Westminster Cathedral Choir School: Standard (Day Places) Entry Procedure for 8 Plus/Year 4

Introduction

 

 

We understand that choosing a school for your son is an important decision. If you are considering Westminster Cathedral Choir School, we hope the following information will prove helpful.

 

Westminster Cathedral Choir School (WCCS) is a Catholic preparatory school for boys aged 4-13. About 280 boys attend WCCS. They are day pupils apart from the choristers, who all board. The Catholic faith underpins life at WCCS. Boys pray and sing hymns every morning and have the opportunity to prepare for their First Confession and First Holy Communion in Years 3 and 4. 

 

The curriculum at WCCS is designed to be challenging and to make connections between different subjects. Each year group’s curriculum centres on a distinct historical period, and the topics boys study relate to this period and each other. 

 

Extra-curricular life at WCCS is vibrant, with many clubs and activities available, such as chess, fencing, art and drama. Boys can develop their talents and enjoy participating in sports matches and inter-house competitions. The school benefits from having two large playgrounds and the use of a local sports centre and playing fields. 

 

Pastoral care is exemplary. Being a small school, every boy is known as an individual and fully supported throughout their time at WCCS. As a result, pupils are happy, which enables them to reach their full potential.

 

Please read on if you are interested in securing a day place at WCCS in Year 4 for your son.

 

 

Westminster Cathedral Choir School: Contact Details and Year 4 (8+) Entry Admissions Process for Day Places 

 

 

School Details for Westminster Cathedral Choir School

 

Address: Ambrosden Avenue, London, SW1P 1QH

County: Greater London

Admissions info: office@choirschool.com or 020 7798 9081`

School type: Independent Catholic day school for boys aged 4-13 (boarding is for choristers only)

Registration deadline: Start of December of Year 3 

Assessment date: January of Year 3 

Entrance assessments: English papers and maths paper

 

8 Plus/Year 4 Admissions Process for Day Places

 

A great place to start the admissions process is by visiting WCCS. You can arrange a personal visit any weekday morning during term time by booking online. 

 

If you decide the school is a good fit for your son, you will need to fill out the registration form for a day place by the beginning of December when your son is in Year 3. You will also need to pay the £240 registration fee.

 

In January of Year 3, your son will attend an assessment day. He will sit English papers and a maths paper. He will also read aloud and talk about his hobbies with a senior member of WCCS. Please do not worry about the assessment day; there is plenty you can do to help your son prepare, which we will discuss later.

 

Details About the English Papers and Maths Paper

 

English Papers

 

Comprehension and Composition

This paper will last 1 hour and 10 minutes and is worth 50 marks. 

The comprehension section lasts 50 minutes and is worth 35 of the marks. Your son will have to answer questions based on a passage from a children’s classic book written in the 20th century. He must demonstrate an understanding of the passage and be able to identify language techniques used by the author, such as similes, onomatopoeia, personification and humour.

The composition section will last 20 minutes and is worth 15 marks. Your son will be given a picture prompt and must write a story using the prompt. To score well, he must use punctuation accurately, set his work out in paragraphs and use a wide and interesting vocabulary.

 

Punctuation

This paper will last 30 minutes and is worth 30 marks. Your son will be given a passage with all the punctuation removed. He will need to rewrite it, adding the necessary punctuation (full stops, commas, apostrophes and question marks) and capital letters.

 

Spelling

This paper will last 15 minutes and is worth 20 marks. Your son must rewrite ten sentences, correcting any spelling mistakes. To prepare, he should, as a minimum, learn the English spelling lists in the National Curriculum for Years 3 and 4.

 

Maths Paper

 

The maths paper will last 45 minutes and is worth 100 marks. Your son will be tested on the following topics:

 

• Number: place value, counting, the four basic operations, sequences, fractions and money.
• Shape, space and measure: 2D shapes, 3D shapes, line symmetry, angles and direction, position, time, measurements, scales, estimation and rounding.  
• Data handling: Carroll diagrams, Venn diagrams and presenting data.

 

The questions will primarily test your son’s knowledge of the Year 3 maths topics in the National Curriculum. 

 

It is crucial that your son shows his working out and can reason mathematically.

 

 

Preparing for the Westminster Cathedral Choir School 8 Plus (8+)/Year 4 Written Entrance Assessments

 

 

At Exam Papers Plus, we believe it is important for your son to prepare thoroughly for the assessment day at WCCS. We have resources that have been produced after careful research to help your son cover everything he needs to know and get valuable practice before the big day. 

