School Prospectus
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INDEPENDENT PREPARATORY SCHOOL FOR BOYS THE REGISTRAR WESTMINSTER UNDER SCHOOL ADRIAN HOUSE 27 VINCENT SQUARE LONDON SW1P 2NN +44 (0)20 7821 5788 [email protected] Registered charity number: 312728 © 2019 Designed and produced by MAXX Design www.maxx-design.co.uk 3 Westminster Under School is distinctive… …not only for its The Under School is well known for the quality of its teaching and the breadth of its curriculum, which best suits intellectually curious boys. The School is central London small and is nestled amongst the trees of Vincent Square, just a short walk location but also from Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament. Expectations for academic achievement are matched by strong pastoral care and the boys are because it is a encouraged, at every step, to learn how to live up to the School’s core values. vibrant community Boys are taught to reach their potential and this is supported by a caring and enthusiastic environment, where everyone has a thirst for knowledge, that encourages an inquisitive mind and appreciates those around them. We want all our boys to be curious pupils to enjoy the process of learning; to feel empowered and to think for themselves about the opportunities provided as well the contribution they and embrace will one day make to the world around them. their potential. All this means that, whilst academic standards are high, the School’s focus is just as much on the personal qualities that will ensure the boys’ future success. Westminster pupils receive a full and rounded education that includes plenty of sport, the arts, music and drama, plus many opportunities to engage in a vibrant community that serves them and their families as well as reaching out to understand the needs of others. Everyone at the Under School is committed to being strong and compassionate, to having a sense of responsibility towards those around them and to taking pride in their own and other pupils’ achievements. Mark O’Donnell Master A BRIEF HISTORY Westminster is a long-established school on an ancient site. Its origins can be traced back to 1179, when the Benedictine monks of Westminster Abbey were asked by Pope Alexander III to provide a small charity school. The School’s continuous existence is certain from the early fourteenth century. Following the dissolution of the monasteries in 1540, Henry VIII personally ensured the School’s survival by statute and Elizabeth I confirmed royal patronage in 1560. 5 A transforming education... Boys begin a journey at the Under School that embraces a long history of liberal education, in which ideas have their own currency and their value is in how they provoke discussions and conversations. Expectations are high and boys Boys entering the Under School are challenged to work hard and at 11+ are prepared for entry to to be active participants in all Westminster School at 13+. More aspects of school life. They have importantly, our syllabus is geared so much fun taking up the challenges to providing a day that will be of any day – time flies by with a step towards supporting a boy a rhythm and pace that can be making a significant contribution described as contemporary, to his community in later life for purposeful and well-rounded. the academic formation, the work ethic, the friendship and community experiences he has had at school. 7 The Under School was formed in a few moments’ walk from 1943 as an independent preparatory Westminster School and its site Principles and school for boys aged seven to 13, beside the doorstep of Westminster practices of a which enabled young, high-ability Abbey. Our central-London location Westminster liberal pupils to benefit from the principles is a huge asset, adding a significant education: and practices of a liberal education, cultural dimension to the education • a love of knowledge long favoured and demonstrated of our 285 boys. The setting also • an ability to question by Westminster. These principles serves to emphasise further our • a desire to serve others. are still proudly upheld by the enquiring yet altruistic ethos, Under School today and are at the surrounded as we are by institutions Westminster pupils… very core of our existence. that play such a significant role in • enjoy and are stimulated challenging and shaping the nation by the process of learning Although Westminster School and world beyond that. • feel empowered to think and the Under School share the for themselves Westminster liberal ethos, we do Boys entering Westminster • ask questions and are not share the same physical site. Under School in Year 7, aged 11+, inquisitive about the Since 1981, the Under School has have a guaranteed place at world around them been situated on separate premises Westminster School, in the Fifth • use the understanding and in Vincent Square, overlooking Form (Year 9). ideas they gain to serve society. the school playing fields, just A distinguished history Westminster School is one of the UK’s leading independent schools refounded by Elizabeth I in 1560 following Henry VIII’s dissolution of the English monasteries in 1540. 9 Teaching: Our own approach While our results are consistently outstanding, central to all our teaching is for our pupils to become life-long, inquisitive learners. The quality of our teaching is at foreign languages, we wholly support conversations routinely created the heart of our school’s ethos. each and every boy for his natural between teachers and boys and Whilst results are consistently intelligence and uniqueness. between the boys themselves. outstanding, central to our practice is a desire for pupils to be stimulated, The teaching programme covers the The classrooms and the pedagogy absorbed and inquisitive. Our aim national requirement, but also goes are well supported by technology, is to encourage and educate the far beyond it. The school day is fast- interactive whiteboards, laptops boys to use those dispositions paced for boys who like to use their and iPads, but we also place value that will ensure they become new-found skills and their knowledge on handwriting and the quality life-long learners. across subject boundaries. There of the written word. We use a range is scope for independence in our of teacher resources including Westminster boys definitely have curriculum and time to talk about textbooks, some written by our a sense of wonder and curiosity. contemporary issues that are in the own teachers, and of course The School helps them to question news or are related to boys’ special nothing beats our location and the and to think hard about topics that areas of interest. Our intranet, for opportunities to extend the boys’ interest them. Parents often instance, is populated with the boys’ learning through visits to centres comment on the discussions the own research, as is our library page of national cultural importance, boys bring home, or on the way to and, more recently, the school such as Tate Britain, which is school: whether it be the ethics of magazine ‘WUS Life’. The school just around the corner from the the plastic, the discovery of black day is notably successful for the Under School. holes, or linguistic similarities in stimulating, intellectually curious 10 11 Support and care for all As a highly selective school, all boys at the Under School are intelligent but each and every one has specific needs. Our pastoral programme runs Each boy is placed in a form of no alongside our academic curriculum more than 22 other boys. For boys in tandem. At each step boys are in Years 7 and 8 there are no more taught not just the subject content, than 18 boys in a form. Specialist but also the skills to enable further teachers work with boys in support study and to work with others. groups, which are formed to ensure that pupils get the best out of their The wellbeing of all members of education. The boys are also well the Westminster community is of supported by specialist teachers, the paramount importance. The School SENDCO and a school counsellor. is able to keep abreast of every The Under School provides at least boy’s needs via pastoral care and two parent talks per term to ensure academic policies that ensure that there is a good understanding a positive and restorative approach of the processes and developments to any aspect of school life. The that take place regularly through communication and conversations review and appraisal of our practices. between boys, teachers and parents are continuous and supportive. 12 13 Nothing is more important than nurturing each pupil’s moral, The other side emotional and physical development and this is achieved by providing of school-life time for boys to pursue their natural interests outside the classroom in a more self-directed way. Whilst academic achievement is Independent thinking is actively encouraged and prized, so too is the encouraged, to draw out individual talents and commensurately the time that we give over to providing School operates a varied programme opportunities for discovery and cultivating of clubs and competitions to support how the boys like to be engaged. personal interests. With a school roll of 285, almost 200 boys like to be involved in playing chess and we have 100 boys who take winter cricket in the Sports Hall. The School’s choir is superb and performs at school each week, as well as in St Margaret’s Church, Westminster and on various occasions around Christmas and Easter and during the summer holidays, when it tours in alternate years. The boys are enthusiastic participants in our weekly Maths Hat and other annual events such as the Scrabble and photographic competitions.