Westminster Under School
| Westminster Under School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
 | |
London , Greater London , SW1P 2NN United Kingdom | |
| Information | |
| Type | Independent school Preparatory day school |
| Motto | Dat Deus Incrementum (Classical Latin: "God Gives Increase") |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Church of England |
| Established | 1943 |
| Founder | Westminster School |
| Local authority | Westminster |
| Department for Education URN | 101165 Tables |
| The Master | Mark O'Donnell (September 2016) |
| Staff | 39 |
| Gender | Boys |
| Age | 7 to 13 |
| Enrollment | 267 |
| Houses | 4 |
| Colour(s) | Pink |
| Publication | The Vincent |
| Unofficial Publication(s) | The Under School Magazine (US) |
Westminster Under School is an independent school and preparatory school for boys aged 7 to 13 and is attached to Westminster School in London.[1] It makes claims to be 'the finest preparatory school in the country'.[citation needed]
The school was founded in 1943[2][3] in the precincts of Westminster School in Little Dean’s Yard, just behind Westminster Abbey. In 1951 the Under School relocated to its own premises in Vincent Square. Due to rising numbers of pupils in the 1960s and 1970s, the school moved again in 1981 to its present site (which was a former hospital[4]) overlooking the Westminster School playing fields in Vincent Square.[3][5][6] There are 286 pupils attending the school. The school has a strong musical tradition and provides choristers for St Margaret's Church, Westminster Abbey. It also excels in sport, drama (winners of the recent Shakespeare Schools Festival), chess and Latin. Most boys attending the school move on to Westminster School after the completion of either Common Entrance or Scholarship examinations (The Challenge, in the case of Westminster School), although a number of boys each year go on to other schools, including Eton.
The interim Master is Philip Lough, who came out of recent retirement. The new Master will be Mark O'Donnell, joining from St. Martin's Ampleforth. The Deputy Master is Padraic Fahy.[7] There are currently 47 members of staff.[8]
The school fees for 2015-16 are £5678 per term.[9][10]
History
The Under School was founded in September 1943[11] in 2 Little Dean's Yard (now known as Grant's House) by the former Headmaster of Westminster School, John Traill Christie.
There were only 6 teachers when the school was established and only 31 boys. Dean's Yard was used as a playing field for the boys and the roofless remains of the School, the bombed school hall were used as a playground. St Faith's Chapel in Westminster Abbey served as the school chapel. For much of the Under School's history, the final year (Year 8) was known as the Upper Remove and the second to last year (Year 7) was known as the Remove.
After the war, the school moved to its own premises in Eccleston Square, and in 1981 moved to its present site in Vincent Square to cope with expanding numbers.
Entrance
Competitive entrance examinations for Westminster Under School can be taken at 7+, 8+ or 11+. Entry into Westminster Under School at 11+ attracts many pupils from the state sector. At this stage, the school also offers Music Scholarships and means-tested bursaries.[12]
Previous School Fees
| Date | Per term | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| 2005-06 | £3,697 | £11,091[11] |
| 2006-07 | £3,900 | £11,700 |
| 2007-08 | £4,163 | £12,489 |
| 2008-09 | £4,412 | £13,236 |
| 2009-10 | £4,544 | £13,632 |
| 2014-5 | £5,460 | £16 380 |
Campus
The school is housed in three buildings, listed below. As well as these buildings and the playing fields of Vincent Square, the school hires facilities at the Queen Mother Sports Centre in Victoria and at Battersea Park.
Adrian House
Adrian House is situated at 27 Vincent Square, a four-storey building in the south-east corner of Vincent Square in Central London. It opened in 1951 and underwent a major rebuilding programme in 2001, when new classrooms, a new hall, Art Department (which became more classrooms following the opening of 21 Douglas Street) and IT suite were built on the site of the old hall. In addition, all the classrooms and labs were refurbished.[13][14] The hall, which would also serve as a canteen prior to the opening of 21 Douglas Street and space for P.E. prior to the opening of Lawrence Hall as Westminster School Sports Centre (see below), is used for theatre and drama performances by the school. It was refurbished in the 2014 and renamed the Performing Arts Studio. Adrian House provides access access to two science laboratories and the basement is devoted entirely to the music department.
George House
George House, opposite Adrian House on 21 Douglas Street, opened in 2011 by the Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr John Hall. In 2014 it was given the name "George House". The building houses the School's Dining Room, Art Department, conference and staff meeting rooms.
