The big Eton, Harrow, Radley, Winchester question...

Thanks Indrid for reminding me about the Eton Referendum poll. Got to say it was a poll not amongst the boys only, but also amongst the masters, general staff and the entire Eton community. The result surprised me too.

As for me . . . my mind was made up a long time ago.

”I'm staggered that peteneras is slinging around accusations of criminal libel with so little foundation and without bothering to check what on earth s/he is talking about. If that's a demonstration of what Eton produces, no thanks.”

Seems to me, JudyCoolibar, that you’d do yourself a power of good by taking your own advice, i.e. do bother to check what on earth you’re talking about so as to have just a little bit of foundation!

Perhaps, read more widely like, e.g. this interview that I read some four years ago,
‘The world according to two old friends’ between the former German Chancellor, Helmut Schmidt, no less, and the other, a brilliant man with exceptional vision, someone I’ve admired since my childhood days, Lee Kuan Yew.

Quote:
LKY: ”I think Europeans are mentally far developed, as a consequence of two world wars. They were witnesses of pointless feuds and hostilities, hope and ambitious plans, that have led to nothing but tragedies. Napoleon tried to unify Europe, later Hitler did as well.”

Didn’t that OE, Bojo, said something similar during the recent Referendum campaign re Hitler?

German newspaper Die Zeit: ”Especially against this backdrop: Is the European Union that we have today not a great achievement and an inspiration for other regions in the world, despite all its flaws?”

LKY: ”No, I do not view the European Union as an inspiration for the world. I view it as an enterprise that was conceived wrongly because it was expanded too fast and it will probably fail.”

It will probably fail?

Well, Nigel Farage will tell you, it’s dying!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
”If that's a demonstration of what Eton produces, no thanks.”

Believe me, Eton produces more types than you can ever imagine, be it Oscar winner, Nobel Laureate, Archbishop, Prime Ministers, Multiple Olympic Gold Medallist . . . well to be honest, the list is too long to mention here. Absolutely nowhere near this list that the other 3 schools on this thread can come near to.

He is completely out of touch with the Man on the street, for a variety of reasons, I doubt having attending a school like Eton 30+ years ago gave you much insight into the lives worries and opinions of the working proletariat.

Fair point Indrid, 'education' is not restricted to a person's school. However a certain poster uses OEs in prominent positions as emblematic of the desirability of the school, that logic works both ways. I feel parents should not use those views to guide their school choice.

I think that DCs political misjudgements could more realistically be laid at the feet of his political educators at Oxford. Just saying!

Cameron is clearly at fault for agreeing to the vote and I'm no fan by any stretch of the imagination but I very much doubt that being an old Etonian has anything to with it. He just completely misjudged the mood of man on the Clapham omnibus who's worried about immigration, stirred up by the likes of the DM and economically illiterate.
A complete tragedy.

Indrid I know that Peteneras has a unique glorified view of Eton and its auminis' contributions to the UK but many posters reading this board may take his views as typical.
BTW I am not commenting on the political stance of present Etonians but the responsibility for incompetence and misdirection for two 'powerful' OEs. I have ranted enough now.

The blame has to be laid squarely at the feet of an old Etonian who did not need to call a referendum.. That act is what has caused this havoc. All parties are responsible for ignoring great chunks of our society but that decision to appease the right in his party led us to where we are today.

summer I'm sorry, but you are sounding as unhinged as Peteneras! He has a very strange special feeling towards Eton, shared by no other Etonian parent, or Etonian, that I have ever met.

You may be interested to know that the poll held within the school this half resulted in a resounding vote for Remain, at 65%, significantly higher than in the country as a whole.

IMO the havoc has been caused by the failure of the Labour Party to get to grips with their voters, and explain to them that Brexit is not going to have any effect on immigration whatsoever!

Good grief, I came on this board to get away from the inanities on this subject which abound on the other boards. This may well be the thing that is finally going to wean me off MN for good actually. So if you don't see me around, you'll know I'm in the garden, instead of wasting time on my iPad.

I'm staggered that peteneras is slinging around accusations of criminal libel with so little foundation and without bothering to check what on earth s/he is talking about. If that's a demonstration of what Eton produces, no thanks.

Peteneras I do owe you an apology; I misspelt your username. Otherwise you are reinforcing what I said previously - Sorry but I am cross and past posts like that one and others of Peteneras just encapsulate the attitudes I would most want my DCs to avoid however desirable a school..
Poor communication and the trap of delusion are IMO other critical characteristics to avoid.
Happygardening is quite right, Eton overall as an institution can't be blamed for the consequences of the two sides of the EU campaign but those consequences are a lesson for those who regard political power per se as an emblem for the reputation of that school.

