wrong whichever one she chooses.

cakeisalwaystheanswer · 08/02/2019 23:04

Westminster sounds more prestigous if that is what you are using as a decider. IMO people talk about 3 London boys schools but W is the only one boys go out of their way to travel to.

Academically the results at both schools will be quite a bit higher for the girls than for the boys which reflects the standard of the 6th form intake. You can get them separated out if you google round a bit. DS was at Kings and the IB was much more popular with the super keen than the super lazy (DS did A levels).

jeanne16 · 09/02/2019 06:54

My DD went to Westminster 6th form. It was a very tough transition for her as the style of teaching was similar to a university. For History she had to do an essay every week and was expected to use the library. Text books were considered very restrictive and rarely used. She came through it and did very well but not without a lot of stress.

It is also quite a party school and since the pupils come in from all over (one commuted from Brighton in her year), it means the parties are all over the place which I found stressful.

So it is a wonderful school but your DD needs to be tough to get through it successfully.

AbstractNoun · 10/02/2019 17:41

KCS £7200 per term; Westminster £9900.
Significantly better sport at KCS.
Probably equal for music and drama.
Roughly equal academics (possibly Westminster still has the edge...)
Probabl Westminster still has the cachet...

otlg1378 · 11/02/2019 11:36

Hi Cosmiclyfe,

I went to King's College as a girl for Sixth Form (I'm in my third year of a Master's degree now so left just a few years ago) and thought you may like some info from someone who's been through it. I vaguely considered Westminster when applying for Sixth Form - I also got an offer from Tiffin Girl's and looked round St. Paul's but decided they weren't for me. I think its likely that the Girl's results will be higher (on average) for both schools purely because it is far easier to design highly academically selective entrance exams for 16 year olds than for 11 or 13 year olds - it was certainly the case in my year that the girls were considered brighter (again, only on average). I really don't think the exact A level or IB results should factor too much into your decision though. They are both fantastic schools and its far more important that the school environment seems suitable for your daughter. I ultimately chose King's because it was closer to me, and I'd also heard a lot of rumours about Westminster and their 'party' scene. I also think that prestige is not necessarily a good thing, as it comes with a sense of entitlement that is not necessarily justified - this was slightly evident at King's and is definitely rife in other top private schools as well. What I can say for King's is that is has a huge range of extra-curricular activities and the drama department has a massive annual budget - the shows I saw there were fantastic and way above the standard you would expect from a school. Another great thing they do is run a program on Friday afternoons where you do some form of volunteering or other activity (CCF is an option). I was a teaching assistant in a Special Need's school for a year and it was an incredibly opportunity - not just for my own happiness but its something that will always look fantastic on a CV.

The entrance exams and interview at King's are not particularly fun, but there is nothing unseen on any of the papers (except the General paper which can't be prepared for and just requires a bit of thinking) and the interviews in your chosen subjects are fine as long as you can show you are passionate about your choices.

Any sixth form transition will be quite tough, as the step up from GCSE to A level is perhaps bigger than it should be, and I can also say for certain that parties will happen anywhere where teenage boys and girls are suddenly in the same place. The main thing that put me off Westminster was that, at the time I was applying, their parties were well-known for being considerably wilder.

The teaching at King's is portrayed quite accurately in the guides (although I think there have been quite a few changes in staff since I left). For a very academic school it is surprisingly relaxed but still well-structured, although the IB caused students a lot more stress than A-levels did.

I am by no means saying absolutely decide on King's - I have both good and bad memories from my time there - but I am saying that despite the times when things weren't so great, I don't regret my decision at all. The new girls are really well looked after when you arrive and there are loads of school-organised socials before the term starts to make the whole process less daunting. You also get put in an all-girl tutor group as well as a mixed form group, so you don't feel so outnumbered.

I'm sorry I can't offer much information on Westminster, but thought a bit of insight into King's may help. I also should apologise for the length of this post - I was procrastinating some tedious lab report when I found this thread :D

If you want any more information I'm happy to help the best I can :) And good luck to your daughter I'm sure she'll do great whatever she decides

New posts on this thread. Refresh page