Westminster School Sports Centre
In September 2012, the Royal Horticultural Society's Lawrence Hall was purchased by Westminster School and became the School's Sports Centre. It was officially opened by HM Elizabeth II in 2015. The building is located on Everton Street, moments from Vincent Square, and is far closer to the Under School than to Westminster School. The Under School uses it for sport, including P.E. and Games, and Extras (see section below).
Customs
The school, being attached to Westminster School, sends the oldest year of the school (Year 8) to take part in the annual pancake greaze on Shrove Tuesday. This is watched by the year below in the Great Hall. The school is Anglican and has a Thursday service in St Stephen's Church, Rochester Row.
The school also holds an annual Music Competition each summer in which all boys may enter one piece of music for any instrument they play. There is a maximum number of pieces entered per boy; this is three. Also, each boy may enter with one additional singing piece. If necessary, the piece or songs, accompanied by a schoolmaster. Rewards, in the form of house points, are given for every piece entered and more for progression to the second round. From the second round onwards, the pieces are grouped into categories; singing, plucked strings (mainly guitar or harp), bowed strings, percussion (not including keyboard instruments), keyboard, woodwind and brass. In some years, the categories of piano and organ have been separate, and no organists would play in the finals. This arrangement was made redundant following the purchase of an organ by the school for the Performing Arts Centre upon its refurbishment in 2015. The whole school watches the finals; the year 3-6 finals, and the Years 7 and 8 finals. The Years 7 and 8 finals are held on two separate days, one day for the instrumental performances, and another for the vocal ones. In each age category, there is a winner and a runner up in each instrumental category. The finals are almost always judged by two visitors from outside of the school - traditionally one would be an instrumentalist to judge the instrumental finals, and the other a singer, to judge the vocal finals. The visiting judge may also highly commend a few musicians for outstanding pieces. There is also a prize for the best composition (a separate category), and a house choir competition, for which choirs from each of the four houses would rehearse, for performances in the finals. The winners and some runners-up from the Years 7 and 8 finals of the competition are invited to play in the school's annual Summer Concert in St John's, Smith Square, as well as the school's Senior String Orchestra, Senior Choir (made up of boys from Years 6, 8 and 8, also known as the Westminster Boys' Choir), the winning house choir and a number of instrumental ensembles. Until the 2000s, some winners from the year 3-6 finals of the Music Competition were invited to play at the Summer Concert. This was, however unpopular, and thus a separate Junior Concert was created, held at the school.
There is also an annual reading competition, in which each boy chooses and learns a short piece of prose or poetry (whether it be fiction or not), based on a given theme, and learns it so it can be recited by heart. The competition is held in the Lent term and is compulsory for each boy to enter. These are both house events, so points are given to houses for the results of the competition which are added to other points from other competitions or events, for trophies.
A photography competition and a model competition are held by the art department (both optional to enter). There is also a general knowledge quiz, written by a Latin, Greek and sports teacher, S.R.H. James. S. R. H. James is also the author of the series, Latin I, Latin II and Latin III. The quiz is held annually at the start of winter, and is scored out of 100. Boys who obtain a set mark (set for each year) are permitted to the second round. Boys who do well in the second round are entered to the SATIPS nationwide General Knowledge quiz.
Uniform
The school uniform consists of a grey shirt, grey trousers, grey socks and black shoes. A grey jumper with a pink v-neck may also be worn and, in the summer, grey polo shirts may be worn without a tie. Unless a pupil is wearing a polo shirt, a tie must be worn. The school tie is pale grey with pink stripes; a house tie (Year 8s only), may be either Blue, Red, Yellow, or Green; half colours are pale grey with pink stripes and the colours tie is plain pink. Colours are awarded for sporting achievements. Boys in the Senior Choir are awarded a navy tie with pink and pale grey stripes. A tie for the Senior String Orchestra (for boys in Years 6, 7 and 8) is currently under development. Boys also have Games kits, consisting of blue shorts and socks, and a white or blue polo shirt. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th XIs and the U11A and B teams, however, wear pink shirts with black embroidery for inter-school fixtures, and regular Games kit for training.
Curriculum
Years 3 & 4
In Years 3 and 4, pupils are taught in most subjects by the same teacher (usually their form teacher), however they have specialist teachers in French, Music, Art and Design, IT, PE and Games. There is only one Year 3 form, typically of around 22 boys, and only 2 forms in Year 4 as the school typically accepts only 22 pupils per entry point. Until 2001, there was no Year 3 form, and the school accepted 40 boys into Year 4. Until only a few years after the introduction of Year 3, Year 3-6 forms contained only 20 boys each, as the intake was smaller.
