Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it. For any parents with sons at Westminster Under or who know parents with sons at the school : what do you think of the new Master? Have there been any changes in the school since her arrival? Are teachers and students happy? The Open Day in October was very chaotic and it was hard to get a feel for the Master and for the school on that day.
We had visited previously and liked both the school and the prior Master but now have some doubts. I'd be grateful to read any thoughts from people who are more familiar with the school. In particular, I'm interested to know about the balance of the school between academics and other activities. The prior Master seemed to value a well-rounded education with sports, music and arts complementing the strong academics; the new Master seemed much more focussed on "cerebral boys" and didn't discuss things other than core academic classes.
Anotherdrink : You make many valid points. The coaching issue is a thorny one for parents and the Under School. All I can say is that in my day we were looking for the depth of the raw talent that lay beneath the 'coached' polished exterior so as not to disadvantage the very bright candidates whose parents were unable for all sorts of different reasons not least financial to provide coaching.
We tried to level the playing field albeit with imperfect methods. It is worth bearing in mind that the demographics for WUS entry exam candidates are not quite as homogeneous as those inside the London Mumsnet bubble might think. Very bright candidates from state primaries were often disadvantaged because they were behind in reading, maths and english through no fault of their own. These candidates would have benefited from some coaching, in particular in the more formal side of testing verbal reasoning etc etc.
Both systems are looking for the real talent. There is an palpable tension between parents and top flight London day preps at selection. The problem nowadays, as you point out, is that the trend is for more and more candidates to seek out coaching, even the most able ones!
