Private Schools in Westminster

We list about 30 independent schools in the City of Westminster. They cover very different neighbourhoods: Pimlico, Belgravia and Westminster itself in SW1; Marylebone and Mayfair in W1; Bayswater and Maida Vale to the west; and St John's Wood in the north. Unlike Kensington & Chelsea, the borough has a full set of senior schools, so a child can stay in Westminster from Reception to 18.

The mix is unusually wide. It includes a historic boarding and day school, two girls' schools under the Francis Holland name, and two cathedral and abbey choir schools. There are international schools teaching the IB or an American curriculum, a stage school, and a specialist day school for specific learning differences. Many of the preps are single-sex, but several are now admitting girls alongside boys.

Westminster Under School takes girls and boys at 4+, 7+ and 11+. About 60 children join at 7+, and the school is expanding Year 3 to three classes. The 11+ entry is a joint place: about 40 pupils a year join Year 7 at the Under School and move up to Westminster School in Year 9 without further tests. Children who joined at 4+ or 7+ sit the standard entry tests for Year 9.

In Marylebone, Wetherby Prep prepares boys for 11+ and 13+ Common Entrance. It reports five-year totals of 34 places at Eton, 32 at St Paul's and 21 at Harrow. From September 2027 it becomes co-educational as Wetherby Pembridge Prep, and applications from girls for Reception and Year 3 are already open. The group's Notting Hill pre-prep and Wetherby Senior School remain boys only.

In SW1, Eaton Square Prep on Eccleston Square is co-educational from nursery to Year 6. Its 2025-26 Year 6 received 81 senior-school offers and 12 scholarships at 11+. Eaton House Belgravia has a mixed nursery and single-sex classes up to age 8. It prepares children for 7+ and 8+ entry to schools including Westminster, St Paul's and King's College Wimbledon.

In the north and west of the borough, Arnold House in St John's Wood is a boys' school for ages 3 to 13. Its destination list includes Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Radley, Westminster and St Paul's. It says it will join the St Paul's School group from November 2026, with a supported route to St Paul's. Connaught House in Bayswater is a co-educational school for ages 4 to 11. Recent leavers have gone to St Paul's, St Paul's Girls', North London Collegiate, Latymer Upper, Godolphin and Latymer and Wycombe Abbey.

Two choir schools offer something different. Westminster Cathedral Choir School is a Catholic prep for boys aged 4 to 13, with day boys and boarding choristers; entry is at Reception, 7+ and 8+, and choristers join in Year 4. Westminster Abbey Choir School educates the boys aged 8 to 13 who sing in the Abbey choir.

To the west, Kensington & Chelsea has a dense cluster of 13+ preps for boys, including Sussex House, St Philip's and co-educational Hill House. It also has girls' preps such as Glendower and Pembridge Hall that prepare for the 11+.

To the north, in Camden, The Hall in Hampstead is a boys' prep for ages 4 to 13 that lists Westminster and St Paul's among its destinations. South Hampstead High School takes girls from 4 to 18, with entry at 4+, 7+, 11+ and 16+.

Westminster School takes about 125 to 130 pupils into Year 9 each year. Candidates sit the ISEB pre-test in maths, English and reasoning at their prep school in October or November of Year 6. Girls join at 13+ for the first time in 2028, and by 2030 every year group will be mixed. Families wanting an earlier start can apply at 11+ through Westminster Under School, which guarantees the move up at 13.

The girls' schools share a single entrance test. Francis Holland, Sloane Square, Francis Holland, Regent's Park and Queen's College in Marylebone all belong to the London 11+ Consortium. They admit mainly at 11+ and 16+, and the Consortium test is followed by each school's own interview. Queen's College also looks at a reference from the current school.

Wetherby Senior School in Marylebone is a boys' school for ages 11 to 18, with entry at 11+, 13+ and 16+. The group is also launching Wetherby Pembridge Senior as a co-educational option. Maida Vale School is a co-educational school for ages 11 to 18 that selects through exams and interviews, with main entry at Year 7 and Year 12. London Park School Mayfair, on Piccadilly, describes its admissions as low-pressure and focused on the individual.

Three schools teach an international curriculum. ICS London offers the full IB from age 3 to 18 on two sites, Wyndham Place and Star Street. Halcyon London International School in Marylebone teaches the IB Middle Years and Diploma programmes to 11 to 18-year-olds and is run as a not-for-profit. The American School in London in St John's Wood takes children of all nationalities from kindergarten to Grade 12 and offers Advanced Placement courses. For performers, Sylvia Young Theatre School combines academic lessons with vocational training, and admits by audition.

