One of the Best Private A-Level Retake Colleges in London

Westminster Tutors was established in 1934 and is one of the oldest and best tutorial colleges not just in London, but in the country. We have built our long-standing reputation for academic excellence on our individual approach and the careful matching of students with superb teachers. We retain our original tutorial college approach as we know this approach is what secures the success of our students.

The cost of resitting A levels depends on the number of subjects you are studying. For three A level subjects, a one-year A level retake course costs £38,000 for the academic year. If you are retaking two subjects, the cost is £26,450, and for one subject, the tuition fee is £14,750. For students who want to enrol on a shorter retake course, from January to June, the cost is £9,100 per subject.

Exam entry fees are charged separately at a cost of £350 per A level subject for internal students. External exam candidates can also resit A levels at our exam centre for £600 per subject.

In 2024, our students achieved outstanding results, with 43% achieving A*-A grades and 80% achieving A*-B grades. As an academically non-selective college, these results demonstrate the success of our unique approach. Our 2025 A level results will be announced in September.

Our A level results success rate is very high for an academically non-selective college, and year on year our students achieve A level grades that are well above the national average, as well as above many other comparable independent sixth form colleges in London.

Yes, we can provide predicted A level grades and our university application/ UCAS timeframe is carefully planned to take account of Year 13 and A level retake students who join us in September. In the first half of the term our expert UCAS consultant provides advice on making the strongest possible application, with detailed references and predicted grades being gathered from your tutors at half term. We also gather information from your former school so that your UCAS reference recognises all of your achievements, both academic and extracurricular. We then send out the UCAS applications in November and December.

** For Oxbridge and Medicine applications, which have an earlier application deadline of 15 October, we generally ask students who have only joined in September to apply via their former school so that the reference is sufficiently detailed, and we are happy to send tentative predictions to the former school as well as supporting information. **

We are an academically non-selective college and welcome applications from students of all abilities. We do, however, want to make sure that you have sufficient foundation for your chosen programme of study, so we would normally expect a GCSE grade 6 or above in any subject being studied at A level.

For A level retake students, our average retake improvement is 1.5 grades and many achieve far greater grade increases, but if someone has a low A level grade because there are significant gaps in their knowledge, we offer realistic advice on what their retake grade aspirations might be.

For enrolment, we need to see all previous results at GCSE and A level and to receive a reference from your former school. We also need you/ your parents to disclose any health/ mental health/ special educational needs. We are not selective on this basis, but it is essential we have this information so that we can ensure we will be able meet your needs.

The qualifications and experience of the teachers at Westminster Tutors are second to none. We attract and retain the brightest and the best subject specialists because Westminster Tutors is not only a great place to study but a great place to work!

The vast majority of the teaching community have both an undergraduate and masters degree from Russell Group universities, and a significant number are Oxbridge graduates or have PhDs. Many teachers, as well as members of the senior leadership team, have either teacher training (PGCEs) or masters degrees from the world-class UCL Institute of Education.

The teacher-student ratio is 1:1.5, meaning we work with nearly as many teachers as students. This is due to our approach where we carefully match each student with a suitable teacher. Lessons are either taught one-to-one or in very small groups of two or three students if we feel the students will benefit from working together.

We offer both one-to-one tuition and very small group classes. Decisions about which to offer to a student are based on whether we feel the student would most benefit from a one-to-one approach with individually tailored teaching, or whether they would benefit from being in a small group where they can share ideas and learn from each other.

When we put students in small groups we increase the number of teaching hours, and sometimes we offer a blended approach where students can study in a small group as well as have an individual weekly tutorial. All decisions are based on what we think will bring out the best in each student!

Our A level retake success rate is 100%! Our students not only improve their A level grades, they also gain in confidence and are supported by their mentors so that they develop the academic skills to thrive when they go on to university.

In addition, the A level resit students at Westminster Tutors take up places at the UK’s top universities. In 2024, 83% of our retake students placed at Russell Group universities, with 72% of these being confirmed at UCL, King’s, Warwick, Leeds and Bristol, including one for Medicine.

On average, our A level retake students improve by 1.5 grades. It is important to be realistic about how much you are likely to improve your A level grades on an A level retake course as, for example, it is a significant jump to go from a D grade to an A grade. However, our individual approach means teachers gain an in-depth understanding of what may have affected past performance, and in turn offer tailored support so that the student can make significant progress. This is why A level retake students are so successful at Westminster Tutors.

Yes, you can retake just one or two A levels with us and we still offer the full range of support to our part time students, including outstanding UCAS and careers guidance, weekly mentoring to support academic progress and wellbeing, as well as access to all college facilities and activities.

If you are making a UCAS reapplication, we will also liaise with your former school to obtain references for the subjects you are not studying with us.

Yes, we offer January start dates, and a shorter 20-week A level retake course. Important factors to consider are whether there will still be tutor availability in January as we are often oversubscribed. If you join in January it will also be too late for us to support any UCAS reapplication, and we generally suggest you reapply with your former school in the autumn term.

April A level retake start dates are generally too late as it is too close to the start of the exam session in May. It is also too close to the dates when any NEAs may be due, e.g. for English, History or Geography, or when science practicals and modern language oral exams need to be completed.

Subject to tutor availability, we may be able to offer private tuition and final revision for A level retakes both over Easter and in the summer term, and students can also resit examined A level components as private candidates at our exam centre.

