Any positive experiences of Winchester College?

I see @Beyondthesea123 , you said above they had 38 offers. My friend's DS was in that year so I know that some boys missed their university offers this year.

They weren't aware of any boy turning down an Ivy league university, it would be highly unusual for Winchester not to mention that. Boys in that year group would also know if a housemate received an offer to an Ivy league.The early action places at Ivy league universities need to be confirmed in May, I don't think anyone who applies turns it down to wait for A level results.They are usually the first choice of those who apply due to the long application process.

Girls at my DD's school (including DD) are waiting to hear at the moment, the results for early action will be out within the next few weeks.

Not all 31 pupils who got offers from Oxbridge has to go in 2023, 24 went and 7 defer their entries ( I guess you did not read details but just look at the charts briefly).

22% of the year group are taking a gap year that is more than 30 pupils, some of those defer their entries to Oxbridge and other universities in and out of UK. There are also some pupils that I know who got offer from Ivy League universities but decide to go to LSE, Imperial , UCL or doing medicine at other universities instead. There are also 2-3% of the pupils who did not update school at all what they are doing, they might go to university or trying to start their own businesses ( those people are in other categories in the chart)

@Thankyouforthemusical please read all the information carefully before making comments.

If you look at the charts on https://www.winchestercollege.org/learning/exam-results-and-universities

22% are taking a gap year. And if you read all the lines, there is 31 Oxbridge offer that are accepted.

I'm not sure where @Beyondthesea123 gets her information from? 24 to Oxbridge and 3 to Ivy League universities, did that many miss their offers?

DS left this year so I have no insight into the new headmaster, I don't think it will make that much difference. It would be interesting to know how she supported the boys who missed their offers this year. Lots of over predicted grades, DS could see this coming a mile off. The parents who use tutors got a better picture and could act accordingly. I have no idea how resits work but I imagine it's very difficult.

US universities were very disappointing, they seem to be more interested in getting boys to sign up the their SAT's course than supporting their University applications.

It's definitely more intentional, I don't think that it's the first choice of British parents these days.
Pastoral care is very poor and I do feel sorry for boys who are so far from home. Many need so much more support than they get. DS doesn't miss the cold or the bad food. Facilities at other schools are much better today, DS says it felt very grim at times.

It may prove popular with day pupils at 6th form. Winchester must have been concerned about their numbers , the school needs updating but they will never dig into their very deep reserves. Other schools offer so much more these days, pastoral care, teaching and support with university are top notch at most boarding school now , Winchester is an outlier in that respect.

I was just wondering if anybody has any feedback on the new Headmaster - is it strange that she is called a Headmaster when she is female or am I reading too much into this. Also how the girls are getting on and settling in and is it true it has become even more international in recent years? Not that this would not be positive….Thank you.

Another happy Wincoll parent here. Negativity that you see is likely coming from tiger mums on the waiting like, who tend to come out in packs during those days😉 My DS is in College and says the food is amazing, but that may just be a reflection on my cooking😎

My DS has amazing time at the school. Winchester is heading in a good direction. Plenty of opportunities in term of personal development. My DS and his friends set up their own society recently (despite not being in the 6th form) , teacher gave them a great support. Pupils here can choose to be themselves without any peer pressures. There is no discrimination against musicians or pupils who do minority sports.

My DS is very sporty and before coming to Winchester we were worried about the sport reputation here. However this year their 1st football team did very well ( drew against Harrow and beat Charterhouse who eventually became ISFA CUp finalist) and their 1st Cricket team did brilliantly, they beat Harrow and Eton in school matches but lost to Bradfield in the T20 Regional Final ( they beat Bradfield earlier in the season but lost in the cup). The 1st Tennis team is so far unbeaten this season.
Not just the first team that did well but they became strong in all the years group in most of the sport.

Oxbridge places were dropped in recent years but in 2023 there are 38 Oxbridge offers (27-30%) and around another 10 will go to Ivy leagues and other top universities around the world.

What are the downside? If I have to say the food could have improved and facilities could have been more up to date. There are also many quirky children which may need alot of understanding from their friends, at the end they get on well and celebrate the differences.

I have several friends with DC at Winchester. They are happy with the school. In every school, there will be some dissatisfied parents. I suspect parents of DC getting into Winchester are probably the critical thinking types… so perhaps more negative posts.
Never choose a school based on Mumsnet or the press etc. Go see for yourself. It is a lot of money to spend. If you are not sure, ask to speak to the housemaster and registrar again etc. etc. I am sure they would be happy to help and reassure you.
Either way it is very important that you have a good working rapport with a housemaster if your DC is going to board.

A Mr Sunak was a pupil there.