Harrow School or Fettes?

I am sure Harrow is a fabulous school as are many of these public schools, most offer a lot of fabulous extra-curricular stuff. Fettes offers it all too. I have no animus against it whatsoever. Seems like a strange issue to get so worked up about, if OP likes it then great but she should go and look rather than consulting strangers on t'internet.

@ChristinaAlber You do not know any Harrow boys though, do you? Many of DDs friends that went there had followed family members. None seemed less bright to me! The dads were all very high achieving in their fields. The boys who won scholarships were phenomenal. The vast majority never looked at Eton. Simply doesn’t happen for the majority. These people seem very happy with their choice and the outcomes for their boys. I’ve been impressed by Harrow boys being encouraged to be musical, do drama and art. To explore what makes them tick. To some extent this is the mark of a great school. Celebrating all areas of achievement. People who only think of academics miss the point of Harrow. (And probably Fettes). Academics are a big part of the picture but provision for and encouragement of additional interests, inspirational teachers and speakers plus great pastoral care are all important too.

Tim, nice but dim is a comedy character who represents a lot of English public school boys, extremely good manners and pleasant but not very bright.

If you google the phrase you’ll find lots of examples.

To those getting upset by this description, I said “probably unfairly”, I know that lots of clever boys go to Harrow but in my opinion, it is often seen as the school you go to if you’re not clever enough to get into Eton. which many people also think (wrongly) is full of thick posh boys. I am sure it is still a very good school and as I say I have some lovely friends we went there who are not at all dim, though not academic either. And I am totally prepared to believe that Fettes has the same reputation north of the border.

OP, I agree with others that you should really be visiting these schools in deciding which one you like the feel of best – taking advice from strangers (possibly with hidden agendas) is not a great idea for such a big choice

@ChristinaAlber ironically, DH went to school in Edinburgh and says that in Scotland that is the exact reputation that Fettes has! Rich, but stupid, is how he put it. The very academic kids in Scotland are certainly not going there.

@ChristinaAlber That is such out of date rubbish about Harrow. There might be the odd underachiever but very many go to great unis and have careers doing what they wanted. I’ve met some very academic boys from there. It has no such reputation for bits being “dim”. In this day and age you would not get in! I think Harrow does have a bigger name but it lives up to it.

"so at least kids that put in the effort with proper teaching support should end up in good universities,"

To be honest, this applies to any school-not sure it needs to be on your list of priorities.

In terms of "brand visibility", everyone, not just in the UK but internationally, will have heard of Harrow. Fairly or not fairly, the same doesn't apply to Fettes.

Op this is a really big decision - you and your son need to come over and visit half a dozen places, you’ll get a tour from the kids, to meet some teachers, get a proper feel for the place. Then you can ask more detailed questions when have narrowed it down to two or three. if you really really can’t visit, look at the good schools guide and a few other sites. Right now it seems you’ve barely done any research - I do think you might live to regret it.

Around north london you can look at Stowe and Rugby and (second division but still well known) Haileybury, as well as Harrow.

Other than how many boarders they have at the weekend and what do they do, ask who your child can go to if they are in trouble, and who the school wouldn’t suit (any head who isn’t willing to answer the last question quickly and honestly isn’t confident in their school)

As to your question about networks, I don’t think there’s much in it. Harrow hasn’t remained super fancy the way Eton and Winchester have, it’s pretty much in the general well known public school rank.

Personally I'd say Fettes would tick those boxes - a good student there will end up at a good university. The same is true of Harrow but you seem to prefe Scotland. Some would say Harrow has more of a 'brand', I'd argue it also has a 'nice but dim' brand (probably unfairly) so it works both ways. I am biased because I prefer co-ed and have friends who went to Harrow who didnt like it but others here are fans, only you can choose obviously ...

If you are Chinese, I’d say Fettes as they have a very large Chinese contingent.

Fettes isn’t overly academic though, so that might be a consideration.

@Jpickin if you are looking for full boarding then choose Harrow. I know both schools really well and Fettes is not full boarding. Lots of Edinburgh day pupils at Fettes. Harrow boys are only home for exeats and Holidays so they can really build a community in each house. DS is a Harrovian and like What @TizerorFizz says, my DS and all of his friendship group from school were and still are lovely guys and contrary to popular opinion on MN they all got into excellent Unis and are really all rather bright!!!

If you're looking for a Scottish equivalent of Harrow in terms of single sex education, Merchiston Castle School is all boys, big boarding contingent and close to both the city centre and the airport.

Why have you narrowed it down to those two in particular?

Harrow will have more international kudos if that's important to you.

@Jpickin I rather suspect all
of DDs friends who went there would love DC to go there and their families have used it for a couple of generations. So not first time buyers. Harrow has the huge advantage of being near London and everything on offer there. Boys seemed to really enjoy the school and work hard. DDs friends all went to prestigious unis and have a variety of careers. Some were on scholarships and others not. I cannot see why you wouldn’t want it plus it’s not a huge school. Change for co Ed if you must at 6th form. Some do.

Does your ds want co-ed or all boys? I'd say it mainly came down to that. I know some nice people who went to both schools, some of the Harrow lot didn't love the all-male atmosphere and none of them sent their own sons to Harrow, preferring co-ed for them.

Why don't you focus on airport access, guardian for exeats, half term etc, these care issues matter as much as the teaching etc.

Harrow isn't that academic is it? Has a reputation for producing thugs.

Harrow takes a few who are not necessarily top academics but one of DDs friends got 5 A levels there and went to Oxford. Some very bright boys go there on scholarships too. It’s a school with something for all sorts of boys. I cannot comment on Fettes. However Harrow is very special.

Academically, Harrow does not belong to the top indepedent school category either, not much difference to Fettes.