state school child got into Eton

Boys do get into Win Coll from state comps they sit the same entrance exam (much harder than CE) as those from prep school they are just let off the Latin. I don't necessarily agree with the above I know St Olaves I suspect they would go most of the way towards preparing your DS for CE you would proably have to find a tutor for French and a tutor to assist him with practice papers for English and history. The science is doddle comprising of short answers as is the geography you do have to do a field trip and write it up but as you obviously live near Kent there's miles of coast and with a bit if imagination and again a tutor I believe it's doable. The are excellent text books; galore park who provide sample questions and answers etc.
I only know all of this because I became disillusioned with my DS prep and looked at home schooling thought the Win Coll entrance exam I didn't in the end but if you've got the time and motivation you can do it.

Many Thanks for your help. My son had taken his test in September 2011.

If its the pretest for 2014 then the results are out now. DS and friends from prep school sat the test earlier this term and we all have our results. A call to Admissions might be needed if the postman has delayed yours. Best of luck to your DS.

My son has just sat his Eton College List test - entry 2014. Does anyone know when the results come out. Thank-you!

Fantastic opportunity and congrats on your son's achievement. A late contribution to this discussion:

Whilst many of these comments are (quite rightly) around the formal educational pros and cons of passing the CE, a major factor in making the transition from state to public school is culture.

I moved from a state school to very good independent day school to public school and the cultural differences between them were absolutely enormous.

I'd recommend prep school - there is far more continuity between prep and public.

I think the system is terribly confusing. My DS went to prep school, was offered a 'headmasters place' at Westminster in one of the boarding houses, when he was about 10 or so, conditional on taking the common entrance (no mention of needing to get 70% or the syllabus) and could take the 'challenge' if he wanted.

Looking back we had absolutely no idea what the common entrance involved and wouldn't even have known the questions to ask. We had no idea what the Westminster under school involved or the difference in the education it offered compared to his existing prep.

We did the sums and decided the finances were impossible.
So he went to a highly selective private day school with charitable funding.

Someone previously posted the dangers of being 'poor' and going to such schools without being able to afford all the trips etc. I would second the advice to think very carefully indeed about this. The boys at DS school measured each other by the square meterage of their homes and the cost of their mobile gadgetry and their expensive holidays. Because we scraped to send the children to private schools, even with the charity, home life wasn't much fun- few outings to theatre/music/concerts/meals out/holidays all had to be rationed. It was a very unhappy seven years and he is well out of it. The extracurricular opportunities there were for the richer families, not for all the boys. It was a battle to save him from drowning socially. If I had the choice again I would let him take up the Buckinghamshire grammar school place we turned down and spend more on us as a family and perhaps had a happier, more confident child. But one never knows. Thankfully he is happy at university.

I think everyone has said what is to be said - that the 11 thing is just you may be okay but don't bank on it so I hope that was explained and there are other options too. 2 years at prep school is probably very wise for all the reasons stated above. As said above it doesn't seem to tie up. Also how could anyone be very against prep schools but not against Eton? You would have thought the same objections would apply.

I was wondering too.

Do people really come onto MN for 3 weeks, cause havoc, then bow out?

PixieOnaLeaf sciencedad has taken her place as the most ill judged and misguided poster.

Meunscrabbly
That's the point: Eton College is described as being in Eton Village, but it is actually in Windsor, a big town, not anything like a village. It's picturesque, of course, and on the Eton College website, it looks very lovely, but it would be very, very odd indeed to choose Eton because it's in a village, as the OP says.

Again,it makes the OP's story....odd.

Come back, Kris, and clear up the confusion.

I wonder if the Eton Village thing was about the fact that Eton School is in Eton village and not in a city?

I can't help at all with the admissions process seeing as how I... a) have two girls, and b) they go to the local comp

However, I can assure the OP that going to Eton is not necessarily the route to fame/fortune/power.

A few years back I had a group of friends who had all been at Eton together, they were a massive bunch of layabouts, doing nothing much with their lives and living off their trust funds I think some of them have moved on now, from what I know one of them is a junior school teacher, another is a jobbing musician and another works in a call centre. I'd say that particularly for the latter, that was money well spent, don't you think?

I don't think Kris is a journalist or Michael Gove.:)

I think she/he is genuinely not au fait with the English education system. I am sure her eyes have been opened to it all by now though.

Eton gives some scholarships to boys from state schools at 11. Part of the scholarship is to cover two years at a prep school, to fill the gap between 11 and 13, to provide the "catch up" and to get the boys ready for boarding. This suggests to me that this is what Eton would think sensible in order to make sure that your boy is not behind when he starts.

Why don't you just make an appointment to see the Head at Eton and talk to him about it? He won't bite.

Have you seen this? It says that if you post you will see change! I reckon Kris is Michael Gove.

For the first time I see his point!

I wonder qwhich paper will publish the article - and what angle will it take?

ah but seeker, you forget the greatest advantage of all: not having to meet up with his parents at half term

Not for St Olave's, MrsWobble - the exam is held in November after forms are submitted so there is no benefit to being told your child's result.

I thought everyone knew Slough Comp was in a rural village setting..lol..

Don't worry, I;'m sure he'll get over it - his reasons for wanting to go to Eton were distinctly shallow - and he will find that most of the things he wanted are available at any good school. Apart from the single room snd the grandmotherly matron, obviously.