Winchester college entrance

Does anyone have any help re Winchester interview,please?

@Holland45 Everything is going well for us, thanks. My DS will be going to Cook's this September too. Good luck for the up coming exams !

Hi there so sorry i haven't logged in for a while. We paid the initial deposit for Charterhouse but a month back declined the school and are going for WC. @Beyondthesea123 , my son will be going to Furleys from September 2021. I really hope everything is going well for you.

Sorry for miss typing
Thank you @daycakesnightcakes and @SomethingInTheWaySheCooks.
It would be great if you could Kindly keep us update on a feedback during an information sessions.

Thank you @daycakesnightcakes and @SomethingInTheWaySheCooks.
It would be great off you could Kindly keep us update on a feedback during an information sessions?

All our boys have gone to the school near Heathrow..but I know a fair few parents and indeed prospective parents at Win and not one of them is happy,they feel that they have bought something that is being fundamentally changed without them being consulted,like you I dont get the reasoning,the people that wanted single sex and the special atmosphere of Win arent going to be happy,its not going to be truly coed for several years,so if thats what you want there are many co ed schools already and taking in day pupils totally changes the atmosphere of the school and what can and cant be done..where are these day pupils coming from and where would they be if it they werent going to Win..it all seems very odd and if i was a present or prospective parent then id be thinking carefully about my options.

Thank you @Beyondthesea123 and @SomethingInTheWaySheCooks. As an incoming parent, I still don't quite understand. My DS has his WinColl place, a place at a co-ed Home Counties public school (where they’ve been taking girls into the 6th form since the 70s), and is on the waiting list for a full-boarding boys school near Heathrow. We loved the smaller, nurturing environment of WinColl, the personalised admissions process, a great housemaster-to-be, and it was my DS’s clear first choice so we weren’t bothered about being on the waiting list for the other boys’ school (which is undoubtedly exceptional but is potentially more problematic perception-wise). He wasn’t keen on the co-ed school for many reasons (but we needed a back-up) but did like the other boys school where he's on the waiting list. I am now trying to work out whether what we bought into by accepting the WinColl place has materially changed. Regarding the introduction of girls in order to stay relevant, I’m just not convinced. If you look at this www.best-schools.co.uk/uk-school-league-tables/list-of-league-tables/top-100-schools-by-gcse as a very rough guide, the best performing schools (independent, state) are overwhelmingly single sex – WinColl is absolutely NOT an outlier being boys only. Are Wellington/Charterhouse/Brighton really eating into their pool of applicants? I doubt it - I would venture that WinColl has never seen them as competition. I have a DD too but don’t want to shoehorn DS into a school that he’s not wild about (not to mention the huge expense) for the sake of my convenience. So I remain sceptical about co-ed being necessary for WinColl to secure the best applicants, (though I have no issue with girls). The admission of day pupils is much harder for me to understand. Winchester is already lucky enough to have a stellar sixth form college with an outstanding Oxbridge record (and no perceived public school stigma or school fees attached) – in short, a great, free, day option. St Swithun’s is a very successful, predominantly day, girls’ school a mile away. I don’t see a natural local day pupil market unless you are tempting London families down (but by 16 at sixth form boarding is much less of a big deal) as local families are so well catered for. Day children do change the culture of a full boarding school, and I am not sure how Saturday night Div works with day pupils, unless that ends too. I got the impression from WinColl a few years ago that they didn’t even see the other boys’ full boarding school as competition, so I am just very confused and can't square this. It's a big investment over five years, we don't know other prospective parents so would love to hear other thoughts.

I am a current WinColl parent. The abrupt announcement and new strategic vision has been a shock to most current parents, from what I can gather. It comes about after no general consultation and parents are far from happy at being presented with what feels like a drastic change as a fait accompli. Apparently there will be some information sessions, so it will be very interesting to see how things develop. I already know a few potential parents who are concerned about the move. I absolutely do not think it is coming from a position of financial weakness. The last report showed very robust finances.

I personally think the boarders’ dynamic for year 9-11 will be the same but not for sixth formers.

