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Reply 1540
deadpinkfluffycat- I only saw the entrance hall part of the humanities building, there was a girl there talking about how amazing languages are though, she said you get seperate grammar and literature lessons.
leckett- No I didn't see the boarding houses since I don't want to board, but they do have another open day in early october, at least thats what the brochure they were handing out said.
Oops leckett. My bad.
Reply 1542
Original post by oryx12
deadpinkfluffycat- I only saw the entrance hall part of the humanities building, there was a girl there talking about how amazing languages are though, she said you get seperate grammar and literature lessons.
leckett- No I didn't see the boarding houses since I don't want to board, but they do have another open day in early october, at least thats what the brochure they were handing out said.


Thanks :wink:

Original post by deadpinkfluffycat
Oops leckett. My bad.


Ah don't worry:smile:
Original post by Cola_23
Thanks for the info! So in the end, did she get 100% bursary to cover all the tuition fee costs?


Yes she did (thankfully), but not everyone who needed a bursary got one however and complete bursaries are a rarity if ever.

My sister and one other student received bursaries in the end/in her entire year, with my sister's parental income and total assets being less than £12k at most - in other words, she was one of the most 'needy' students from those that applied. Nor my sister or the other student had assets like homes, cars or savings etc and the parental income of each child did not exceed the £12k mark. I believe my sister had the highest earning parent of the two, as the other child had a mother who could not work for disability reasons (i.e. she had no income/was on government support).

You have to fill in a VERY LONG finance form when you first apply to the school and later if you're given an offer, an even more extensive form detailing your finances for the last 5 financial years - including providing extensive bank statements, any property valuation records, independent finance records, yearly outgoings, P45 slips etc etc. But if you don't have any valuable assets (like a home thats into a six figure value) and are designated as very low-income as my sister was, Westminister shall try and cover your cost completely for tuition (not boarding as established in my previous post).

Good luck with everything :smile:
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by Cola_23
Hey guys, I have a really important question about bursaries. I completed the Part A (Initial Assessment) Bursary Form like 2 weeks ago. (I require a boarding place btw)

Then yestereday, I received an e-mail to say the Part B (In-depth Assessment) will be sent to us by post. But it also said this: "I must advise you that it is most unusual for the School to grant a bursary so that a pupil may board."

I never knew you couldn't apply for a bursary if you wanted to board :/ and I defo could not afford the school fees w/o bursaries, so I am kind of shocked right now! I've already sent an e-mail to ask about the situation; but I thought some of you are going to board AND apply for bursaries too, so just wanted to see if any of you guys have the same problem!?


I haven't filled out the form yet but I'm in the same position. I defo need to board, but I won;t be able to afford it!!! Any advice?
I so badly wish I could have had the opportunity to study somewhere like this. How incredibly lucky the students are. My family could never in a million years afford to send me somewhere like that, but I wouldn't have qualified for any bursaries either as their earnings aren't low enough.

Last year only 35% of students at my school received 5 A*-C grades at GCSE and the schools been put under 'special measures' by ofsted.......... whereas at Westminster 87.1% of grades awarded were A*.

If you're privileged enough to study somewhere like this, cherish the opportunity.
Original post by Cola_23
Thanks for the info! So in the end, did she get 100% bursary to cover all the tuition fee costs?


OMG. If this is the case, I might not be able to go to Westminz....! Cola_23 what are you going to do?
Original post by Cola_23
Thanks for the info! So in the end, did she get 100% bursary to cover all the tuition fee costs?


Missed your message there Cola :p:

Please PM me if you can (as I rather not give out the specifics/personal information about my sister openly on a board), and I'll/she'll be happy to answer any questions you have in private. Briefly however, as mentioned by another user above moreover, Westminster only offer tuition bursaries and limited amounts at that.
Reply 1548
hey guys im appearing for further math, math, chem and econ. I ve gone through al the 77 pages of the thread. exhaustive. but i heard that if you fail to get more then 70% in the math entrance you wont be considered for the interview. just wanted to knw you your thoughts on this. im applying for boarding btw.
Original post by arshadb
hey guys im appearing for further math, math, chem and econ. I ve gone through al the 77 pages of the thread. exhaustive. but i heard that if you fail to get more then 70% in the math entrance you wont be considered for the interview. just wanted to knw you your thoughts on this. im applying for boarding btw.


^That's the reason I'm not applying for further. Too much pressure. :biggrin:
Original post by arshadb
hey guys im appearing for further math, math, chem and econ. I ve gone through al the 77 pages of the thread. exhaustive. but i heard that if you fail to get more then 70% in the math entrance you wont be considered for the interview. just wanted to knw you your thoughts on this. im applying for boarding btw.


LOL, I've gone through the entire thread too. Really? Wow, that's slightly scary. Do you think they could be compared to the Maths Challenge papers?
Reply 1551
Yeah a lot of people on this thread said the maths papers are pretty similar to maths challenge, I think they must be looking for similar skills, 'cause they can't just give you a gcse paper since we've all covered different parts of the sylabus
Reply 1552
Original post by MapleBacon
Yes she did (thankfully), but not everyone who needed a bursary got one however and complete bursaries are a rarity if ever.

My sister and one other student received bursaries in the end/in her entire year, with my sister's parental income and total assets being less than £12k at most - in other words, she was one of the most 'needy' students from those that applied. Nor my sister or the other student had assets like homes, cars or savings etc and the parental income of each child did not exceed the £12k mark. I believe my sister had the highest earning parent of the two, as the other child had a mother who could not work for disability reasons (i.e. she had no income/was on government support).

