Ages 
Highly selective, of both pupils and staff, Westminster is a school without a ceiling, glass or otherwise, that gives its pupils more of a university than a school experience from a young age. Focus on the individual enables each student to reach lofty intellectual heights through a style of teaching that is as far from teaching to the test as you can get, as well as encouraging passion and excellence in all areas. Westminster is ideal for your thoroughly independent, academically thirsty, feisty child who won’t follow the crowd. Lucky daughters will soon benefit from this unique experience before they reach 16 and the school will only become even greater as a result.
Why read our school review?
Unlike other websites, schools can't pay to be included in The Good Schools Guide. This means our review of this school is independent, critical and fair, and written with parents' best interests at heart.
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Overview & data
- Pupil numbers
- 773 ·
- Sixth form numbers
- 398 ·
- Offers boarding
- Yes ·
- Religion
- C of E
- Fees
- Day £46,353 - £49,950; Boarding £65,976 pa
- Local authority
- Westminster City Council
- Linked schools
Headteacher
Head master
Dr Gary Savage
Since 2020, Dr Gary Savage, formerly headmaster of Alleyn’s school. Educated at a Suffolk comprehensive (Ipswich Town FC still has a place in his heart), he was the first person in his family to go to university. After achieving a double first in
Entrance
Register by the end of year 5 for 13+ entry (boys at state primary and other schools that finish at 11 may apply to Westminster Under School). About 500 pupils sit the first round of ISEB tests (English, maths and reasoning) in the autumn of year 6
- Open days
- See website
Exit
For now, Westminster retains the prize for highest national Oxbridge acceptance rate, despite the contextual admissions scheme adopted by Cambridge, Oxford and other leading UK universities and an increasing bias towards state school pupils. This,
Latest results
In 2025, 98 per cent 9-7 at GCSE; 88 per cent A*/A at A level (96 per cent A*-B).
A levels or equivalent - Average points score (2024)
What is this?
These figures tell you the average grade and average points that pupils achieved in their academic qualifications. A maximum of 60 points are available for a grade A* at A level.
Teaching & learning
How long have you got? Teaching and learning seems too pedestrian a term to describe the intellectual stimulation students experience in and well beyond the classroom at Westminster. Dr Savage speaks of the confidence instilled in a learner from
- Qualifications taken in 2024
- A level
- EPQ
- GCSE
Learning support & SEN
We received (very) mixed reports about the quality of support for SEN (mostly negative) and a lack of understanding in a few quarters about specific conditions. Safe to say, it’s a bit hit and miss, with little joined-up thinking. Advice from parents
Arts & extracurricular
Exceptional music both in terms of the breadth of opportunity and the inspirational standard. Orchestral and singing performances take place in venues including the Barbican, St John’s Smith Square, Westminster Abbey and various places throughout the
Sport
Sport, or ‘station’ as it’s known here, takes many and varied forms (25 in total, from fives, fencing and shooting to Pilates, judo and badminton), but unless your child is a rower it’s unlikely to be super competitive. Water (rowing) trumps all
Boarders
With compulsory Saturday morning school (when essential academic lessons take place), demanding academic expectations and a full programme of extracurricular pursuits, Westminster exudes more of a traditional boarding school atmosphere than any other
Ethos & heritage
Like other famous British public schools Westminster is laden with customs, idiosyncratic words and phrases (very helpful glossary on the school website) and historic buildings. Benedictine monks first started educating boys here earlier than the
Pastoral care, inclusivity & discipline
More than just tinkering has had to take place in several areas of the pastoral curriculum recently after ISI inspectors felt that only lip service was being paid to RSE (relationships and sex education). Dr Savage, with characteristic attention to
Mobile phone policy
A clear mobile phone policy is a really important part of modern schooling. This school has provided us with their policy.
Mobile phone policy
Provided by the school and not part of our review There is no ban on mobile phones, instead a set of expectations and practical steps towards avoiding the use of devices in an anti-social manner. Phones are kept out of sight in all public areas in and around the school each day from registration until the end of the day, allowing pupils to have some access to phones at break and lunchtime, and when indoors. Teachers continue to have the ability to allow the use of phones if they wish to harness their potential in the classroom.
Pupils & parents
Vast majority of families are from London, particularly north London. They are attracted by the intellectual rigour of academic learning, progressive ethos and the location. A few boarders from surrounding counties including Kent, Essex, Middlesex
Money matters
Previous head’s plan was to make Westminster ‘need blind’ and we are beginning to see the effects of investment in bursary funding. Currently approximately £1.5m is spent each year to support pupils in the Under School and the Great School.
- Fee information
- Day £46,353 - £49,950; Boarding £65,976 pa
The last word
Highly selective, of both pupils and staff, Westminster is a school without a ceiling, glass or otherwise, that gives its pupils more of a university than a school experience from a young age. Focus on the individual enables each student to reach
