harris westminister interview guide

okay here is a complete guide to the harris westminister application process. i know it can be incredibly daunting when you see their requirements and that you have to do 4 a-levels but there’s no point in stressing once you’ve sent in your application.
1. entrance exam - the entrance exams i picked were chemistry and maths, they email you with your time and zoom link prior to the day, i took chemistry and maths and even though they said you could potentially use a calculator for your other exams they didn’t allow us to for chemistry. uhh don’t overwhelm yourself with the student room conversations post exam however i did find the chemistry exam incredibly easy and the maths exam was harder than kings maths. for the exams there is no negative marking (where if you get an answer wrong it will lower your current score) so i’d say make as many educated guesses as you could - for the maths exam i guessed 5 questions. you’re gonna feel like you flopped it and if you don’t then congrats
2. receiving your results - so i had 2 friends who also applied with me, and since i was the only one out of us 3 who hit priority 2 (free school meals) i was accepted whereas they weren’t. the gap between the cutoff for priorities 1+2 (living in care and free school meals) and priorities 3+4 (living in london and all applicants) had suchhhh a huge difference - if you’re free school meals and you’re generally good in times conditions you’ll get in without a doubt. they tell you more about the interview process in the email if you get accepted.
3. interview prep - so i did my interview in chemistry which is my favourite subject, my preparation for the few minutes where they ask you your wider reading flew by as i just yapped about something i learnt prior. id say the best tips for prep are to find a book related WHY you want to go into your field (mine was chemical engineering so i wrote ab something from a book regarding water filtration) and you don’t even need to read the book just include the title in your ‘speech’ and know what the chapter talks about.
4. interview day - relax because it’s literally a 6th form interview. dress smart don’t follow when they say ‘dress comfortable’ just look presentable. arrive early because there WILL be a line outside for you to enter 😭. people will be there with their parents, try and make friends (i made 2) speak to the 6th formers however some will try and scare you about the teachers but don’t stress.
5. the interview - lol looking back i was so stressed for no reason. i got such a lovely teacher and i just had to act natural. smile. be nice. take off your coat when seated and listen as well as you can when they’re explaining the concept to you - it’ll usually have some links to GCSE. they flip through a bunch of slides and pick one at random. i got my question spot on as when they looked at my choices they say chemistry + maths , so they gave me a question related to that. be respectful and don’t be too friendly
5. post-interview - you’ve done it! go get something to eat from the PRET next door, explore the area - it’ll be your school soon
goodluck!
(PS: i go here)

basically all grades 8-9 and they mostly accept free school meal students on results day who didn’t apply beforehand

okay here is a complete guide to the harris westminister application process. i know it can be incredibly daunting when you see their requirements and that you have to do 4 a-levels but there’s no point in stressing once you’ve sent in your application.
1. entrance exam - the entrance exams i picked were chemistry and maths, they email you with your time and zoom link prior to the day, i took chemistry and maths and even though they said you could potentially use a calculator for your other exams they didn’t allow us to for chemistry. uhh don’t overwhelm yourself with the student room conversations post exam however i did find the chemistry exam incredibly easy and the maths exam was harder than kings maths. for the exams there is no negative marking (where if you get an answer wrong it will lower your current score) so i’d say make as many educated guesses as you could - for the maths exam i guessed 5 questions. you’re gonna feel like you flopped it and if you don’t then congrats
2. receiving your results - so i had 2 friends who also applied with me, and since i was the only one out of us 3 who hit priority 2 (free school meals) i was accepted whereas they weren’t. the gap between the cutoff for priorities 1+2 (living in care and free school meals) and priorities 3+4 (living in london and all applicants) had suchhhh a huge difference - if you’re free school meals and you’re generally good in times conditions you’ll get in without a doubt. they tell you more about the interview process in the email if you get accepted.
3. interview prep - so i did my interview in chemistry which is my favourite subject, my preparation for the few minutes where they ask you your wider reading flew by as i just yapped about something i learnt prior. id say the best tips for prep are to find a book related WHY you want to go into your field (mine was chemical engineering so i wrote ab something from a book regarding water filtration) and you don’t even need to read the book just include the title in your ‘speech’ and know what the chapter talks about.
4. interview day - relax because it’s literally a 6th form interview. dress smart don’t follow when they say ‘dress comfortable’ just look presentable. arrive early because there WILL be a line outside for you to enter 😭. people will be there with their parents, try and make friends (i made 2) speak to the 6th formers however some will try and scare you about the teachers but don’t stress.
5. the interview - lol looking back i was so stressed for no reason. i got such a lovely teacher and i just had to act natural. smile. be nice. take off your coat when seated and listen as well as you can when they’re explaining the concept to you - it’ll usually have some links to GCSE. they flip through a bunch of slides and pick one at random. i got my question spot on as when they looked at my choices they say chemistry + maths , so they gave me a question related to that. be respectful and don’t be too friendly
5. post-interview - you’ve done it! go get something to eat from the PRET next door, explore the area - it’ll be your school soon
goodluck!
(PS: i go here)

hey I got a conditional offer, there were 480 offers handed out and only 300 spaces tho . I doubt 180 people are going to reject , so will they revoke my conditional offer (im in priority 3 and 20 marks above the cutoff only)

why do they give 480 offers for 300 spaces? do 180 people every year decline their offer or will this year group just be really big?

basically all grades 8-9 and they mostly accept free school meal students on results day who didn’t apply beforehand

will they rebuke their previous offers to those who are priority 3/4 on "conditional offer" if u go to them on result day and have higher grades than the offered ppl (even tho the offered ppl have the required grades but not as outstanding as yours)?

everyone has a conditional offer 😭if u meet the requirements ur good honestly

yesss but like- would they rebuke the conditional offer for an offered student if suppose they got 6 7s (exact requirement) and give it to u (someone that got rejected since entrance exam) bc u got 6 8/9s (surpassing the requirements)? cuz idk if they have to fill in the "required conditional acceptance" spot first cuz they prioritise priority 1/2?

i dont think so. i think they give offer holders places first, then go to people who dont have offers

i get that yh but like what if u got higher grades than the offered students? would they still not offer u? haha im confused

from what i understand from the admissions criteria, students who received offers will have priority. as long as they meet the minimum grades, they have a place at the school. if less than 300 of the offered students get the grades/ choose to go there, the school will only then consider candidates without offers ,regardless of if their grades are better than students with offers

damn im doomed than... hbu? did u get an offfer?

yeah i did barely. but i wouldnt worry abt not getting one. talking to the sixth formers at the interview, they said turning up on the day still gives you a good chance as a lot of people in their year got in purely based on grades. Dont dwell on it i reckon. Im sure you will do great regardless

ohhh niceeeee congrats hun. what subjects u taking btw? of my entire school only one person got in (same guy that got an offer from kings maths school) and like 10ish ppl got waitlisted (science based with one english/humanity based)

ahhh thank u. im taking econ politics maths and physics. but yeah the school i think is crazy hard to get into through the admissions process, but like with good gces which im sure youll get, youll get in no problem

why do they give 480 offers for 300 spaces? do 180 people every year decline their offer or will this year group just be really big?