Westminster's 16+ entry is highly competitive: it offers 75 to 85 places a year from about 600 to 650 applicants, most of them girls. For September 2027 entry, registration closes on 30 September 2026. Candidates sit a 45-minute test in each of four chosen subjects on 7 November 2026, followed by subject interviews on 28 November.

Sixth-form rounds at the girls' schools run earlier in the autumn than the 11+. Queen's College's deadline for 2027 entry is 9 October 2026, with interviews on 13 October and offers on 2 November. For the IB Diploma, Halcyon and ICS both teach it in the borough. Southbank International School teaches its Diploma and Career-related Programme students at its Westminster campus.

Westminster School is the borough's main boarding option. Boarding is weekly and term-time only, with Saturday morning school. Up to eight King's Scholarships are awarded at 13+ and up to four at 16+. All King's Scholars board, pay the day fee and can top up with a bursary.

At Westminster Abbey Choir School, choristers board and the Abbey heavily subsidises the cost. From September 2025 the fee was about £3,900 a term, with no extra charges for tuition, music lessons or trips, and means-tested bursaries are available on top. Westminster Cathedral Choir School also boards its choristers alongside its day pupils.

Fairley House specialises in specific learning differences, including dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia. Its junior school is on Causton Street in Pimlico and its senior school is on Lambeth Road. It has occupational therapists and speech and language therapists, an in-house assessment centre, and helps families through the EHCP process.

Abingdon House runs a senior site in Marylebone for ages 11 to 19. It supports pupils with autism, specific learning difficulties, ADHD and speech, language and communication needs. Where a local authority funds a place through an Education, Health and Care Plan, it can reclaim the VAT on fees.

At 4+, Westminster Under School opens registration on 1 September two years before entry and closes it on 30 September the following year. Children join play-based sessions in the autumn, and some are invited back in January. The school considers date of birth, English as an additional language and distance from the school. At 7+, registration follows the same window, with written tests in mid-October, about 120 children recalled in November and offers in late November.

At 11+, girls applying to the Francis Holland schools or Queen's College register by 6 November 2026 for September 2027 entry. Most sit the Consortium test on 1 December 2026; Queen's College also offers 27 November and 3 December. Interviews run in early January, and offers go out on 12 February 2027. Westminster Under School's 11+ applicants take the ISEB pre-tests in November of Year 6, the school's own English and maths papers in January, and interviews in February.

At 13+, Westminster School's registration opens on 1 October in Year 5 and closes on 30 September in Year 6, so families need to register about two years before entry. The ISEB Common Pre-Tests are four online, adaptive tests in maths, English, verbal and non-verbal reasoning. They are sat once, and the results go to every school on the child's list.

On the figures we hold, annual day fees at the main preps run from about £31,500 at the top of Arnold House's range to about £35,000 at Wetherby Prep. Westminster Under School, Eaton Square and Eaton House Belgravia each top out at around £33,000 to £33,400. Smaller schools cost less: Connaught House is about £24,800 to £26,900. The girls' senior schools and Wetherby Senior charge about £32,500 to £33,200. International schools cost more, with the American School in London at about £40,000 to £48,000, and Fairley House is about £40,300 to £50,300. All are day fees including VAT, which has applied at 20% since 1 January 2025.

Westminster offers means-tested bursaries worth up to 100% of day fees at 11+, 13+ and 16+, covering uniform, travel and trips as well. It spends about £2 million a year on them across both schools. Bursaries at 13+ usually go only to pupils already receiving a bursary at their prep. Queen's College takes bursary applications alongside its main admissions round. Music scholarships at Westminster are worth 10% of fees plus free instrumental lessons.

Transport is a strength. The borough has 27 Tube stations on 10 of the 11 lines, and main-line stations at Charing Cross, Marylebone, Paddington and Victoria. Many pupils travel in from other boroughs by train or Tube.

Distances inside the borough still matter. St John's Wood and Maida Vale are a long way from Pimlico. The Francis Holland schools sit at opposite ends of the borough, near Sloane Square and near Regent's Park, and ICS and Abingdon House each split their pupils across sites. Check which building your child will actually attend at each age.