Applying to Eton, Harrow, and Winchester

We were reliably informed by someone very much in the know that the Harrow Scholarship exam was very similar in style and content to the Win Coll entrance exam. Friends DS who got a scholarship into Harrow achieved a mixture of mainly A's but also B's. I agree with summerends it's probably achievable for a bright motivated child.
I also agree that a boy who isn't "particularly enthused about academic learning" would probably enjoy Winchester less; the boys were in fact reminded recently by the head that it's not about sport but academia.

HG I agree that the pretests to all of these should not be stressful academically, especially as none of them require any preparation. I do feel it is worse for a DC who passes the pretest, has all the characteristics to flourish at one of these schools and allows himself to get excited about going there but has that withdrawn because that year there is an insufficient bursary budget to cover all such children
OP, it is clear now that you do actually need full boarding unless it is local to your family and that you only want to try for these three because otherwise you have an other good option. That should also make any decisions regarding staying on a waiting list easier.
As an aside, a child who is bright but is n't particularly enthused by academic learning would probably enjoy Winchester less than the other two.
Having said all the above, if you think your DS won't care too much, I would try the pretests and bursary application for all three as it increases your DS's chances and would make it clearer which school best suited him. Who knows Harrow may have a special bursary for your circumstances so worth asking before dismissing that route? As has beef said before, you should know before the Harrow pretests whether Eton or Winchester have come up trumps. From what I have seen, the Harrow scholarship exam is achievable for a bright motivated boy.

I'd add the in my contact with these three schools Eton has been the most approachable, informative and helpful.

I know boys who've done all three and have offers from all. That's when the stress starts - trying to decide which offer to take. Harrow were very clear about no bursaries for non-scholars. It rather put me off them as the person I met at a schools fair seemed to be quite a snob. I've no doubt ds would be scholarship material but his attitude didn't endear me at all.

You like ridiculous outdated uniform, you want full boarding, a school very happy to take children from the state sector and at 11 which would be very useful in your situation, generous bursaries and good academic results then I'm surprised your not seriously looking at Christs. Admittedly it's coed but most people have to make some sort of compromise.
Lots of children will try to get places at more than one school I've met parents whose DS's are doing Win Coll, SPS, Westminster and Eton. I personally think the pre tests themselves are not particularly stressful I often read/hear that boys say they enjoy the Eton computer generated test and I doubt anyone would find the lengthy interview at Win Coll overly stressful if a child does it's the wrong school. I think parents feel stressed (more than their DC's) waiting for the results, and rejection from all three could certainly have a detrimental effect on confidence. But it's how we as parents present it to our DC's that will effect them. We all fail in life and children need to learn this, it's how we move on that matters. The worst thing for both child and parents is to get a "waiting list" place as this leaves you in limbo, not able to move on, hoping you'll eventually get the place but having to look at alternatives.

grovel as non team sports player the lack of compulsory team sports at Win Coll is a big selling point for my DS oh and uniform!

Sorry previous post crossed your post. MCS = Magdalen College not Malvern. I stuck to boys only in that list.
If you were just going for say Eton, that sounds reasonable but putting him through all three would be pretty demoralising for him especially if he is only rejected because of the financial hurdle.

The last three in that list are of course private schools but also apparently offer large bursaries.
I am not saying that E, H and W don't offer a great education but so do other schools.

OP, just wondering why it is so important for you to send your DS to one of these three schools as for your DS it is quite an emotional investment for what seems slim odds ( unless we are missing something that makes a bursary more likely).
Have you considered high performing state schools such as Reading Grammar (which also has boarding if you need to move abroad again) or Tonbridge ( as mentioned above) or Whitgift or MCS (if as you say you can move anywhere. It sounds as though your DS would thrive in most schools.

FWIW, my DS (Eton) recently had two friends over from prep school days (one Win Coll and one Harrow). They all agreed that each of them would have fitted in well at each other's schools.

Indrid probably my misunderstanding of what you

I was at a girls' school in Winchester. Knew a lot of wykhamists. I hope it has changed in the past 15 years as when I was there: the headmaster at the time had a son at the school who developed an alcohol problem, started making it and selling it to younger boys. Left the school in a literal blaze of ingloriousness by torching a teacher's car. The top public schools are very good at keeping such stories out of the media (anybody else know of the riot at Milton abbey for example??)
Definitely go to the schools, ask lots of questions and talk to pastoral staff and current students. Past students (recent) would be even better but not sure how you would contact them...

peteneras my bad! I mean New Foundation of course, slip of the tongue (or whatever the computer equivalent is).

happygardening here was me thinking that I had managed to convey quite clearly the difference between 'adapting' and 'undergoing a complete personality transplant', but evidently not.

Errr. . . never heard of The New Horizon Scholarships at Eton. The only Horizon scholarship there would be the single Horizon Foundation Scholarship offered to a boy from the Middle East each year. Unfortunately, coming from Uganda don’t qualify.

