Leading independent schools: easier to get into board than day?

[uk2020]

Is it much easier to get into a leading boarding school than a leading London day school from a probability perspective. I feel boarding school chance is about 1 out of 2-3 applicants, while day is about 1 out of 10. Are these numbers fairly correct?

[BasiliskStare]

No idea - leading boarding 1 acceptance from 2 - 3 sounds optimistic but I have no evidence just gut feel ( and boarding is somewhat a self selecting cohort ) The very best London day school are yes very very competitive. but I would say that for the child boarding or day school is a much bigger decision than probability of acceptance - & very much dependent on the DC & where they will feel happy - but wish you all best in your choices.

[Zodlebud]

I don’t know about your statistics but, yes.

Higher fees and the fact they are boarding puts people off when they have such high performing schools much closer and much cheaper.

That shouldn’t be a reason to choose boarding though. It has to be the right decision for both the child AND the family. A child who doesn’t want to board or a family who resent it, or even worse both, is a recipe for disaster.

[monkeycats]

Yes basically because the “market” for boarding schools is much smaller in the sense most people don’t consider it.

[BubblesBuddy]

Define “leading”. Some fairly non academic very well known boarding schools won’t be difficult to get into at all. The top name academic ones are more difficult. “Leading” doesn’t necessarily mean academic and difficult to access. London day schools are the worst for competition.