Years 5 & 6
In Year 5, the following subjects are taught, all by specialist teachers: Mathematics, English, Science, French, history, Geography, Religious Studies, Music, Art, Drama, IT, PE and Games but most are in their classroom. Year 5 are also taught Roman and Greek mythology to prepare for when they start Latin in Year 6. In Year 7, the boys are split into sets for Maths according to their performances in their Year 6 summer exams or 11+ entrance exams, depending on whether or not they were at the school in Year 6. When the list of boys who are to enter the school aged 11 the next year is confirmed, those boys begin to attend Saturday morning school so that they may begin to catch up in terms of curriculum with the Year 6s already at the school. This means that in their Saturday morning classes, they will mainly study Latin.
Year 7
Another two forms are created for the 11+ entrance, and they will continue their Saturday morning classes until the list of the next year's 11+ entrants is confirmed. In Year 7, the curriculum remains broadly the same as in Year 6.
Year 8
Going into Year 8, the year group is split into those who will take Common Entrance or a similar exam for their chosen future school and those who embark on what is known as the "Scholarship Course", in which they prepare for scholarship papers to their chosen future schools. In Year 8, there are four forms, two for those who will take Common Entrance, typically containing 18 or 19 boys each, and two other forms containing boys on the "Scholarship Course" - typically these forms will contain 16 students each. One scholarship form will contain exclusively those preparing for The Challenge, the Scholarship exam to Westminster School, whilst the other will also contain boys preparing for scholarship exams to other schools.[15]
As boys use technology extensively in other lessons, ICT is dropped from the Year 8 curriculum and Greek is introduced, with the Common Entrance sets given one lesson per week of Greek, which is optional for them, and the Scholarship sets given two lessons per week of Greek. For the first few weeks of the year, the two Common Entrance sets will be taught Greek in all their Latin and Greek lessons - the learning of Latin is paused. Most students taking Common Entrance, however, will not take Greek, and the remainder of their Greek lessons will be used for additional Latin. Those who are deemed good enough at the subject after those first few weeks will receive further tutoring in the subject throughout the year by a Classics teacher.
Greek is taught to all of those taking scholarship exams to their chosen future schools for the first part of the year. In the scholarship set with some boys taking The Challenge and others trying for scholarships to other schools, those who are trying for an Eton King's or Oppidian Scholarship will not attend Greek lessons for much of the year, and will instead by tutored in preparation for the Eton General Papers.
Houses
The school is organised into 4 houses, based on the charges on the Westminster Abbey, Westminster School and Westminster Under School coat of arms: Tudors (Red), Lions (Blue), Fleuries (Green) and Martlets (Yellow).[16] There are regular inter-house competitions during the school year, including music, Scrabble and Chess. All the houses have a House Captain, Vice Captain and between two and four Monitors, selected from the Year 8s, who are changed every term. This is done in such a way that each Year 8 will be either a House Captain, Vice Captain, Head Boy or Monitor at some point during the year.
Extras
The school has many Extras (or clubs) boys can take part in. These extras include bridge, chess, swimming, fencing, judo, karate, mandarin, LAMDA, indoor and outdoor cricket, indoor football, climbing, table tennis and outdoor tennis. Extras take place after school time. Originally, all extras took place in Adrian House, but in 2012, it was announced that they would all be moved to the Westminster School Sports Centre in Lawrence Hall. This movement was not entirely successful (see Chess section below). Unlike Westminster School, which offers Lower School Activities for free, Extras are paid-for and some can be quite expensive. As a result of this, boys on bursaries are less likely to do extras.
Chess
Until 2013 the chess extra was taken on Tuesdays by Grandmaster Julian Hodgson and his wife Chess was for a number of years during this time the school's largest extra. Popularity in Chess increased rapidly with the launch of a parent-run school bus to North and North-West London, which, on Tuesdays, the day of the extra, would depart at 4pm, meaning that younger boys whose lessons ended at 3.20 had to stay in school if they wanted to catch the bus. Popularity continued as the boys moved up the school and their friends joined the extra, which was relatively inexpensive compared to others. Before 2012, the Extra took place in the Year 3 classroom and one Year 4 classroom, those being the largest classrooms in the school. In that year, it was announced that all extras would be moved to the Westminster School Centre in Lawrence Hall, but, Chess being the most popular extra by far, the movement of such a large number of boys through Vincent Square to the Sports Centre after afternoon lessons was deemed too difficult, and there was not enough space available there. After two weeks of attempting to accommodate Chess in the Sports Centre, the Extra was moved to the dining hall in the recently opened George House, then known as "the New Building" or just "21 Douglas Street".
