How to pass the Westminster School 11+

Are you considering registering your child for the Westminster 11 plus? Find out all you need to know about the process and how you can help them to succeed.

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• The 11+ admissions process
• Exam content
• The interview
• Scholarships
• Find a tutor for Westminster
• Contact us

Tracing its roots back to 960AD, Westminster is a private day and boarding school, and will become fully co-educational across all years by 2030. An institution steeped in history, the Great School still occupies its original site, nestled by Westminster Abbey. The school carries a real prestige, with boys going on to be Nobel prize winners, prime ministers and well respected members of all aspects of society.

The Under School site is in the slightly quieter Vincent Square, close to Pimlico, Victoria and St James’s Park stations. The under school doesn’t take boarders, with children mostly commuting in from all over London. Founded in 1943 with just 17 pupils, the Under School has grown over the years, now teaching almost 300 students. Starting in 2026 girls will be welcome to join in all years and a new pre-prep will open. To help meet the needs of the expanding school Westminster have also purchased two significant new buildings, including a new performing arts space.

Successful Westminster 11 plus applicants come from a good mix of preps and state school, and each year about 85% of Year 8 students progress to the Senior School. Children who don’t progress to the Senior School at 13+ go to the likes of Eton, Harrow, Winchester and Dulwich.

The Transition to Co-education

From 2026, girls will be welcome to join Westminster Under School, and a new pre-prep will open. In 2028, girls will join boys in Westminster Upper School’s year 9. This decision reflects Westminster’s aim to build a diverse community open to as many children as possible, shaping the futures of brilliant young men and women. To help meet the needs of the expanding school Westminster have also purchased two significant new buildings, including a new performing arts space.

Results

Westminster really does achieve the results to back up its reputation for academic excellence. In 2024, 99% of GCSEs were achieved at a grade 9-7 (of A*-A), while 79% were achieved at the top grade 9.

This high standard is also evident in the A level grades achieved at Westminster. 89% of A Level grades were awarded at A* or A in 2024. The school has the highest Oxbridge acceptance rate in the UK, with about half of its sixth form students going on to study there. In 2024, 34 Westminster students went to Cambridge, and 56 went to Oxford.

Fees

At Westminster Under School (Years 5-8) fees are £11,113 per term. When your child moves into Year 9 at the Senior School, this starts at £15,451 per term.

Fee assistance is available at Westminster, with £2m worth of bursary support provided each year.

Bursaries are available for up to 100% of the fees and those granted a full bursary receive additional support in the way of uniform costs and compulsory school expenditures. You can find more information on how to apply for a bursary on the Westminster Under School website.

The Westminster Under School 11+ Admission Process

Unsurprisingly, entry to Westminster at 11 plus is highly competitive. Roughly 500 children apply for just 30 places each year. There are multiple stages that you need to prepare for over a 12 month period, starting from January when your child is in Year 5. It may be worth sitting an Academic Assessment, so you can understand where his abilities and weaknesses lie. The detailed report can help you decide if the Westminster school entrance process is right for them. You can register your child for entry into Westminster at 11+ from two years before the proposed date of entry.

Outline of the dates to remember are:

• Open Days held – in June and September
• Application deadline – end of September, including any relevant SEND reports and bursary documentation. You must also pay the £300 registration fee.
• ISEB Common Pre-test – late November
• Additional written papers – sat in mid January
• Music scholarship auditions – held in late January
• Interviews take place in late January/early February
• Offers – sent mid February
• Acceptance deadline – early March.

Upon acceptance of an offer, your child attends Saturday school until July so that they can catch up with the other Under School pupils in subjects such as Latin, before starting in September.

Westminster 11 Plus Open Days

We find 11+ Open Events to be incredibly helpful to children and their parents. Even if you are already certain you will apply to Westminster at 11 plus, attending an event will allow you to answer any burning questions. Your child can also familiarise with the school, teachers and the grounds, making sitting the written exam and attending the interview a much less daunting prospect.

The 11+ Open Morning for 2026 entry is scheduled for the 20th of September 2025 and is available to book via the school website.

11+ ISEB Common Pre-test at Westminster Under School

After applying, your son will sit the ISEB Pre Test. Westminster and other private schools have used this digital testing method for about 10 years to avoid children having to sit multiple exams for the 11 plus. Each child only sits this once, possibly at their current school if they hold the test. If not, your son will attend the test at Westminster in late November.

The ISEB Pre-test format is something we have a deep understanding of, having successfully tutored many children over recent years. This knowledge and expertise was particularly useful to our 2020-21 cohort when many private schools switched out their traditional exams for this digital format. Schools made this decision last minute as further Covid restrictions were imposed, but our professional tutors ensured children were not fazed. We prepare children for the different question types and work to increase their ability to answer questions quickly and accurately, so they are familiar with the format of not being able to go back to answer any difficult questions at the end of the test.

All of this meant 90% of our 2020-21 cohort of school entrance tutees were offered a place at their first choice school. Every child got into either their first or second choice.

The Westminster 11+ Entrance Written Exam

Those who perform well enough in the ISEB Pre-test then sit the written exam in January. About 100 children a year reach this stage. The Westminster 11+ entrance exam consists of:

• A Maths paper that tracks the National Curriculum to the end of Year 6. This tests ability to apply mathematical concepts to solve problems.
• An English paper that tests reading and writing skills. The paper is altered every year but focuses on comprehension and creative writing.

For the Maths paper, start with the basics – make sure your child can understand what a question is asking of them. Can they, for example, identify an algebra question? It may sound simple, but without this understanding a child can easily misinterpret a question and lose marks.

