Winchester college boy?

[CatherineNichols]

Hi all,
I keep hearing on many of these groups that your child has to be the right kind of child to enjoy Winchester or words such as quirky or they produce a certain type of boy. Can someone explain more as I have heard it is very academic but don't understand what these comments mean?

Does that still apply now that it's gone co-ed?

I have a Ds at Wincoll and there are many different types of child there. The one thing they tend to have in common is their intelligence. In general, they are a bunch of very clever, motivated and curious boys. If that’s quirky, then that’s what they are!

I know two lads who went to Winchester. One on a full scholarship (now finishing up Maths at Durham), the other leaving this year.
I'd definitely say both were on the eccentric side, one very much so. Both 'loved' it, as much as one can love school!
That's not to say all are! But maybe it's a school that is more welcoming of those who walk to the beat of their own drum. I don't think having girls will have changed that.

I was also confused by this word at the time. Wincoll boys walk and talk like intellectuals, the kind you typically meet at a university. Not many bulky rugby types, more the type you would love to invite for dinner to have a good chat. Some associate that with quirky I guess !

Thank you everyone that definitely gives me a bit more of an idea on the type of child that would strive at the school. Thank you

Just discuss this with my boy and some of his friends. Winchester is a unique place where boys ( and now there are girls too so I will refer to them from now on as kids) can be themselves without getting discriminate. Kids belong to different group of friends according to their interest. Since sports are not compulsory some kids can put more of their time into the thing they like such as music or debating.

However sports are getting more popular here so if your kids are sporty Winchester is also fantastic. The current 1st XI cricket team is so far unbeaten against other British schools ( but lost to Christ College NZ ) this season (https://sportsfixtures.winchestercollege.org/webapp/fixtures.aspx?id=3441&TID=1332176&SID=9&s=20222023).

The recent 1st XI football team was also doing very well (https://sportsfixtures.winchestercollege.org/webapp/fixtures.aspx?id=3441&TID=1230914&SID=26&s=20222023)
Suddenly it is becoming a sporty school.

Winchester is a very house centric place and there are some boys/girls who prefer to just hanging around with people in their own house and being introvert is fine here.

The sports aspect is interesting. Winchester started offering sports scholarships a few years ago. Although the usual sports aren’t enforced, there are plenty who seek them out and others who have the freedom to choose their own ones. Ds has never been a keen team sports player, but will soon finish Winchester with three black belts in different martial arts, having never tried any before he started there.

It is actually very easy to lend a school a ‘sports pedigree’. Simply accept your chosen best XV and XI to sixth form, irrespective of their academic excellence/performance. Senior schools known for sports have been doing that for decades. Slightly misleading, borderline dishonest? Maybe. But if that’s what fee paying parents want, then so be it.

Winchester College has done well this year, the school is back on track with 38 Oxbridge offers in 2023 ( around at 26-30% of the year group, still unpublished ) and 10 % will go to Ivy league or equivalent in the US. The new Headmistress which will start her headship this coming September has a big plan for the school.

What is her big plan @Beyondthesea123? DS has finished at Winchester but I would be interested to know. I think they are finding it hard to sell the school as a first choice these days so she will have her work cut out.

@Thisthatandyetanother As you possibly known that many parents were put off went Winchester turned Co-Ed so many of traditional parents turned to Eton, Radley and Harrow instead. However it still draws the introverted kid crowd and since it is becoming more sporty, many more sporty kids are coming here ( both scholarship and non scholarship). Actually application per places has increased.
The new headmistress used to teach at the school so she would like to turn school into what it used to be intellectual wise but with more 21st Century skill so the school will produce more entrepreneur not just producing diplomat, politician or financier. In term of facilities, there will be more development plans.

@Beyondthesea123 Morale was pretty low before the decision to introduce a co-ed 6th form. I know parents were very unhappy about the introduction of day students as it completely changes the dynamics of a school. The announcement was very badly handled but that’s not unusual for Winchester.

DS is not an introvert but I think it attracts parents who think their DS’s are. This is unwise as the school doesn’t work on their people skills. DS thinks many will struggle to succeed in the real world, there are some very confident boys but they are the minority. This is something the school will need to work on, along with a complete overhaul of pastoral care. Transparency and openness will be very important if changes are to be make. Advice on university application will also have to improve as its practically non existent, many boys are now using outside agencies. This shouldn’t be necessary but needs must.

To be made not make.

Limited support on uni applications is indeed an issue, which needs to be addressed. For the rest, I am not so sure. Wykehamists do come across as kinder and more thoughtful than most teens at other schools, but I never had the impression that they lack in confidence. Quite the contrary, I think they are very much aware of their environment and in some ways more mature than the party going ra-ra-ra crowd.

I think you would find it’s not the case if your DS had attended Winchester @WEEonline.

University application support is indeed very poor therefore boys and their families look outside the school. Pastoral care is particularly weak ,we were unaware of this before DS joined as we new to the system. I think the culture of cover up will need to addressed ,it’s not healthy for anyone.

Being an introvert doesn’t mean a boy is kind , it’s often quite the opposite.
I don’t think that @Beyondthesea123 description
“However it still draws the introverted kid crowd” is going to have parents flocking. We wouldn’t chose Winchester again for DS although we delighted when he received an offer. We expected far more from the school / house.

@Thisthatandyetanother @WEEonline
I agree with Weeonline that Wykemists are not lack of confidence, in fact they are very confidence but they just speak less than some others ( my son is however talk a lot and very opinionated even compare to an Etonian). They choose to be mature and only speak when they are really interested in certain topics. They are also a good listener. The old Wykemists are very successful so it is abit unfair to say they will struggle in the real world.

The school is back in term of Oxbridge offers while pupils are being more rounded ( looking pretty happy too) so I think they are heading in a right direction.

Words do matter, they bring gravitas, and a Wykehamists knows this. When they speak, they also lead a message.
Blabbering endlessly is neither an attractive trait, nor an indication of intelligence in a high office, whether in the public or private sector.

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