Westminster School

Westminster School
Coat of arms
Address
Map
Little Dean's Yard


England
Coordinates51°29′54″N 0°07′42″W / 51.4984°N 0.1284°W / 51.4984; -0.1284
Information
TypePublic school
Independent day and boarding school
MottoLatin: Dat Deus Incrementum
(God Gives the Increase)
Religious affiliation(s)Church of England[1]
EstablishedEarliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560
FounderHenry VIII (1541)
Elizabeth I (1560 – refoundation)
Local authorityCity of Westminster
Department for Education URN101162 Tables
Chairman of GovernorsMark Batten[3]
Head MasterGary Savage[2]
Staff105
GenderBoys
Coeducational (Sixth Form)[6][7]
Age13 (boys), 16 (girls) to 18
Enrolment747
Houses  Ashburnham
  Busby's
  College
  Dryden's
  Grant's
  Hakluyt's
  Liddell's
  Milne's
  Purcell's
  Rigaud's
  Wren's
Colour(s)  Pink
PublicationThe Elizabethan
AlumniOld Westminsters
Websitewww.westminster.org.uk

Westminster School is a public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as documented by the Croyland Chronicle and a charter of King Offa. Continuous existence is clear from the early 14th century.[8] Westminster was one of nine schools examined by the 1861 Clarendon Commission[9] and reformed by the Public Schools Act 1868. The school motto, Dat Deus Incrementum, quotes 1 Corinthians 3:6: "I planted the seed... but God made it grow."[10]

Its academic results place it among the top schools nationally;[11][12] about half its students go to Oxbridge,[13] giving it the highest national Oxbridge acceptance rate.[14] In the 2023 A-levels, the school saw 82.3% of its candidates score A* or A.[15] The school is included in The Schools Index of the world's 150 best private schools and among top 30 senior schools in the UK.[16] Among its graduates are three Nobel laureates: Edgar Adrian (Nobel Prize for Physiology in 1932), Sir Andrew Huxley (likewise in 1963) and Sir Richard Stone (Nobel Prize in Economics in 1984). During the mid-17th century, the liberal philosopher of the Enlightenment, John Locke, attended the school, and seven UK prime ministers also then attended, all belonging to the Whig or Liberal factions of British politics: Henry Pelham and his brother Thomas Pelham-Holmes, Charles Watson-Wentworth, James Waldegrave, Augustus Fitzroy, William Cavendish-Bentinck, and John Russell.

Boys join the Under School at seven and the Senior School at 13 if they pass their examinations. Girls join the Sixth Form at 16.[17] About a quarter of the 750 pupils board. Weekly boarders may go home after Saturday morning school.[18]

  1. ^ School Overview – Westminster School Archived 15 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine, schoolsfinder (government website).
  2. ^ "New Head Master Announced". Westminster School. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  3. ^ "Governing Body". Westminster School. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  4. ^ "Westminster School". BBC News. 15 January 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  5. ^ Performance tables, Westminster School Archived 12 October 2009 at the UK Government Web Archive. Department for Education, 2005.
  6. ^ "Westminster School, Westminster, London Area, Independent Schools". Isc.co.uk. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  7. ^ "Schools List South". Ogden Trust. 25 January 2008. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  8. ^ "Our History". Westminster School.
  9. ^ "A Guide to Public Schools in the United Kingdom". Publicschools.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 October 2006. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  10. ^ "1 Corinthians 3:6 I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow".
  11. ^ "Top UK 100 boarding schools by A-levels results". www.ukuni.net. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  12. ^ Kirk, Ashley; Scott, Patrick (24 August 2019). "Best independent schools in the UK: Compare league table results for A-levels". The Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  13. ^ "University Destinations". Westminster School. Archived from the original on 3 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  14. ^ "These are officially the private schools who get the most students into Oxbridge". The Tab. London. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  15. ^ "Westminster School Reviews, Rankings, Fees And More". Britannia UK. London. 10 September 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  16. ^ McNamee, Annie (6 April 2024). "These are UK's best private schools, according to a prestigious ranking". Time Out. London. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  17. ^ "Westminster School". UK Boarding Schools Guide. Retrieved 30 August 2011.[permanent dead link]
  18. ^ Schools Guide. The Tatler. London. 2009.