WinColl to Eton for 6th form

[Floreathlon]

Has anyone done it before? The schools are similar enough to make for an easy transfer.

Agree with @Beyondthesea123 and @FantasticElasticBand well said

Meant kindly OP, but this phrase “It is unlikely that the time eater Fortnite or the dementor Discord will prepare anyone for life in the real world with other human beings.” Is wildly out of touch

How kids think and relate is informed by their online world, you can’t avoid the fact. And life in the real world with other human beings is already very heavily online /IT-influenced and increasingly appears likely AI will take on a big role in our future.

So send your child somewhere where he can socialise with teens, that’s a good plan. But try and think ahead, and don’t try to recreate your own golden days at Mallory Towers for him.

I don't wish to continue to engage @Floreathlon. It may surprise you but many boys have no interest whatsoever in gaming, my DS is not that unusual in that.Winchester and indeed any boarding school will be the wrong place for your DS if he is addicted to gaming at such a young age. It will be better if he is under your supervision.

Reading your posts I wonder if you are posting on behalf of the school. I believe that I have touched a nerve.

@Ophelia21 There were some comments against Winchester College from a first time registered users that claimed to be parents of a current pupils in some of the posts. All of those comments have one thing in common; lack of inside knowledge of the school.

It is a fundamental knowledge within the school
that during Ekker, all students have to leave the house and do some type of activities.

I have five years of inside knowledge as you call it of the school @Beyondthesea123.You will know that plenty of boys do very little Ekker while others do lots. Some housemasters are very lax.

My main point for not recommending the school was first and foremost the poor pastoral care and the culture of cover up.

@Ophelia21 could you give some specific examples of things that were covered up when your son was there?

Not on public forum @Ziegfeld.

Please DM me

I have nothing invested in this school - don’t work there, don’t know anyone who does, didn’t go there myself, don’t have kids who attend/ed.

But I find this kind of throwing shade really frustrating. How are dire but ultra vague warnings helpful to any prospective parent reading this?

If you have a well founded concern, then explain it. If you have evidence to back it up and you are no longer a parent then what are you afraid of? And have you written to the school governing body if you have genuine safeguarding concerns? And if so, what did they say?

If you don’t have any concrete concerns that you are able or willing to share with anyone then probably best for everyone’s sake to shut up on MN.

My son is currently at Winchester and is having the time of his life there.

I myself was a boarder at a different school 30+ years ago and certainly had a great time there myself.

We too had to choose between Eton and Wincoll and the large dorms instead of single rooms + house dining were two of the main deciding factors for us. I certainly believe in this day and age, if left to their own devices (pun intended), a few could retreat into their own shells.

One or two of my son's dorm mates do spend quite a lot of time on games and discord but it is by no means pervasive. There is just so much to do and not everyone is into gaming.

I've never really considered pastoral care an important factor in school choice. I've been through the experience myself and to me boys are boys and should be encouraged to fend for/take care of themselves. Only the overly protected would need any "pastoral care", most people get on with it. There is one student in my son's year group who is perhaps on the Autism spectrum that might need a bit more "care" and I think our housemaster/matron deals with it admirably. There are of course a couple boys that moan and complain all the time, and they are those who get pampered at home and have nit picking parents.

I am most happy with my choice. My son is the intellectual type and is just made for Div lessons and Wincoll life.

It may not be for everyone though, I agree.

Everything else aside, where do you feel your child will be happiest? I think that is far more important than anything else mentioned. Dont overthink it, if a child is happy they are far more likely to achieve their full potential.

Wincoll for happiness, camaraderie and good humour then. Eton for brand recognition and the London circuit.

MN , did you remove an AI post by @PurposefulBear ? It was a nice post, maybe too nice to be human 😉

Wincoll for happiness, camaraderie and good humour then. Eton for brand recognition and the London circuit.

Unless, of course, the boys you know who have just left the latter place valued it for exactly the qualities you ascribe to the former …

Hi Ophelia21, just to say we sent our oldest to a big name boarding school and it is the single biggest regret of my life. The bullying was vile. Most shocking of all was the attitude of the fellow parents, in the main they simply didn’t want to know. Far more interested in the social climbing opportunities on offer.

Next 3 all went to day schools and how I have loved having them home every evening.

We sent DS to Winchester @Louloulouenna so I know exactly where you are coming from. I think @Ophelia21is absolutely right about the culture , DS left after GCSE .It was difficult for him in the house after we made our intentions for 6th form known , their reaction only confirmed that we were making the right decision.

DS went on to a London day school , it was outstanding in every way. DD didn’t board given our experience. I did love having DS at home , I hope your DS is happy now @Louloulouenna. It’s still my biggest regret so I do understand how you feel.

Tbh I'm not sure the environment is favourable at the moment to boys who go to all boys boarding schools. Society regards them as very elite.
I would double check they can't be a day pupil before you send them to boarding school.
On another point I contacted a company re tutoring dc2 for 11+. The company told me they tutor all ages including boys at Eton. Just in the holidays so they can maintain position at the top of their years! What kind of arms race is that. £40k+ on fees and then holidays with tutoring!

You obviously prefer WinColl for your son, I can’t imagine why you would want to change to Eton at 6th form? It sounds a completely bonkers idea.

Either your son will be happy and settled there with friends and won’t want to move, or he will hate it in which case Eton probably won’t do either!

Your son isn’t a pawn in your chess game, send him to the place you think best suits him and let him get on with it.

DS went to Winchester (left 10 years ago) and one thing was very obvious, no school is a good fit for all children. Some children fit more than one school and it is up to the parents to choose which will fit best… that is what the Op is trying to do.

DS went with a very large contingent of boys from Pilgrims and a smaller group went to Eton. He was offered a choice of Schools, including Eton, but most of his tribe were bound for Winchester. It’s not that he disliked the boys going to Eton, he was friendly with them, but they weren’t his people.

As Winchester was a good fit, he had a brilliant time and was “successful “ - happily so. Not everything was perfect. The housemaster, that we had carefully chosen left earlier than expected. The new housemaster was sometimes bemused by DS and DS used to communicate with of housemaster’s wife (who then told the housemaster what to do - an excellent strategy) and other dons attached to the house.

there are some boys who will thrive more at Eton and some at Winchester. Some will thrive at both. One thing I do know is that The schools are a bit like Everton and Liverpool, so boys will not change allegiance once the initial team is picked.

Good luck in choosing