It is good to hear that Winchester college will be focusing more into innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship but to have day students and girls will make a lot of Wykehamist , old Wykehamist as well as parents who believe solely in single sex education resist and this could decline number of good applicants as well as donations.

Some people said it would be pulling applicants from larger pool but do parents who send their DC to Sevenoaks and Brighton prefer to send their kids to Winchester college?

I would like to hear some view of current parents.

Hello,
I am in a similar position to @Beyondthesea123 @Holland45 , DS going to WinColl. for Y9 but not there yet. I am not sure what to make of the recent announcements and the need for these changes - especially the move to take in day pupils which I imagine changes the dynamic for the boarders (and Sat night Div). I am always happy to read what @happygardening thinks. I don't know any other prospective parents so I thought I might tap into this thread again to hear your thoughts. I don't think it changes things for us , but I'd like to think the changes were coming from a position of strength. Thanks

Justleftwincoll, I sent you a PM, but mumsnet said you were unable to receive messages.

We have also chosen Winchester college as our first choice and Charterhouse as back up since we paid hefty deposit anyway.

I will see if my DS can cope with academic pressure or not, he might ended up seeking more football or co-ed education at Charterhouse in the last minutes.

He is studying online and abit too relax at the moment, his school expected him to do election and it is not an easy task, many of his friends in school are going to Winchester and only one to Charterhouse.

Holland45, which house is your son going?

Hi there we have chosen winchester as our first choice ane Charterhouse as back up. Its just so expensive to pay these amounts but we didnt want to risk it. I adore WC .

Also I would be really interested to hear whether your boys chose WinColl or Chouse. I can see the merits of both.
Thanks!

Sorry to resurrect a year-old thread. I am in exactly the same position one year on, but now Chouse want GBP14k in 2020 as an overseas deposit rather than 6.5k as per Holland45 in 2019. W are asking for GBP500 only.
We are in the process of moving back home to the UK from Asia and actually can't find 14k gbp right now. If you have any advice I would be grateful!
Warm regards!

thanks so much. I did meet the Hesd if admissions however I haven't gone for a visit yet to the school. I love Winchester College as well so hoping for the best ! Best of luck !!

I am in the same situation and paid for that hefty deposit already. I will wait for result from Winchester by the end of May then over the year I will figure out where is good for him. Charterhouse is changing for the better now and it might be more relax ( in term of academic) than Winchester however people there might be abit rough and tough. Good to keep the option open.

to

we spoke you Charterhouse and as we are in between London and abroad gbey agreed to charge us 1000 instead of 6500. thank you for all your help and advice !!!

We had to pay a deposit of £1000 to a school (not Chouse) when DS was on the Eton waiting list. We asked ourselves would we pay £1000 to get him into Eton? Answer yes! Not sure we would have risked £6500 though, are you sure it's that much?

DS did get into Eton, and we were pleasantly surprised to get a cheque for the £1000 from the school. We had not expected it.

Holland45 what year is your son in? Are you talking about pre-test offers or actual offer of place at year 8? At the actual offer time, you are asked to pay a terms fees so I'm not sure what the £1000 is about unless it is a deposit in year 6 after passing the pre-test. If you are being asked to pay an amount that is not standard, why would t you ask them why?

talktoo sorry I should have explained that in their prospectus it says that GBP 1000 needs to be paid in advance a safe deposit but for us they asked much more which I found very unusual.

Holland45 it's a pretty straightforward situation that many people face. As you say, you either pay CH and lose the deposit if you get an offer from Wincol or you give up your place at CH and hope Wincol offers. No one can tell you what to do. It depends on your financial situation .

my son has just received an offer from Charterhouse and is waiting for his first choice Winchester College which should be in May. Charterhouse has asked for a deposit of 6500 GBP by the end of April
what would one do in this situation ? Pay the hefty deposit and wait for Winchester college 's response and be prepared to lose it if he gets accepted into Wincoll? Surely there must be other parents facing the same dilemma. I would be most grateful for your feedback and advice

Yes . DH went to Win Coll but not sure his advice based on what the interview was like 40 years ago is very reliable!