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Westminster Tutors, independent sixth form college

Ninety years of teaching one student at a time

Westminster Tutors opened in 1934 and has taught the same way ever since: individually, in small numbers, with somebody paying attention to each student in particular.

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A physicist and a house on Old Brompton Road

The college was founded in 1934 by Miss Freeston, a physicist and one of the first women to graduate from Oxford. She had a straightforward idea, which was radical enough at the time and is still unusual now: that a student learns fastest when the teaching is aimed at them rather than at a room.

Ninety years later Westminster Tutors is one of the oldest tutorial establishments in the country, and it is still doing the thing it was set up to do. The building is the same one, at 86 Old Brompton Road in South Kensington, two minutes from the Underground station and a short walk from three of London's great museums.

We are non selective and we teach sixth form only, from Year 12 upwards. There is no entrance exam. Students arrive with every kind of academic record, including some that their previous school had written off, and the question at interview is never whether they are good enough. It is what would need to happen for them to get where they want to go, and whether we can build that.

How we teach

This is the part of the college that is genuinely different, so it is worth being precise about it.

Every lesson at Westminster Tutors is taught one to one, or in a group of two or three students. Not a small class of twelve. One student, or two, or three.

The consequence is that a teacher cannot lose track of anyone. Within a fortnight, your tutor knows which topics you quietly avoid, whether you are losing marks on content or on exam technique, and whether the essay you handed in was written on the bus. Lessons then move at the speed you actually work at, which usually means covering some material far faster than a class would and spending three weeks on the one thing that is genuinely stuck.

It also means the timetable can be written around a person rather than around option blocks. Students take over 25 A level subjects, across all UK exam boards, in any combination. A student who needs Further Maths, Art and Biology can have Further Maths, Art and Biology.

The mentoring hour

Alongside subject teaching, every student has an hour of individual mentoring every week with a member of staff who is not their subject teacher. It is timetabled, it is protected, and it happens whether or not anything is going wrong.

A student in a chemistry lesson holding a ball and stick model of a molecule.

That hour covers the things that decide a year rather than a lesson: how the revision is really going, which universities are realistic and which are not, what to do about the subject that has started slipping, whether the personal statement is honest, and whether the whole plan still makes sense. Parents are told what was discussed. A great deal of what goes wrong in a sixth form goes wrong slowly, in the space between one lesson and the next, and this is the hour that catches it.

A word from the Principal

Sean Doherty BEd MA MBA, Principal of Westminster Tutors
Sean Doherty BEd MA MBA Principal

Welcome to Westminster Tutors, where academic excellence is cultivated in a caring environment with courses designed to support our students' outstanding achievements.

We stand proud as one of London's best independent sixth form colleges, fostering a rich history and an unwavering commitment to our students' educational and personal development, which is realised through bespoke teaching, learning and pastoral care.

Whether you are looking to move for sixth form, retaking A levels or seeking to re enter education, Westminster Tutors is here to help you excel. Our students witness remarkable achievements, and our college has a proven track record of securing placements at top universities in the UK and abroad.

As we operate with limited numbers, especially for those with more complex needs, I invite you to arrange a call or visit Westminster Tutors at your earliest convenience. I look forward to meeting you in person and showing you our unique and exceptionally successful college.

The people who teach here

Teaching one to one is a specific skill, and it is not the same skill as teaching a class of thirty. Our tutors are subject specialists who have chosen to teach this way. Because the college is small, the person who answers the telephone is usually the person who can answer your question.

Placeholder. Names, biographies and photographs of the teaching team will be written here.

How we are judged

The Independent Schools Inspectorate inspected the college in 2024 and rated it Exceeding Expectations. Westminster Tutors is reviewed in the Good Schools Guide and is a member of the Council for Independent Education.

In 2026, 33% of A level grades were awarded at A* or A and 75% at A* to B, and 88% of applicants were placed at Russell Group universities. Those results come from a non selective college that admits students without an entrance exam, which is the context that makes them worth quoting.

100%
of parents would recommend the college
95%
go on to higher education Approximate figure for each A level cohort
Independent Schools Inspectorate
Rated Exceeding Expectations, 2024
The Good Schools Guide
Reviewed
Council for Independent Education
Member

Where we are

The college is at 86 Old Brompton Road, South Kensington, London SW7 3LQ, about two minutes' walk from South Kensington station on the District, Circle and Piccadilly lines. Students commute in from across London and from the home counties, and timetables are written to make that workable, including concentrating teaching into fewer days where it helps.

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What our students say

I joined Westminster Tutors last year with the goal of improving my A level grades, not only did I achieve that, but I also discovered my passion and decided what I wanted to study at university. It very quickly transformed from a daunting year of having to retake my A levels to a chance to improve and grow as a person.

CS, A level retake student 2025 Now studying Architecture at Liverpool

Come and see how it works

Most families start with a visit. You will meet the person who would teach your subject, see the building and ask whatever you need to ask. There is no obligation and no admissions test.

Arrange a visit Or call the college 020 7584 1288