 

Working through our resources will build your son’s confidence, enabling him to have a positive attitude on the assessment day, which is essential for success. Familiarity with the topics that will be tested and the types of questions he will face will reduce nerves, leading to a better performance. 

 

Additionally, you can use our resources to work out your son’s strengths and weaknesses. You can praise him for his strengths and help him work on his weaker areas. With targeted practice, he can progress in leaps and bounds.

 

The time pressure of assessments can be a particular concern for parents. However, we have 8+ practice papers that will enable your son to get used to working under time constraints. As he works through the papers, he will improve at working quickly and accurately. 

 

Here are our top tips for the preparation period:

 

• Keep study sessions short. Most Year 3 pupils can focus for around 20 minutes at a time, so it is better to avoid long sessions – short and regular is best. (Sessions can be longer when your son uses practice tests as the assessment day approaches.)
• Start study sessions early. By starting well before the assessment day, you can avoid any last-minute panic.   
• Prioritise sleep, exercise and healthy eating. Sufficient sleep, exercise and a nutritious diet will help your son’s cognitive function, meaning study sessions will be more effective.
• Encourage a growth mindset. A growth mindset is the belief that we do not have a fixed intelligence but can develop our intelligence through hard work. It is about seeing setbacks as a chance to grow. A growth mindset will help your son tackle topics he finds more challenging. Praise him for his efforts rather than focusing on his results.
• Continue with activities your son enjoys. Your son will be better positioned to focus on his studies if he feels relaxed and not under pressure. Incorporating study sessions around activities your son enjoys will help prevent him from feeling overwhelmed. 

 

With targeted practice, your support and a positive mindset, your son will be able to shine on the assessment day.

 

 

Westminster Cathedral Choir School: 8 Plus (8+)/Year 4 Written Entrance Assessment Practice Materials

 

 

English

 

We highly recommend the following practice papers to help your child prepare for the Westminster Cathedral Choir School 8+ English exam. They cover everything your child needs to know about reading and writing:

 

Full Practice Tests

 

8+ English Pack 1

8+ English Pack 2

8+ English Pack 3

8+ English Pack 4

8+ English Pack 5

 

Comprehension Skills

 

8+ Reading Workbook

8+ English: Comprehension Pack 1

8+ English: Inference Skills

8+ English: Vocabulary and Grammar

 

Comprehension Guide

 

This guide covers all the key comprehension question types in a clear, step-by-step manner so that both you and your child know exactly what to expect on exam day:

 

The Complete Guide to 8+ Comprehension

 

Writing Skills

 

8+ English: Writing

8+ English: Rewrite & Improve

8+ English: Spelling

8+ English: Punctuation

8+ English: Dictation

 

Writing Guide

 

Starting from the basics, this guide works its way through all the key skills your child needs to develop to become an excellent writer within the framework of what’s expected at the 8+ level:

 

The Complete Guide to 8+ Writing

 

If you’d like to have your child’s writing assessed and marked, you may be interested in our Writing Marking Service. Please click here to learn more.

 

Mathematics

 

We highly recommend the use of the following packs to help develop your child’s arithmetic and problem-solving skills within the examination context of the Westminster Cathedral Choir School 8 Plus maths test:

 

Full Practice Tests

 

8+ Mathematics Pack 1

8+ Mathematics Pack 2

8+ Mathematics Pack 3

8+ Mathematics Pack 4

8+ Mathematics Pack 5

 

Targeted Skill Development

 

Each of the following skill practice 8+ mathematics packs focuses on just one specific topic, covering all the possible question variations your child may face on exam day:

 

8+ Mathematics: Mental Arithmetic

8+ Mathematics: Problem Solving

 

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about our resources. We wish your son all the best on the assessment day and in all his future educational endeavours.

 

Don’t forget to use the code eppdiscount at checkout to get 10% off orders over £70 and 20% off orders over £250.

 

 

 

Our practice tests aim to show what sort of questions were included in Westminster Cathedral Choir School 8+ past papers. The information provided about Westminster Cathedral Choir School was believed to be correct at the time of publishing. However, please be aware of possible future changes. We advise you to contact the school directly if you are unsure of anything. School contact details are provided within the post.

 

Please note that Exam Papers Plus is an independent publisher of practice tests and not affiliated with or endorsed by the publishers of the Westminster Cathedral Choir School entrance assessment or any other test publisher.