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How I got into Westminster School Sixth Form AMA

Hello. I'm a Year 11 international student who was accepted into Westminster School London as a boarding girl at 16+ entry in 2023 (for future generations, the acceptance rate is about 12.8% at the time of writing). I rejected my offer but I wanted to share my advice here for future applicants, since this site helped me a lot with my own application journey.

Some information about me: I applied for the subjects History, Economics, Theology and Philosophy, and Maths, since I want to do PPE at uni. Westminster School was the only school I applied to in the UK. I ultimately chose to stay at my current school in Asia since I receive a hefty scholarship here and I was not selected for the King's Scholars.

Entrance exams:

I did not revise for these. According to the latest official stats, 28% to 30% of people taking entrance exams will be invited for interview (https://www.westminster.org.uk/admissions/16-faqs/). They were not very difficult, consisting of the same type of questions you would find on a GCSE paper.

For history: You receive an excerpt about a time period you haven't studied before and a set of questions on it. The excerpt I got was about some kind of medieval sport. I wrote a few short answers that totaled up to be about a page in length. You can't really revise for this, but if you don't take GCSEs it might be worthwhile to check out some history GCSE questions. My advice is to be analytical and organise your main ideas for each response before you start writing. For example, I organised my response for the question "how useful is the excerpt for historians" by religious attitudes, class differences, and author's background.

For economics: Very easy. I was tested on applying "opportunity cost" to various situations, so if you don't take economics you might want to read a GCSE textbook (I do Business Studies and it is in the first chapter). For the graph question, read carefully: they'll try to trip you up or else there would be no point in providing the question. Lastly, there was a short essay that asked you to weigh both sides of a problem (I got immigration) by two excerpts, pro and con.

For theology and philosophy: I found this a bit more challenging since I don't take Religious Studies GCSE. I read an essay about how the idea of paradise evolved from a physical place to a state of being and was asked a few questions on the text. I was given a choice of two questions to answer for the essay problem and I answered the one on whether the concept of God relies on heaven/hell. I weighed both sides of the problem and came to a conclusion à la history 10 mark questions. As long as you present an original idea and organise your writing well you should be fine.

For maths: This was the easiest paper for me. All questions are multiple choice and only on GCSE content, nothing beyond (I've done AS and nothing there was tested). If you can get a 9 at GCSE maths, you'll get full marks, don't worry. I heard from a friend further maths is quite a bit more difficult but no content past GCSE is tested there either.

Interviews:

I was able to take my entrance exams at British Council (though they charged me ridiculously over 200 pounds), but all international students have to fly to Westminster for interviews--be prepared to spend a lot. I sort of prepared for these but nothing I thought of came up. You'll have 5 interviews (your subjects + general) 15 min each, a TSA, and a personal statement to write in this part. 42% to 47% of those invited for interview are accepted to the school and there'll always be people like me who give up our places, so if you get an interview place don't panic--you're almost there!

(Side note: The entrance of the school is tiny and I missed it when I first went there. Thankfully there's a lot of Sixth Form students to show interviewees around, all of whom were nice and helpful. The map is incredibly confusing, if you're not sure where to go you should ask around so you're not late for your next interview)

For general: I was interviewed by two incredibly kind and lovely teachers. They went over the basics (boarding/day, guardian, etc) and the typical questions like what are your favourite subjects in school and what do you want to do at uni. They also asked what book I was reading on economics, which came as a surprise since I didn't expect something so specific, so I just said I read more on history and philosophy and named a history book. I mentioned I love Camden, the school liberal arts magazine, and they even gave me a copy off their shelf (which currently sits on my bedside and makes me very sad about choosing not to go to Westminster). They never asked about my accomplishments so I had to awkwardly mention my MUN awards, and they very kindly reassured me I would be perfect for and would love Westminster MUN. At the end, they said they look forward to seeing me at Westminster (which also makes me incredibly sad).

For history: The teacher asked me what I was learning in class and I answered core content (20th century) and depth study Nazi Germany. He asked me about why I thought the Nazis rose to power, why they succeeded over the communists, and what the difference between communism and fascism was (and to define both). He also mentioned horseshoe theory and asked me what I thought about that. Embarrassingly, when he asked which historical figure I would have lunch with, I said the author of a book and I forgot the author's name halfway through my response. Otherwise it was pretty easy and I'd just advise revising what you learned in class so you're prepared to give an in-depth response off the top of your head.

For economics: This one was much more challenging. I was asked to estimate the number of petrol stations in America which I had no idea how to approach, so I just kept asking about and estimating population, number of cars, etc. Then there was a sort of mind twister/riddle problem. I found out after I answered everything that there was a pen and piece of paper in front of me, which I hadn't noticed and probably would've been very helpful for the mind twister. I recommend talking through every step of your reasoning with the interviewer and not panicking if you don't know, since no one I talked to afterwards figured out the exact answer either.

For theology and philosophy: I'd read the A level access to philosophy and religion textbook on ethical theory so this one was pretty easy for me. The interviewer asked me why I wanted to study this subject and for my thoughts on the difference between cultures, the trolley problem, the problem of evil, abortion, etc. I used a lot of terms like moral absolutism, cultural relativism, the different kinds of utilitarianism, etc and borrowed ideas on religion from general readings. I don't think you have to know professional terminology since they're meant to test that you have original and logical opinions. My advice is to argue for both sides to show off your versatility and to ask for time to consider the question even if you know right off the bat (demonstrates your depth of thinking, and one of my interviewers was really happy I did).

For maths: You're given 3 problems to solve based off what you got wrong in the entrance exam. This was the worst of my interviews although the problems were amazingly, incredibly easy. I got questions on distance/time/velocity and I couldn't understand the first question. It took me 10 whole minutes to solve the first one and that felt like an eternity with someone looking over your shoulder. I solved the second one (an extension upon the same question, I'd assume the third would be too) in under a minute but we didn't have time to get to the third problem. I would advise: remain calm. Maybe practice a few tough GCSE problems with someone supervising you under timed conditions.

TSA: Very standard TSA. It was sort of like CAT4 (I distinctly remember the paper-folding-hole-punching questions, which I despise) but with an additional reading section and no maths. You're given a mock on this in the letter that invites you for interviews, but with no answers. I advise you do the mock since it prepares you for the mindset you need in the exam.

Personal statement: You're given 10 minutes to write, so write quickly. I got a question asking me to reflect on a quote (something along the lines of you should be proactive regardless of results). Give an original response! Someone I asked managed to link her response to biology, I focused on weighing both sides and providing a strong counterargument.

Overall:

Westminster has a tiny acceptance rate and is incredibly selective (lower than both Oxford and Cambridge at the time of writing). As a social sciences person, I found revising for my subjects a little useless since you're mostly tested on your thinking and constructing an argument skills. Researching Westminster School itself might be helpful for your general interview. I mentioned Camden and Westminster's MUN, if you're not into those things you should check out their activities/societies page and read more about those in The Elizabethan magazine (https://www.westminster.org.uk/school-life/eliza/). But overall, I would recommend that you focus more time on making sure you go into the exams and interviews confident and calm. Even if you don't get in, don't let it discourage you--treat it like a good mock exercise for Oxbridge and keep improving in the next two years.

One resource I found incredibly helpful is (https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7165673). I strongly recommend you read his post, since his section on the personal statement is probably the most eye-opening school/uni/life advice I'd ever read. Another is the official website's FAQ (https://www.westminster.org.uk/admissions/16-faqs/), which should answer most of your questions.

Feel free to ask me any specific questions about getting into Westminster School and good luck on applying!