To prepare for the English paper, ensure your child can write in a variety of genres, displaying a wide vocabulary and an understanding of how writers use language. The paper may ask children to write a creative piece or a review, or ask them to continue a passage of writing whilst keeping the voice of the original author. Creative writing practice is an important part of your 11 plus prep and you should make sure your child has a bank of stock stories planned that they can call upon.

As with all 11 plus exam preparation, we recommend you use past or practice papers. Westminster doesn’t release past papers, but you can try ours – they cover the full Maths and English school entrance syllabi. Do the first in an untimed condition and help your child understand where they did well and where they dropped marks. As you approach the Westminster 11 plus exam day, have your child sit a timed paper. Both papers are highly time pressured so this is a key aspect to prepare for.

For specific syllabus knowledge and exam technique coaching, get in touch with our team. Our tutors have experience of the latest exams at London’s top private schools and a track record of success.

11 Plus Interview at Westminster

Usually, Westminster interviews about 60 children – twice as many as they have places for at 11+. This involves a one-to-one conversation with a senior member of staff. They are looking to find out more about your child beyond his academic abilities. As a school for naturally bright children encouraged to seek out new frontiers, they want inquisitive children, who may question the norm.

Friendly debate over the kitchen table is a great way to prepare for this – try stating something false and encourage your child to try and convince you of the truth. Get your child to discuss what interests them, and why. Encourage them to elaborate on a point, rather than meander through a conversation fully guided by you.

However, the interview is not another test of academic ability – if your child has made it to the final 60 out of 500 applicants, they are certainly bright enough for WUS! It is a much more informal interview than you may expect.

Having said this, appearing ‘over-polished’ and rehearsed will not bode well. Therefore, we run individual and group sessions on interview practice. We cover what to expect, how to develop an answer and how to present your best self. Familiarising your child with the environment of an interview, we make the process much less daunting and give him the tools to shine.

11+ Scholarships to Westminster Under School

While there is no academic scholarship on offer at 11 plus at Westminster, you can apply for a music scholarship. This is worth up to 10% of the day fee and lasts until your child leaves the Under School in Year 8.

The school grants scholarships based on whether a child meets the usual academic standard for 11 plus entry, and on their musical ability displayed in an audition. The expected standard is Grade 5 or above on their main instrument, and decent ability on a second. In the audition, your child will play two pieces on their main instrument and one more on their second. They will need to read at sight and attempt ear tests. If successful, a music scholar should expect to be a large part of the school’s musical endeavours.

Scholarship applications usually need to be submitted by the general application deadline. You can find more information on the WUS website.

Find a Tutor for the Westminster School Entrance

If you’re looking for an experienced third party to assist your child on their Westminster 11 plus journey, Mentor can help. Our stellar tutors are teachers, heads of department and examiners with a deep understanding of the latest requirements of independent school admissions.

We work with you to understand your child’s needs, their strengths lie and any gaps in their knowledge. From there, your tutor will create a plan to develop your child’s exam technique and self-confidence, so that they can approach the exam and interview with some degree of certainty.

All of our tutors come with a wealth of experience and a track record of success. We reference-check each tutor and they all have up-to-date DBS certificates. Wherever possible we will match your child with a tutor who has a track record at the Westminster school entrance.

For more information on our tutors’ unique approach, contact our team.

More on Westminster Under School

Westminster students are often described as more quietly ambitious and driven compared to children at similar schools, such as St Paul’s. Teaching here has been likened to that of a university seminar, with a more informal teacher-student dynamic and open discussion encouraged. Rather than being a hothouse environment, Westminster intends to grow children’s natural wonder and curiosity for learning. Parents feel that boys are encouraged to follow all avenues open to them, perhaps evident in the careers of notable alumna (Adam Buxton and Andrew Lloyd Webber, for example).

Appointed in September 2021, Master Mrs Kate Jefferson comes from the Future Academies Trust, where over the previous seven years she was head of Pimlico Primary and then Millbank Academy.

Co-curriculars

Sport is for everyone at Westminster – children of all abilities actively take part in new opportunities. Therefore, if your child has a particular sporting talent, there may be better options (and scholarships) at other schools. However, considering the space the school has it can boast excellent sports facilities. This includes a Sports Centre shared with Westminster Great School, comprising a rowing training suite, fencing pistes, indoor cricket nets, a gym, climbing walls, table tennis area, and basketball, netball, football, volleyball, hockey and badminton courts.

In terms of the Arts, Westminster offers its pupils a plethora of opportunities. In Art, Westminster holds annual model-making and photography competitions, and presents opportunities for inclusion in the school magazine. Being situated right in the heart of London, children are frequently afforded the opportunity to visit the capital’s most illustrious galleries. Drama is a key part of life at WUS, with three productions each year. Here, students can either take centre-stage or get involved in set design, sound engineering and programme creation. Furthermore, children often have the chance to visit London’s West End!

At Westminster, music is a huge part of school life. Individual tuition, plenty of after-school clubs and a variety of school concerts mean children are fully immersed in musicality throughout their time at WUS. Despite championing naturally gifted musicians, the school does also encourage all pupils to enjoy taking part in the musical opportunities it offers.

Information on Westminster Under School

Address: Westminster Under School, 27 Vincent Square, London, SW1P 2NN

Telephone: 020 7821 5788

Email: sam.eldridge@westminster.org.uk

Website: www.westminsterunder.org.uk

Local Authority: Westminster

School’s Unique Reference Number (URN): 101165

Gender: Co-ed

Age Range: 7-14

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If you’re considering Westminster Upper, you might also find information on other Independent Schools interesting, find a list of other schools below:

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• City of London (Girls)
• Dulwich College
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• St Dunstan’s
• St Paul’s (Boys)
• St Paul’s (Girls)
• Streatham & Clapham High
• Sydenham High
• Trinity
• Whitgift
• Wimbledon High