St Paul for Girls vs Westminster

[Tom0111]

Hello,
Our daughter received offers from both St Paul for Girls and Westminster (which will become co-ed from Sep 2026). Obviously, they are both very good schools and we are studying the profiles of both; but I’d love to hear any opinion (particularly from those with first hand experience) on whether one could be preferred to the other.
Thank you very much in advance.
Regards,
Tom

I have a son at WUS, though my daughter sadly didn’t clear their 11+ this year, and I just wanted to share our experience.

For us, Westminster didn’t come across as especially personal during admissions. We received a lovely handwritten card from King’s with the offer, similar to what SPGS sends, so I completely understand how powerful that can feel. Westminster is aware of the card approach but doesn’t do that. I don’t think it’s arrogance, more that they don’t want to influence families and would rather people decide for themselves. They’re also dealing with huge numbers across multiple entry points, so I imagine that plays a part. It just isn’t their style.

Once you’re actually in, though, it feels very different. It’s genuinely warm and individual. In the first few weeks, the Master invited each new parent for a 1:1 catch up and each new pupil for a small group breakfast with her. A few weeks in, all the teachers we met at events already knew our son’s name. It’s also a smaller school than many, which helps. Over the past year, we’ve received many handwritten notes from the Master and teachers on different occasions, which we didn’t experience elsewhere. The examples go on. None of that was really visible during admissions, but it’s very much there once you’re part of the school.

Congratulations to your daughter. I genuinely think she can’t go wrong with either school. They are both wonderful!

Ha, I know! The card threw me off a bit (not my daughter though), and then remembered NLCS sent a “You got this!” handwritten card before exam day.
It’s a thing they do, and do very well.
SPGS are excellent at marketing themselves. Almost as excellent as they are at educating girls!

Westminster has some catching up to do in that sense. It seemed slightly aloof at times but I believe that it’s deliberate.
From where I was standing, SPGS was selling the experience whereas with Westminster it was more like the experience sells itself - and it’s called Westminster.

I’ve got no skin in this game, but found this hilarious.

Westminster has been educating girls in the sixth form for decades and doing it really well. So well that every year girls from SPGS try to move there. So if one is so keen to question something, it’s “whether they can bring that same success down to the younger years” not “can Westminster educate girls at all?” That ship has sailed.

Honestly, SPGS parents should just be proud of their daughters and enjoy it instead of posting misleading stuff about Westminster at 1am. I don’t see Westminster parents out there taking digs at SPGS. It mostly seems to be the other way around. They’re both fantastic schools. It really doesn’t need to be this competitive!

Thank you very much for this information. It is great to hear that WUS is also warm and personal. And I agree that both schools are absolutely fantastic. I'm certain that children who study at either will have a wonderful education, both academically and pastorally.

Because it's not enough to succeed! Others must fail. That's the spirit!

Thanks for the many inputs, ideas, arguments that have been shared in this thread. I found them all very useful! We haven’t made a decision yet - and there are only few hours left.

The key factors (each with a different weight) that we are considering are the following:

1. Co-ed vs all girls - not much relevant now maybe, but probably important and positive from year 9-10 onwards.
2. Interaction across year groups - the junior WS interacts very little with the senior counterpart; at SPGS it is easier for a year 7-8 to interact (and possibly be inspired) by older year groups.
3. Commuting - we are rather close to SPGS; WS requires a 20min journey on the tube + walking.

On all other dimensions, the two schools seem rather comparable to me (obviously, they have distinctive features).

Re the incognita presented to the first cohort of 11+ girls at WS: my sense - based on the offer holder event, the small group tour, a brief conversation with the head master - is that the school has very carefully planned its new co-ed phase and is ready to take any measure to make it an enjoyable experience for the girls - also in dialogue with the families joining in September.

@RareWinter - sorry for such a slow reply. My daughter was rather enthusiastic about the WS offer event - she had the opportunity to speak with the headmaster (who also interviewed her) and enjoyed it very much overall. Many of the girls’ parents I spoke with seemed very excited about the prospect of joining the school. My daughter was slightly less impressed by the SPGS event, but simply because she knows it already very well (she swims there and attended language classes at the school).

The tour of the new WS building was lovely, although my daughter wasn’t too keen on how the school’s facilities are spread out across different areas.

Hello @Tom0111 what did you decide in the end?

@mominator7plus - my daughter chose WS, 10min prior to the deadline for SPGS; then changed her mind for the rest of the day; now she is very enthusiastic about the idea of joining WS. Which school did you choose? It would be nice to connect with other girls and boys in the first ci-ed cohort of WS.

@Tom0111 congratulations! We 'd like to have the same dilemma in two years time for our daughter. Any tip or advice you could give us? I haven't never heard of anyone of being accepted at both schools. Thank you