Interview at westminster

[IndeCandidate]

What do you guys recommend? children in formal / casual ?

the email says if we get invited it will be 20 min so any idea on questions ?

Warm regards And many thanks in advance

Math at St Paul 11+ is much more difficult but the Westminster (11+ and 13+ same exam) English is much more difficult.

@AC7001 thank you so much for responding. I don’t know anybody who appeared for WUS11+

it’s good to know feedback in general .

so it seems English will be main selection criterion .

Interview attire: did your DS wear their uniform or home clothes? Any tips at all? Thanks!

Our DS wore uniform so did everyone we saw on that day.

@AC7001 Thank you!! Hope it went ok for your DS.

Well done to your DC. My DS was accepted at Westminster during Covid we chose not to take it up as we had not actually seen the school nor fancied the commute (but, as I say, partly clouded by Covid).

He was tutored as part of the 11+ (he came from an indie school, not a prep), but we didn't do anything to prepare him for the interview as I had assumed they wanted the 'real him'. We did mention it might be good to be prepared to talk about books etc but didn't actually then discuss what type of questions (whether current affairs, history, society - his general knowledge is naturally well developed) would come up but DS is quite confident with adults - less so with peers funnily enough - and can talk about most things.

I still think it would have been the ideal school for him but sometimes life comes in the way.

Good luck!

Personally, I think English is usually where there is a wider spread of ability for boys of this age and therefore can be the decider. When ds appeared for the WUS 11+ (a few years ago now) he was given a Ted Hughes poem to read and discuss. Not much preparation time so it does test their natural comprehension skills.

My dc cleared second stage for wus11+

over the moon . we literally had no help n just did cgp books n few past papers from independent school

Congrats great news!

That's true, I think. If I look at my DS, he's very good at maths but, comparatively speaking when compared with others (particularly boys), his comprehension and vocab skills are way ahead so agree, English is probably more of a decider.

Sorry to jump into the conversation. We are thinking of applying for 13+ for our son starting secondary in 2024 as well but wondered even if one was applying for 13+ entry do the 13+ exams not take place when the kids are still 11 along with the 11+?
Also, keen on knowing more on what’s required at 13+ entrance exams. Intrigued by the info on French and Latin requirement. I knew Kings expected children coming at 13 to be at par with the other students but wasn’t sure of Westminister!?

It would be required for him to take the ISEB pretest by November 2023 and exams for Westminster in January 2024. Yes, 13+ exams take place as a part of or roughly at the same time as the 11+ entry tests for all other selective independent schools. His start date at WS would be September 2026. It’s all explained on the website.

Sorry to resurrect an old thread…. I was just wondering if anyone who has been through the Westminster 13+ assessments (in Y6) could let us know more about the written portion of the assessment and the interview. DC is applying this autumn and I’m preparing them myself at home, so I’d like to work out what kind of material to focus on specifically in English, which isn’t their forte… Is there creative writing in the written portion or just comprehension?

I hope all your DCs are enjoying the schools they ended up in!