Harrow v eton

I saw that documentary about Harrow that was on a while ago. I'm probably going to put DS in for that scholarship those boys were competing for.

I have found it difficult to find good comparative info for Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Radley et al. We'll have to make the registration decision this year and dont know whether we shoud just apply to as many as we can. DS will need an almost full bursary so I know it's going to be an uphill struggle. Does anyone know which schools are the most generous, bursary-wise? (I've heard good things about Eton in this respect)

Also what school would most suit an academic, sporty alpha-male but who is utterally unmusical/arty/dramatic?

Your child will sit the pre-test in May/June of Y6 with a decision in mid-July. Harrow's test is in the Autumn of Y7 so you will have had to have registered DS before he even sits the Eton pre-test. Of course by then you will have an offer or a rejection. A rejection from Eton will not go against you for Harrow but an acceptance might as they will assume you will take up the Eton place so it would be good to have made up your mind before the Harrow test or not sit it at all if you accept the Eton place.

Oh and on the August child - the way Eton at least does it takes account of the month of the birthday - my DS is also August and went up for interview later and was assessed against other late birthday people.

Apply for as many schools as you like - it's what they expect. The process narrows down as you start paying deposits...hate to think what I spent on holding places we didnt ultimately take.

In a nutshell waiting for flaming - Eton these days is for cleverer boys, Harrow for boys who aren't so bright. So choose based on how academic you think your DS is - I'd always recommend making sure they are in a school where they will be comfortable and not in the bottom quarter as that would be miserable.

grovel I'm sure that Eton is spot on with university and career advice. Your son sounds as though he's got his head screwed on too. A school should want to get it right for each pupil and I doubt any of the truly good schools push anyone to those two universities unless they feel it's a comfortable fit. It's not in their interest and most definitely not in the interests of a reluctant or marginal pupil.

Of course I am biased towards Eton, wouldn't you be biased towards the school your son was at?

I have explained why four Headmasters advised against Harrow and no he wasn't at 4 prep schools. This was the feedback after interview, entrance tests and trial days at some of the schools we looked at.

Yellowstone, my DS who left Eton two years ago told his housemaster that he was going to university to have fun and do just enough work to get a 2:1 (ie that academic considerations were definitely secondary). His housemaster sensed that he meant it and steered him away from Oxbridge (despite my DS having As and A*s across the board in A levels and GCSEs, and a "better than 50% chance of getting in").
Frankly I was impressed that the school was not obsessed by Oxbridge and that the right decision was reached.

It's the other way around Nokissymum - intake dictates university destination.

Oxbridge has a narrower range of courses than many other universities, so is not, as you rightly suggest, the only measure, (but it's still a good one)but if a school has a larger number of leavers going to universities in the top 10 of the league tables, then its intake is probably more academic than a school with fewer going to those institutions. We are splitting hairs here really, though Yellowstones's figures suggest Eton's intake is quite a bit higher academically. Good teachers, as Grovel points out, will support a student in getting good grades in subjects they are not naturally good at, but Harrow's teachers are unlikely to be slouches in this regard.

nokissy the selectivity at the point of entry to a school appears to be the single most important factor in determining the quality of leavers destinations.

Numbers from a school going to Oxford and Cambridge is a frequently cited measure of the quality of the school, rather like numbers of pupils on FSM being used as a measure to judge other characteristics of a school.

It's broad brush but it's clearly a useful tool and there's a clear correlation between those schools considered 'the best' and those sending large numbers, or a large percentage, off to those two universities.

ICT (or Computer Science) is a subject a student can opt for at Oxford and it's extremely competitive, with the independent sector having a far, far higher success rate than the maintained..

colleger
did your son attend 4 prep schools?
just wondering how 4 headmasters shrieked "no" viz Harrow

bc-Dont think they got it.

nokissymum, I'm sure the Eton admissions system couldn't give a stuff about an 11 year old's opinion of what he might want to read at university. The school

delights in getting a boy who arrives saying "I'm useless at xxxx subject" an A* in that subject. It's the ultimate test of successful teaching.

On the face of it the schools seem similar but they do produce a different type of boy/man and the evidence suggests that Eton produces nicer boys.

As for applying to two it does depend on when your son's birthday falls. If it is before February then he would sit the Eton pre-test in Oct/Nov of Y6 with a decision in the December. If he failed to get in then there would still be time to apply to Harrow for the Y7 pre-test without ever telling either school that the boy was registered at both. It is uncommon though to only be registered at one school. Most tend to have choice one as: Eton, Harrow or Winchester and choice two as Radley or a co-ed option. DS was registered for Eton and Winchester which seems to be more common than Eton and Harrow as an OH parent would neer dream of sending son to Harrow and vice versa!

harrow has a lower percentage of anal prolapse but eton has a nice uniform. its a toughie alright

regina 30% of Eton leavers go to Oxford or Cambridge and an average over the past few years of 11% do so from Harrow.

That's quite a considerable difference.

nokissimum,

"headmaster advised against applying to both schools as it might not go down well with whoever is second choice, is this true ? Has anyone applied to both ?"

I can't speak from personal experienced, but the documentary that was on last year about Sunningdale School showed boys attending for interview at Harrow who had also applied to Eton (one at least already had a place), or planned to do so.

I would say that if, as stated above, university destinations differ considerably, (and I haven't checked this) then there is likely to be quite some difference between the schools, with regard to intake at the least.

Mine too. Me too. Mine too Colleger. This is taking years off me btw.

My views change depending on my mood Yellowstone! Anyway I do not want to rekindle that debate!

As for the SE it has the highest concentration of Public and Grammar schools and affluence which is probably why it is so heavily skewed. My children only attend schools in SE but they have Northern blood!

Colleger some stats are readily available but not all. Eton is a bit close with theirs and Harrow is not much better. Oxford is good. You're clearly very knowledgeable about subjects/ relative competitiveness. I thought you thought Oxford and Cambridge dulled academically in comparison to Eton and also that Ivy League eclipsed them all.

I can't help wondering how old your DS is. And I can't help wonder why it is that the geographical pie chart for Oxbridge entrance is so weighted in favour of the SE. Are DC with true academic potential really so concentrated geographically? Remarkable.