8 plus (8+) Exam – Westminster Under – What you need to know

Entry Level Eight Plus (8+) exam

School Name Westminster Under

Description Boys; day school

Age range 7-13

Size 280 approx.

Fees £5,678 per term

Address Adrian House, 27 Vincent Square, Westminster, London SW1P 2NN

Email (general enquiries) sue.dible@westminster.org.uk

Website http://www.westminsterunder.org.uk

Telephone (general enquiries) +44 (0)20 7821 5788

Head Mark O’Donnell

Registrar Miss A-M McCarthy

Bursar Mr C A J Silcock

Overview:

Westminster Under is an academically selective boys’ school situated in the centre of London. It is the junior school of Westminster School. Pitched as a school for the ‘intellectually curious’, new Master Mark O’Donnell took up the reins in September 2016.

Westminster Under’s first entry point is at age 7 in Year 3, via the 7 plus exam. Click here if you’re interested in learning more about the 7+ exam at Westminster Under. Boys also join at eight plus, which we’re going to talk about here, and eleven plus.

Admissions Process for Westminster Under Eight Plus (8+)

Applications: The deadline for applications is in October. To register, apply online here.

Open Days: registered candidates are invited to the 8 plus Open Morning, which is held in September.

This is an opportunity to look around the school, speak to the boys and staff, listen to a 30-minute talk by the Master and to ask any questions.

To register, click here.

8+ Entrance Exams:

The 8 plus (8+) entrance exam and assessment morning for Westminster Under take place in January:

All candidates sit papers in mathematics, English and reasoning.

Previous Westminster Under eight plus (8+) maths papers have been quite long (50 questions in 45 minutes) and include lots of challenging written maths problems.

The Westminster Under eight plus (8+) English paper contains spelling exercises, a short comprehension, in which candidates should respond in full sentences, and a composition exercise. The 2015 eight plus (8+) comprehension was an extract from ‘The Trumpet and The Swan’. Poems have featured previously too e.g ‘The Feet’ by Tom Wayman. The composition exercise provided candidates with an opening sentence from which they had to continue the story.

The Westminster Under eight plus (8+) reasoning paper contains a mixture of elements including verbal reasoning, shapes, sequences of numbers and codes.

Recommended Materials:

8+ English practice papers, ideal for Westminster Under eight plus (8+) exam preparation:

8+ English: Punctuation

8+ English: Vocabulary and Grammar

8+ Maths practice papers, ideal for Westminster Under eight plus (8+) exam preparation:

8+ Mathematics Pack 1

8+ Mathematics Pack 2

8+ Mathematics Pack 3

8+ Mathematics: Mental Arithmetic

8+ Mathematics: Problem Solving

8+ Reasoning practice papers, ideal for Westminster Under eight plus (8+) exam preparation:

8+ Reasoning Pack 1

8+ Reasoning Pack 2

8+ Reasoning Pack 3 (including Spatial Reasoning questions that frequently feature in Westminster 8+ exams)

8+ Listening practice papers, ideal for Westminster Under eight plus (8+) exam preparation:

8+ Listening Pack 1

Interviews and Activities:

Candidates who are successful in the exam will be called back for an activity and assessment session, which includes a short interview with the Master or a senior member of staff. Past classroom-based assessment activities have included being taught imaginary languages, sorting pictures of famous buildings into date order and working in groups on a collage.

Interviews take place in smaller break out groups of approx. 3-4 candidates. Questions can be subject-based or about a child’s family, interests and hobbies. Questions such as ‘Who do you most admire and why?’ and ‘If you won a million pounds on the lottery, what would you do with it?’ have featured in the past.

However, the new Master this year may employ a different format!