Try instead The New Foundation Scholarships if your DS has been educated in the UK maintained (state) sector for at least years 6, 7 and 8 of their schooling up to age 13.

Indrid IME and opinion boarders are very good at adapting, accepting and living along side different personalities which is a very useful life skill. But I personally wouldn't want my DS to have to adapt his personality to be happy at school and listening to my DS give advise to a new boarder he said the most important thing is to "be yourself".

There are some who think that all will thrive at Eton and maybe that's true it's certainly large enough to cater for most types of personality.
We didn't personally like it and felt my DS would thrive at Win Coll and we've found that he has really feels free to be "his own person" and unsurprisingly this has had an huge impact on every aspect of his school life. I'm sure he would have been happy and done well at other schools but the freedom to be yourself we feel is so important at this age.
OP you can register for all three and you might be lucky and get all three, we got offers from two completely contrasting schools. When it came to making the final decision we chose the one we felt was likely to be the best fit for his personality. It's a bit of a leap of faith and as parents we do make the wrong decisions but we feel that we did get it right this time.

I wouldn't overlook the importance of being adaptable as a useful quality to possess in order to be happy and settled at boarding school. One is surrounded by many different sorts in a boarding house, and you have to find the best ways to live well together. It is perfectly possible for a child to adapt to fit in with the others in their year group, without subsuming their own personality into something it isn't.

My DS seems to have 'adapted' a much louder voice, which I take is a result of him learning that you have to speak up in order to hold your own . His personality has not changed, but he has definitely become easier in his skin and a lot more self-confident.

Regarding the scholarships, the Eton New Horizon Scholarships (mentioned upthread) are designed especially for state school boys and recognise that they may not know as much 'stuff' as children who have been at expensive prep schools; it is designed to find out their potential, not what they have been taught.

However, if I was OP (and had decided to try for Eton) I would be inclined to go for the pre-test at 11 + bursary as the numbers are so much more in your favour. She would still have the New Horizon scholarship at 13 as a back up (so long as her DS stayed in the state system).

Ok. The fact that he's already weekly boarded in Uganda is great. Firstly because it's a distinguishing feature - which is helpful to admissions people - and secondly simply because he wouldn't be coming "cold" to boarding. It sounds as if you are satisfied that his Ugandan school has been helpful in his prospective public school development.

Please take what Happygardening said seriously - it may be that the emphasis is different elsewhere but your DS will be more attractive to schools if he is his own person". It's what used to be called leadership potential," nowadays it's a bit more subtle - and easily recognized by other boys, not just staff. (I've heard them say things like "He is clever and always gets high marks but he doesn't have much to him. He was never going to get in!") Perhaps focus more on his individuality and much less on his ability to go with whatever the group dynamic requires.....

I wonder where you have been looking - prep school wise? It is certainly possible to achieve entry to a prep school outside the most obvious entry points - and to be offered substantial bursaries. But you may have been unlucky with the former and not qualify for the latter. I would say it's not great for a boy or for those teaching him to join after Yr 6. Even if he's a genius you need to be doing things the way they do them. And it would be brutal to throw someone into a Yr 7 scholarship form. (Unless he's simply transferring from a similar school for not too disruptive reasons....)

And unless he's a genius, I would say, going from a state school, CE is certainly do-able but scholarship? Remember most prep school kids who are being prepared for it do not get scholarships to these three schools. Preps themselves acknowledge the vast chasm between the two exams. To do it outside a prep would require either a worryingly high level of compliance (oh!) or an exceptional level of drive in the boy himself.

But no/few/little bursaries for non scholars at Harrow which is a bit of a shame.

OP I think you're right about Harrow it's probably has a much broader intake. The ones from my DS's prep who went there ranged from the very bright (although I hesitate to say nerdy) through to those who failed to get a place at Eton and then those who were advised to not even try for Eton (not considered brought enough) but who are now very happy at Harrow. Something for every boy perhaps?

I agree Something most parents when looking at the three school favour two out of the three.
"Chameleon's" are probably going to struggle at boarding school, full boarding in particular is as Something says is exceedingly demanding and challenging especially to a teenager not used to it. IME those who truly thrive are the ones who can be themselves and not feel they have to change to become like everyone else or fit the box.

Supposed to be learning about state school children getting into these three schools, and other things, not learning about my son's interests and personality.

This is interesting. For so many reasons. Most people I know who are going along this route would have a strong preference for two (any two) of these schools and feel that at least one simply wouldn't be right for their particular child. You say your child is a chameleon - but surely by 13 he will have a fairly well defined personality - with strong likes and dislikes? Most importantly - I would have said that for any boy, but perhaps even more for one coming from a state school, interests and personality are exactly what distinguishes one extra-clever boy from another.

For any 13 year old boy starting at a full on, full boarding school is a pretty unusual and demanding challenge. If they've gone to a boarding prep they at least have some idea of what to expect - and even then a fair proportion might struggle. But it takes a very particular child to manage that straight from a day school and even more from a state school. Personality is key - both to convincing schools that one could cope, and to actually living with the reality.