2424 Tatler Schools Guide 2020 tatler.comLONDONPUBLICWESTMINSTER
SCHOOL
Little Dean’s Yard, SW1P 3PF
Website westminster.org.uk Head
Patrick Derham, MA, since 2014;
previously Head of Rugby School
Pupils 757 day: 623 boys,
134 girls Faith C of E Ages 13–18
Term Fees Day: £9,903; boarding:
£13,084 Oxbridge 50%
Registration By the end of Year 5;
£100 fee Admission School’s own
exam and interview Alumni Andrew
Lloyd-Webber, John Locke, AA Milne
PREP Head Mark O’Donnell
Pupils 285 day boys Ages 7–13
Term Fees £6,834
There’s no bell at Westminster.
Why would there be? They have
Big Ben. And yes, the school
chapel is Westminster Abbey
(there’s a special route to it from
school). And Wednesday Prayers
are held in ‘Westminster Latin’,
which has been passed down
through the centuries. This
medieval school is steeped in his-
tory, and there is so much more to
it than record-breaking results and
erudite pupils. (In 2018, 62 leavers
took up places at Oxbridge; 15 at
American universities including
Harvard, Princeton and Stanford;
and 35 at top London universities
including UCL, Imperial and the
LSE.) ‘We are looking for the most
academically able, intellectually
curious and enthusiastic learners,
who enjoy debate and are keen to
participate in all areas of school
life,’ says Westminster. Two full
afternoons a week are devoted to
sport, with all pupils taking part,
and there are fixtures against other
schools on Saturday afternoons. In
sync with the liberal atmosphere,
there is a strong emphasis on sport
for all: alongside the classics,
activities including DanceFit,
hula-hooping, yoga, indoor foot-
ball and even lawn bowls are on
offer. The art department had a
recent shout-out on Radio 4, and
drama and music have an equally
important role, with upwards of
100 concerts a year and an
array of dramatic productions,
from studio-based, pupil-directed
works to large-scale, whole-schoolproductions. Head Patrick Derham
is a luminary in widening access,
driving fundraising for the West-
minster School Campaign, which
aims to make the school needs-
blind (ie, it will not consider an
applicant’s financial situation).WHITGIFT
Haling Park, CR2 6YT
Website whitgift.co.uk Head
Chris Ramsey, MA, since 2017;
previously Head of the King’s School,
Chester Pupils 1,479 day boys Ages
10–18 Term Fees Day: £6,880;
boarding: £13,380 Oxbridge 10%
Registration One year before entry;
£100 fee Admission School’s own
exam, interview, and previous school’s
report Alumni Derren Brown,
surgeon Sir James Berry, space
research scientist Sir Robert Boyd
At the heart of Whitgift is its em-
phasis on bursaries, diversity and
outreach. It’s part of the Whitgift
Foundation, which operates one of
the largest educational bursary sys-
tems in the UK: 46 per cent of
students within the foundation’s
schools are currently supported
by the bursary and scholarship
scheme, totalling in excess of
£5 million per year. ‘Whitgift is aschool of socially diverse, bright
boys, with boundless opportuni-
ties and loads of ambition, along
with a profound sense of both
local and global service,’ the
school says. A sense of social
responsibility is impressed upon
students – charitable fundraising
is seen as a key part of their
education, and the school is about
to appoint a new Director of
Outreach, who will lead the
Whitgift for All campaign, looking
to address the inequality of oppor-
tunity within the Croydon area.
Interest in the school is on the up:
it received over 1,200 applications
last year. It’s no wonder: the
academic results are outstanding
(it was the top UK boy’s IB school
in 2018) and the extracurriculars
are strong. Whitgift has a reputa-
tion as a sports school (40 different
sports are on offer), but music and
drama are flourishing – last year’s
Macbeth was guest directed by RSC
veteran Keith Bartlett on a stage
padded with a battlefield made
from imported grass. With the
school poised to start a revamp,
including new classroom buildings
and another artificial playing field,
it seems to be aiming high indeed.WIMBLEDON HIGH
Mansel Road, SW19 4AB
Website wimbledonhigh.gdst.net
Head Jane Lunnon, BA, since 2014;
previously Deputy Head at
Wellington College Pupils 700 day
girls Ages 11–18 Term Fees
£6,578 Oxbridge 19%
Registration By October of year
before entry; £125 fee Admission
School’s own exam and creative
assessments Alumnae journalist
Samira Ahmed, author Michelle
Paver, Rosie Millard
PREP Head Claire Boyd Pupils
340 day girls Ages 4–11
Term Fees £5,113
Jane Lunnon, the Head of
Wimbledon High, says her typical
pupil ‘knows who she is, is com-
fortable in her own skin, knows
where she fits in and will stride out
to make a difference. She is also fun.’
Over the past five years, Lunnon
has worked hard to establish an
environment that inspires: she has
set up a festival of pastoral educa-
tion, introduced a programme
focusing on mental wellbeing and
coping with social media, and
placed an increased emphasis on
sport. The new rowing programme
is overseen by a former Olympic
silver medallist, the school sends
ball girls to Wimbledon and there
is even an H netball team to
encompass everyone and ensure no
girl is left on the sidelines.
Interest in the school is strato-
spheric, with 11 applicants for
every place, and as Wimbledon
High is committedly anti-tutor-
ing, it has worked to create a new
tutor-proof entrance system. This
includes a day of ‘fun tests’, which
one junior spy reported was actu-
ally ‘cool’. The school is renowned
for its STEAM department, which
merges the academic and scientific
sides of studying – students explore
First World War poetry from a
medical point of view, focusing on
PTSD. A core purpose of these
classes is for students to push
themselves, learn how to fail and
develop academic resilience. One
recent visitor was so impressed her
only query was why there aren’t
even more applicants per place. (
WHITGIFTAt Whitgift, last year’s Macbeth was guestdirected by an RSC veteran on a stagedbattlef ield made from imported grass10-19-Schools-Guide-PublicLondon.indd 24 13/08/2019 11:57