Winchester College Open Day

Many thanks colleger and happy gardening, I'm following up your suggestions and hope that all will become clearer in the next few months. Your help has been very useful and I'm really grateful. I'll let you know how I get on :)

The HM is very important at Winchester as most people choose him after meeting 2-3 they have a lot of autonomy and there is significant variation between houses (although I suspect not as much as there used to be) including quality of food a bit if a "thorny issue." Winchester is exceedingly house centric and the boys unbelievably loyal to their houses. Many houses are quite a walk to the school and its playing fields and many have different facilities some have gyms/squash courts in the basement and dorms sizes apparently vary. You have to have confidence in him as does your DS. At a parents thing last year all the parents we met were happy with their HM and couldn't praise him enough.

Well my son doesn't even have a house place yet but has been offered a general list place so it's got nothing to do with unpopularity. I don't think you have to accept a house. Why not say that you want to accept the place but would need to meet the housemaster before accepting a house place?

He'll be starting in 2014. We just heard last week that he was offered a place.

What year is his entry?

A bit off topic here, but I'm wondering whether anyone could give me some insight into a particular house at Win Coll? DS applied this year and was offered a place not in the house of choice but in another house, which we didn't visit. We're happy of course but slightly confused because my understanding was that he really should have been put on the Headmaster's List and assigned to a house later on.
Someone with a bit of knowledge told me that this house is probably the unpopular house and that the housemaster is not well-liked, etc., so they're trying to fill it up. I don't want to say the name of the house here, but if anyone could offer insight into the houses, please could you send me a PM? Headmaster of prep school is making inquiries, and I'm asking around IRL too of course.

And when it comes to Eton and Harrow I wonder if Harrow doesn't want time wasters at the test if the applicant has Eton as a first preference. At least the applicant will know in advance and probably pull out of the Harrow test if successful at Eton.

I think the bigger schools struggle to get their exam results out before the end of term and I think it's easier for a school like Westminster and Winchester to pick boys. On the whole it's on academic merit and they will give the benefit of the doubt to a quirky boy. The admissions process is so in depth, at least at Winchester, that the HM/Reg knows by the end of it if the boy should be offered a firm place.

With Eton, all the applicants are very different and they probably spend more time deliberating giving a place to a gifted academic or a high-flying sports man, or the child who is good at everything but has Aspergers. They had close to 1000 applicants this year.

Then Harrow tests in Year 7, maybe because children can't all be in the same place at once. Many will sit for E, W, WC, H and a co-ed choice and at least three of the Pre-tests happen in the same term.

Why they don't all make offers with the same deadlines I don't know.

So did we the first time round. They've asked for the end of June if possible but by September 1st at the very latest. It is good of them because it avoids parents paying one deposit and then losing it. It's a pity all schools weren't like this as Winchester seems to be thinking in the best interests of the parent and not their bank balance.

Interesting we only had a couple of weeks from receiving the offer to decide whether or not we wanted it and certainly well Eton places were offered.

Just had the letter from Winchester and it states that if a place is not accepted by September 1st then the place will be offered to someone on the waiting list. So maybe they don't over offer.

In that case I feel even more fortunate!

Eton don't do this. They offer 125 places and 50 waiting list places. I'm assuming it's because very few people turn down a place so no need to overfill.

As far as I'm aware the housemasters offer out the full quota infact we were very definitely given the impression that they offer out quite a lot more than their quota eg 18 offers for only 12 places knowing that some will drop out. My DH was told by one HM that right up until the Easter before the sitting the entrance exam he still had all 18 definately coming and he was looking at investing in bunk beds! This maybe why my friends very bright quirky DS never got off the waiting list! Yes 14 places extra places will come up as those boys will go into College but maybe those places have been offered out already but perhaps with as yet no particular house.
OP my advise stays the same speak to the school and then you will get a true picture.

I'm assuming a housemaster will not necessarily offer his quota if many boys don't impress him? I thought the boys in the pool numbered an equivalent to College as 14 places will become available then - no?

karobar I really think before you do anything else you need to speak to Winchester and try and establish what you DS chances are of coming off the waiting list and remember we talking not just off the waiting list but also into a house you and he likes. As far as I've understand Winchester unlike Eton offers all it's places out and there are already boys who've been offered places who don't have houses yet because I'm assuming they are waiting to see whose going to turn down a place. Speak to them all the comments above are very helpful but to actually get a realistic picture you need to speak to them. I would also advise you to speak to head of learning support as well like all parents we want our children to be happy and when they require help due to dyslexia ADD or what ever we need IMO to be extra sure that the school is a good fit as will the school. Don't be under any illusions Winchestr in dyslexic etc friendly but the boys are expected to work very hard and achieve good results.

Do call them, probably bad timing with half term and common entrance this week. I'd make them aware that Winchester is the goal.

Am new to this game, I did pm you a reply about 10 mins ago, hope it arrived?

I contacted Bruern abbey and have sent his EPA. Must chase them up as have heard nothing and that was weeks ago....

I've already pm'd but you don't notice them!

Hysterical! Where is young colleger based? We are in sticks at moment. pm if easier..

Bruern Abbey would have been a good place for him and they have sent boys to Winchester.

You can home ed him for two years Chez Colleger if you wish!

I think we missed a trick being so late in the entrance process, we hadn't even looked at WC before we met the housemaster. my son's strength is science and the housemaster who intervirpewed my son wasn't a scientist. He was given Ozymandias to analyse which he didn't really 'get' and I can't imagine he sold himself very well to the master as he probably wasn't very interested in Shelley and would have felt unimpressed with such a piece to showcase his brain!

I totally agree that quirks are great but not so good at this age and when you are incarcerated in a trad prep school! If we had known how clever he was we would not have chosen the prep school. Come the revolution and quirky will win out over who you know, where you went and what you got if you see what I mean....

We are open to any schools, preferably south of England with full boarding if possible. He was keen on boys' schools but limits choice and we are open to any school which will cater for both his brain and the way he works.

All advice very gratefully received, as is advice on how to cope with prep school who can't cope with the way our boy works! :(

With other school admissions I've often chosen housemasters with differing interests to enrich and expand my child's mind but with the Winchester admissions process, I'd avoid this if you want the best chance of getting your child a place.