Westminster City School
55 Palace Street, London, SW1E 5HJ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Boys
- Religious character
- Christian
- Trust
- WESTMINSTER CITY SCHOOL
- Headmaster
- Mr Peter Broughton
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Cities of London and Westminster
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 890
- Pupils on roll
- 790
- URN
- 138312
- Local authority
- Westminster
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02079636300
About this school
Westminster City School is a Christian boys' secondary academy in London. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 790 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Westminster City School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Strong standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Strong standard
- Post-16 provision
- Strong standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 119 | 114 | 86 |
| Attainment 8 score | 52.7 | 50.7 | 52.1 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.37 +0.11 to +0.63 | +0.09 -0.17 to +0.35 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 59% | 50.9% | 50% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 73% | 74.6% | 73.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 31% | 26.3% | 22.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.5 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Westminster City School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Westminster average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 52.7 | 38.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 50.7 | 42 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 52.1 | 38.8 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 772 |
| 2023/24 | 784 |
| 2024/25 | 800 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Westminster City School compares
Westminster City School ranked 6th of 11 secondary schools in Westminster for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 81% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 16% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 52.1 | 8% | 45.5% | 790 | — |
| The Grey Coat Hospital | 66.6 | 5.5% | 26.7% | 1,167 | 0.2 miles |
| Pimlico Academy | 54.2 | 8.1% | 57.9% | 1,079 | 0.7 miles |
| St. Thomas More Language College | 45.9 | 10.6% | 42.3% | 489 | 1.1 miles |
| Oasis Academy South Bank | 54.6 | 5.7% | 68% | 691 | 1.2 miles |
| Lilian Baylis Technology School | 46.3 | 6.1% | 59.4% | 848 | 1.2 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 45.45%
- English as an additional language
- 34.3%
- Overall absence
- 8.04%
- Persistent absence
- 22.72%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Grey Coat Hospital0.2 miles
Secondary · London
-
Pimlico Academy0.7 miles
Secondary · London
-
St. Thomas More Language College1.1 miles
Secondary · London
-
Oasis Academy South Bank1.2 miles
Secondary · London
-
Lilian Baylis Technology School1.2 miles
Secondary · London
Other schools in London
Westminster City School ranks 110th of the 258 ranked secondary schools in London.
- Acland Burghley School Secondary
- Ada Lovelace Church of England High School Secondary
- Addey and Stanhope School Secondary
- AIM Academy North London Secondary
- Alexandra Park School Secondary
- All Saints Catholic College Secondary
- All Saints Catholic High School Secondary
- Ark Acton Academy Secondary
- Ark All Saints Academy Secondary
- Ark Bolingbroke Academy Secondary
- Ark Burlington Danes Academy Secondary
- Ark Elvin Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Westminster City School teach?
- Westminster City School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in London.
- Who is the headmaster of Westminster City School?
- The headmaster of Westminster City School is Mr Peter Broughton, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Westminster City School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Westminster City School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Westminster City School?
- Westminster City School has 790 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Westminster City School full?
- Westminster City School has capacity for 890 pupils and 790 on roll (89%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Westminster City School a faith school?
- Yes. Westminster City School is designated Christian.
- Is Westminster City School a selective school?
- No. Westminster City School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Westminster City School part of an academy trust?
- Westminster City School is part of WESTMINSTER CITY SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Westminster City School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 52.7 in 2022/23 and 52.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Westminster City School compare with other schools in Westminster?
- Westminster City School ranked 6th of 11 secondary schools in Westminster for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 81% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 16% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Westminster City School's absence rate?
- Westminster City School's overall absence rate is 8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Westminster City School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Westminster City School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 15 July 2026.