Westminster City School
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Admissions Criteria

Governors will allocate at least 105 places to boys from active Christian families living in the areas covered by the Anglican dioceses of London and Southwark. Priority will be given to boys whose families actively attend churches that are full members of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.

Governors will allocate up to 25 places for boys practising other World Faiths who are willing to support the clear religious, social and ethical ethos of the school.

To ensure a comprehensive and balanced intake, the Governors will refer to the results of literacy and non-verbal reasoning tests conducted by the school. Applicants will have been placed into three ability bands and the Governors will to allocate approximately 25% of the places to boys of above average ability (the top band), approximately 50% to boys of average ability (the middle band) and approximately 25% to boys of below average ability (the lower band).

Applications must be supported by a clergy reference. This reference will indicate your family’s commitment to your religion and place of worship and must be signed by your vicar, priest, minister or other religious authority

In establishing family religious commitment, only family members living together at one address will be taken into account. Assessing the commitment of the child and his family will be carried out as follows:

Weekly attendance at your place of worship for two years and applicants ranked by points awarded to a maximum of 10 (five for parent and five for child). Only one point may be scored under each heading.

Parent

  • Parent holding elected office in their place of worship
  • Parent holding ministerial office in their place of worship
  • Parent being a communicant member of their place of worship
  • Parent on their place of worship’s electoral or other membership roll
  • Substantial practical involvement by a parent in their place of worship
  • Parent having a role in public worship/ministry
  • Substantial involvement in other aspect of religious life

 

Child

  • Child being a regular communicant
  • Baptism of child
  • Confirmation of child
  • Attendance by child at Sunday School or equivalent
  • Child having a role in public worship
  • Attendance by child in an organisation run by their place of worship
  • Involvement in other aspect of religious life by child
     

If, after applying the process outlined above, it should be necessary to distinguish further between applicants in any band, the Governors will apply the following criteria in this order of priority:

A. First priority will be given to ‘looked after children’.
B. Boys who have a brother at the school who will be attending the school at the time of the applicant’s proposed entry to the school.
C. Boys living closest to the school as measured by the shortest walking distance from the school.
D. The Governors reserve the right to give priority to children whose medical circumstances create a need to which the school’s resources may be addressed effectively at the time of application (documentary support for a case will be required).