The Chess extra is, however, completely separate from the school's annual Chess Competition, in which there would be one individual knock-out tournament for each year group (with the exception of Years 3 and 4, for which there would be a joint tournament). The tournament is a house tournament as well - for every match played, the winner is awarded with house points. The house with the most points from this competition wins the Chess Cup.
In recent years, the Chess coach has been engaged in communication with the teacher the teacher in charge of chess and the chess competition to recommend pupils to take part in competitions on behalf of the school. Before this, the pupils were selected only on the basis of good performance in the Chess Competition. It is noted for chess, its U9 team having come second in the country in 2015, and its U11 team having been National Champions for two years in a row.
Karate
In 2009, Headmaster Jeremy Edwards announced the commencement of the school's first new Extra in several years, Karate. The extra took place in the school hall in Adrian House. After a year of the extra, the coach was asked to leave, following pupils' departures after he allegedly terrified them during karate lessons.
Fencing
The fencing extra originally took place in the school hall in Adrian House. The fencing coaches enter pupils into fencing training days at Brentwood School, Essex, and competitions around London and the country. However, because the coaches are also coaches at Salle Boston fencing club, fencers are usually entered into competitions as fencing on behalf of Salle Boston - only the best fencers are entered into competitions, and, if they are a foilist (one who fences foil), will also be a member of the club. It is important to note, however, that membership of the club does not follow automatically from being a good foilist at Westminster Under School. Because Salle Boston is a foil-only club, and there are also sabre's (those who fence sabre) at Westminster Under School, sabreurs would not be a member of Salle Boston and would usually be entered into competitions or the Brentwood School training days as fencing on behalf of "Westminster Under School Fencing Club". For the last few years, the coaches have kept the rule that fencers who would like to fence in competitions must first purchase their own kits. This rule is not, however, always kept to in the case of sabreurs entering Brentwood School training days. Épée is not offered at Westminster Under.
In 2012, the Fencing Extra was moved to the purpose-built fencing pistes in the Westminster School Sports Centre. However, fencing on Thursdays could not take place on these pistes due to Westminster School using them at that time for Station, so the Sports Centre's dance studio was used. Fencing did, however, take place on the pistes on Fridays. In 2015, the finishing time of Westminster School's fencing station advanced slightly, meaning that the Fencing Extra could use the pistes once Westminster School had finished. Since then, the Thursday fencing has commenced in the dance studio, where the fencers practice footwork, before moving downstairs to the fencing pistes.
In 2014, the ownership of the school's largely aged fencing kit was passed from the school to the coaches. For the last several years, Fencing has been the most popular extra.
Notable alumni
- Andrew Lloyd Webber (composer)
- Julian Lloyd Webber (cellist)
- Jason Kouchak (pianist/composer)
- George Benjamin (composer)
- Alfred Enoch (Actor)
- Luke McShane (Chess player)
- Dan McKenzie (professor)
- Ben Adams (singer)
- Hilary Benn (MP)
Images
-
The side gate of Adrian House.
See also
References
- ^ http://www.isc.co.uk/school_WestminsterUnderSchool_Westminster.htm
- ^ "History". Westminsterunder.org.uk. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
- ^ a b . Britannica Online Encyclopedia http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9076689. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "Buildings". Westminster Under School. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
- ^ "Westminster Under School". Westminsterunder.org.uk. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
- ^ "Entry Levels - Entry at 7/8+". Westminster School. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Staff". Westminster Under School. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
- ^ "Westminster Under School". Westminsterunder.org.uk. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
- ^ "Registration and Admission Procedures". Westminster Under School. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
- ^ "School Fees". Westminster School. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b http://www.isbi.com/isbi-viewschool/1051-Westminster_Under_School.html
- ^ "Entry Levels - Entry at 11+". Westminster School. Archived from the original on October 19, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Westminster Under School Propectus, page 1
- ^ "Westminster Under School". Westminsterunder.org.uk. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
- ^ "School Organisation and Curriculum". Westminster Under School. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
- ^ Westminster Under School Propectus, page 7