I’m glad you’ve admitted it’s incomprehensible - to you.

I promise there’s no hidden code in the message. It’s written in plain simple English. Try reading it again.

I've read your message. It is incomprehensible.

Maybe there is a code that is given to parents of Eton students but the rest of rely on simple declarative sentences for communication. Could you give that a try?

Read my message. What is "right from the very onset"?

That JT pic was taken in the early 1970s. Does it look like a scene from Eurovision?

Or does it look like a snap taken 36 hours ago when Brexit was declared?

Or do you think those guys are at an EU conference - a term that didn’t exist until two decades later?

One wonders if this half-century “mess” could all have been avoided if it was handled right from the very onset by that OE (bottom-left of top picture) instead of the grey-suited grammar schoolboy at the centre?

What do you even mean by this? Why the cryptic links? Who would have been better at dealing with ... what? Should Jeremy Thorpe have handled the EU? the Eurovision? The brexit? What?

Why don't you say what you mean in plain English without links to wikipedia?

” I am afraid with recent events that is not a ringing endorsement for Eton. Two OEs have messed up the UK between them.”

Either you are supremely ignorant, sendsummer, or your knowledge of British history is absolutely zilch in order for you to make this kind of comment which is not too far short of criminal slander/libel. I reckon you owe the two OE’s and the great School at Windsor all of whom you’ve defamed, an apology, after you’ve educated yourself with this short article.

One wonders if this half-century “mess” could all have been avoided if it was handled right from the very onset by that OE (bottom-left of top picture) instead of the grey-suited grammar schoolboy at the centre?

The UK needs good politicians but not of this sort.
Indrid I am afraid that I cannot see how the Eton and Etonian characteristics that Peterenas portrays would in any way counterbalance developing that sort of ambition and arrogance.
I know that there are loads of 'normal' OEs but it does n't take many of the other sort to cause havoc.

As everyone knows lover of Eton me but I don't think we can blame it for today's disaster!

The overwhelming majority of OEs steer well clear of politics (very wisely IMO).

To be fair to Eton, having watched the documentary about Boris a few years ago, I think he might have been even worse if he hadn't gone there .

Well, that may or may not be so, OEs end up working for OHs, but what’s for sure is that all alumni from any school you care to name, end up ultimately working under the direction of that OE at No. 10! grin

I am afraid with recent events that is not a ringing endorsement for Eton. Two OEs have messed up the UK between them. One by being out of touch of the reality and worries of people's lives outside his gilded bubble and assuming too much, the other using his undoubted abilities to misdirect people for political means.
I hope that present Etonians will learn something from this but I fear not. Sorry but I am cross and past posts like that one and others of Peterenas just encapsulate the attitudes I would most want my DCs to avoid however desirable a school.

Quio totally agree that the most important aspect is that the school is a good fit for the boy. The Winchester boys I know felt like they'd come home when they toured the school. My boys felt the same about their day school. I couldn't drag them away from it whereas everywhere else they just headed for the cakes and look at their watches.

I think you will find many Eton parents who would acknowledge that Harrow and Eton are on a par, I know at least one family who have a son at each.

notagiraffe I don't think you will find that Harrow is too far behind Eton academically these days with the full effect of the new head there now beginning to come through. Winchester is obviously an excellent school and the most academic of the bunch however as has been said before the overall results are not the best metric of which school is best for one's DS. The school and everything it represents must suit your boy's character - this is why we chose H over E. Yes, E is also an excellent school ( before we get a few people shrieking on here over the Eton uber alles , as they say in Germany) and coming from an H advocate that's refreshing. So if nothing else as prospective parent must spend significant time at the schools being considered in order to get a true feel - schools change and the changes can be subtle yet profound.

worcestersauce thank you for the grammar lesson. I have never held myself up as an expert on either spelling or grammar as I have very signifucant dyslexia and make numerous spelling and grammatical errors. I frequently have to change words because the spell check can't recognise what I'm writing or look up spellings etc.My spelling and grammar was heavily criticised at school and its only now that I'm old, fat and grey that I no longer care what others think about it and I've developed the confidence to write on forums like this.
This is a usually a friendly informal section of MN where people opinions are genuinely sought not a spelling grammar test.