You have to fill in a VERY LONG finance form when you first apply to the school and later if you're given an offer, an even more extensive form detailing your finances for the last 5 financial years - including providing extensive bank statements, any property valuation records, independent finance records, yearly outgoings, P45 slips etc etc. But if you don't have any valuable assets (like a home thats into a six figure value) and are designated as very low-income as my sister was, Westminister shall try and cover your cost completely for tuition (not boarding as established in my previous post).

Good luck with everything :smile:


Thanks for all the info, but I live too far away to be a day student, so I think I'll just have to cancel my application now :frown:
Reply 1553
Original post by BlueSkyeCloudyDay
I haven't filled out the form yet but I'm in the same position. I defo need to board, but I won;t be able to afford it!!! Any advice?

OMG. If this is the case, I might not be able to go to Westminz....! Cola_23 what are you going to do?


Yeah, I only knew about this one week ago. It's such a shocking news to me, as this would mean I won't be able to apply anymore! :'( I was also wondering why no-one posted about this situation before, as I thought some of you also wanted to have boarding bursaries :confused:

Anyways, as I said, Westminz doesn't actually provide bursaries to cover boarding costs :frown: In the e-mail they sent me, it says that "the School would consider you for a day fee bursary, of course...it is most unusual for a boarding bursary to be awarded. In the last 6 years we have awarded just 2 and they were for very specific pastoral reasons rather than just simple financial reasons alone."

I'm afraid it's pretty obvious that I won't be able to get a boarding bursary, so there's no point for me to continue applying - I won't be able to afford the full fees. My parents also think that I should just cancel the application :s-smilie: So I've pretty much lived in misery these few days..and still trying to accept the fact that I can't try to get into Westminter!:'(
As to what I'm gonna do, I will try other schools of course, but they're just so different to Westminz.

Anyway, whatever you do..good luck!! Hope you can still go there! :smile:
Original post by Cola_23
Yeah, I only knew about this one week ago. It's such a shocking news to me, as this would mean I won't be able to apply anymore! :'( I was also wondering why no-one posted about this situation before, as I thought some of you also wanted to have boarding bursaries :confused:

Anyways, as I said, Westminz doesn't actually provide bursaries to cover boarding costs :frown: In the e-mail they sent me, it says that "the School would consider you for a day fee bursary, of course...it is most unusual for a boarding bursary to be awarded. In the last 6 years we have awarded just 2 and they were for very specific pastoral reasons rather than just simple financial reasons alone."

I'm afraid it's pretty obvious that I won't be able to get a boarding bursary, so there's no point for me to continue applying - I won't be able to afford the full fees. My parents also think that I should just cancel the application :s-smilie: So I've pretty much lived in misery these few days..and still trying to accept the fact that I can't try to get into Westminter!:'(
As to what I'm gonna do, I will try other schools of course, but they're just so different to Westminz.

Anyway, whatever you do..good luck!! Hope you can still go there! :smile:


I'm still going to apply to westminz, just to see if i can get in, then we can take it from there....? Obv, if i dont get passed the admissions tests theres nothing I can do, but if i get in, by some stroke of luck maybe, just maybe..........?

Is that the case for all boarding schools, ie. they won't pay for boarding fees just tuition?? If not, what other boarding/private schools are you applying to?

P.S.
Don't be disheartened! Westminz would have been a great oppurtunity, but you can still do really well at any good school (which I'm sure you'll get into), then we'll be here in two years' time discussing Oxbridge freshers week! You best apply to Oxbridge . . . .

P.P.S.
Am i being delusional in still applying?
Original post by BlueSkyeCloudyDay
Am i being delusional in still applying?


If you are definitely a student who requires boarding, then I'm sorry to say, it is absolutely a waste of time.

In the last six or so years (as the e-mail at the end of the post specifies), only two bursaries for boarding purposes have ever been given out - and that was for special pastoral reasons as mentioned (i.e. both cases involved an 'unstable' home life for the students involved, one very severely so, so it was decided by the governors of the school that it was best for the students to be bought into the school for boarding purposes).

So regardless of how low your income is etc, you won't be able to negotiate with Westminister on this issue at all, as this is a blanket policy they have - i.e. they do not, under any circumstances, provide bursaries for boarding purposes. Logically therefore, if you definitely require a boarding place to attend and cannot fully afford it, it is indeed a waste of time applying as one is only postponing the inevitable (and potentially denying someone else a place if we're being altruistic). Whilst upsetting news of course, it is understandable, as covering a portion of the tuition fee is already extremely generous of Westminister - i.e. they are not only loosing out on a substantial amount of money by covering your tuition cost per year (which an otherwise fee paying student would take given its a private school). They also just don't have the financial resources to fund boarding students too.

Westminister
The School would consider you for a day fee bursary, but it is most unusual for a boarding bursary to be awarded. In the last 6 years we have awarded just 2 and they were for very specific pastoral reasons rather than just simple financial reasons alone.
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 1556
anyone appearing for chem. fm, math or eco?
im not worried about chem and eco. just gotta ace math
Reply 1557
and where do i find the math challenge papers? cant find em anywhere
Reply 1558
Hey guys!
I wish to apply for Westminster School for sixthform entry in 2012. Unfortunately I come from a very poor background (mum makes max. 13k annually). Will I be eligible for a 100% bursary?

Also am I too late in applying? I didn't even go to the open day....

I wish to study Maths, Further Maths, Biology, Chemistry & French for A-Level. My predicted grades for GCSEs are 7A*s (Bio, Chem, Physics, Maths, RS, English Lang & French) and 2As (English Lit & History).

How hard are the exams for the subjects I wish to study? Sorry for the long message but I'm really desperate and I think I've just blown my chances because I'm applying so late :frown: I desperately require your help! :smile:
Reply 1559
Also when are the interviews and written examinations? What sort of questions will they ask me during the interview?