We offer January-June A level retake courses which provide 20 weeks of tuition. One-term retake courses are generally not available, but if we have tutor availability we can offer Easter revision for A level exams and retakes, and we may also be able to offer private tuition up to and during your A level exams.

Another popular option is to join us in September so that we can support your UCAS application and then take a ‘mini gap’ of up to 6 weeks. This needs to be agreed in advance with the Principal, and students can take their mini gap from the end of term in December until the end of the February half term.

The college is open Monday to Friday, with teaching occurring from 9am to 6pm during term time. We are unable to offer evening or weekend classes. Over the holiday periods, we may be able to offer classes from 10am to 4pm subject to teacher availability.

Because we are able to provide bespoke timetables according to the students’ other commitments or commute, we often find that we can accommodate classes within our regular opening times.

Westminster Tutors is a member of the Independent Schools Association (ISA), and as such, we are inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI). Our most recent inspection took place in November 2024, and we were awarded with the highest possible rating of “Exceeding Expectations”. The inspection report praised our exceptional quality of education, outstanding academic achievements, exemplary pastoral care and highly effective governance and leadership.

We are a JCQ-registered exam centre and are inspected every year to confirm we meet all the requirements. We are accredited to offer A level and GCSE exams with the main exam boards in the country, namely AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR and WJEC Eduqas. We do not offer Cambridge International Education (CIE) or Pre-U exams.

We can enter private candidates for exams and also host exams for transferred candidates. Furthermore, we have a fully equipped laboratory which enables us to offer the practical endorsement for A level sciences.

If we have sufficient notice, we may be able to accommodate students who have exam access arrangements. This needs to be decided by the Head of Centre on a case-by-case basis as we need to ensure we have adequate resources for your access arrangements and will be subject to us obtaining appropriate evidence of need.

We ask all potential students and their families to visit the college before an offer of a place is made. During this visit you will meet the Principal for an individual assessment and advice on the best study programme for you, as well as be given a tour of the college and introduced to other key members of staff who are on site.

If requested, and where teachers are available, we are also able to arrange meetings with your prospective tutors, as well as other members of our Senior Team (UCAS Consultant, Academic Director of Studies or Pastoral Coordinator). These meetings may be online but will allow you to get to know the key people who will be supporting you.

In terms of meeting other students, our students return to college mid September, so for those joining us before the start of the academic year it will generally not be possible to chat to other students or observe lessons. During term time, we can arrange for you to meet students who are already attending the college.

Because we teach one-to-one or in very small groups, lesson observations will need the consent of the students in the class, but we are happy to try to arrange for you.

Yes, we provide exceptional UCAS application and personal statement support. Our Senior Consultant/ Director of Studies (UCAS) has been providing expert advice and guidance on university applications for over 20 years.

The vast majority of students at Westminster Tutors enrol with us not only because they want to get fantastic A level grades, but also to secure a place at the university of their dreams.

Each year our students go on to take up places at top universities and we are proud to publish the destinations of each and every student on our website. In 2024:

77% of our leavers placed at Russell Group universities

83% of our A level retake students placed at Russell Group universities

88% of our leavers placed at their first choice university

Each student receives ongoing individual advice and guidance sessions with our UCAS Consultant during their application year. She also coordinates between your teachers as well as your former school, and ensures that both you and your mentor know exactly what you need to work on during your weekly sessions, both for your UCAS application and when drafting your personal statement.

Taken altogether, this means that you will be able to make the strongest UCAS application possible. Our track record and our students’ university destinations speak for themselves!

Yes, we provide first-rate support for applications for Medicine, Dentistry and Law, as well as for Oxford and Cambridge. As well as being a former Principal of Westminster Tutors, our UCAS Consultant founded Uniprep which provided specialist support for highly competitive university applications and admissions tests. She now brings this expertise to advising our students.

We are also able to draw on an extended network of highly qualified teachers to match you with tutors who can provide support either with preparing for admissions tests or for mock interview preparation. For Oxford and Cambridge applicants we normally arrange at least two mock interviews including – if possible – a subject specialist mock interview with someone you have not met before.

Our UCAS Consultant can also offer mock interviews which are conducted in the same style as the interview you have been invited for, e.g. MMIs for Medicine, or online/ AI interviews for degree apprenticeships.

Please note that if your intention is to apply for Oxbridge, Medicine, Dentistry or Veterinary Medicine, there is an early application deadline which falls just four weeks after the start of term. If students have joined us in September we are unlikely to be able to ensure that either your reference or your personal statement will have sufficient evidence and we therefore advise that you apply with your former school. We will, however, provide references and tentative predicted grades to your school and will do our best to support the later stages of your application, e.g. submitting written work, admissions tests or interview preparation.

We offer extensive career and university guidance sessions to all of our students. Year 12, Year 13 and A level retake students will each receive at least two individual advice and guidance sessions with our UCAS Consultant every year. Notes from these meetings are shared with the student and their mentor, and they also provide an itemised list of ‘next steps’ to aid research, preparation or future applications.

In addition to one-to-one career and university guidance sessions, we offer Wednesday group sessions so that students can work together to prepare for their UCAS applications. Thinking about your transition from college to adult life can be stressful and we find our students really enjoy working together and sharing the experience. We also offer Wednesday sessions on CVs, job applications and interview techniques, as well as careers talks from visiting speakers and alumni.

Students meet with their individual mentors on a weekly basis, which allows them to spend further time being supported with personal university or career goals such as creating a CV, applying for work experience, researching universities/ degree courses and drafting the UCAS personal statement.