How Many Schools to apply for? 3 or 4?

[Rennypie03]

Hello Mums, how many schools would you advice I should apply to for my dear son? He are applying for 6th form entry from overseas. I want to apply to 2 hothouse schools and 2 good schools. Is that enough? I see some application processes can be stressful, so I want to ease the pressure on my DS

However I am seeing messages that schools like Wincoll, Charterhouse and Harrow are very difficult to get into, now I am wondering if I should apply to 5

I take it this is a different son than the one you are choosing between Kingswood, Teddies and Dulwich for? Do you not want to have them at the same school?

Yes I have 2 boys a year apart and they have different academic strengths. Given they will both be boarders I dont need them to go to the same school. What is your recommendation for number of schools to apply to please?

Going through the registration process for Haileybury for my daughter. She's been at Felsted prep since reception. Please can anyone give me some information about School, teacher experience and the boarding aspect of the school and friendships. Just want to make sure I'm not jumping from frying pan to fire 🔥 if all goes well she'll be starting next year 9 there. Could really do with some advice here.

Many Thanks xx

Confused as to why they can’t go to the same school.
Most boarding schools provide an excellent range of subjects and activities to suit most at all levels.

Have you tried the Kings school Canterbury. Based around Canterbury Cathedral.
Excellent school.

Ps. You can apply to as many as you like.
If you’re worried about them getting in then the more the better.

Thank you for your feedback, I will be visiting Kings Canterbury next week :-)

I was really hoping someone would help answer the question I have on how many schools would you advice I should apply to for my dear son?

Just answered. Our posts crossed paths I think.

However, only you know your kids and their likelihood of getting a place at your favourite choice.

Some may need to go for 10. Some know they’ll get their first choice and only need to go for one.

Its a difficult one to answer as we don’t know your kids.
Mine went to Kings so I can say, if they get the right grades as the entry requirements and they are enthusiastic and involved in extra curriculars like drama, art , sport , music then they’ll have a place ( based on availability )
A kid with just the grades might struggle if they lack extras, but with the threat of the 20% tax who knows.

Thank you so much this is actually very helpful. I thought I was crazy having a shortlist of 8 schools I guess once I visit many in the next 2 weeks, It will be clearer. I do appreciate the feedback, thank you

Personally, I would put them in the same school. Given that you want them to stay in for exeats, at least they will have each other. It will also mean they can share transport to/ from the airport. I'm pretty sure you could find a school with a broad enough offering to suit both.

Agree with same schools.
However.
Depending on the student body few boarders actually go home for Exeats. Ours didn’t.
If a lot of kids live further afield and abroad they stay at school and those that live within a reasonable distance want to stay at school anyway as their friends are.

I actually differ a bit OP from other posters in terms of thinking they should go to the same school. It’s nice if it’s right for both, but I think the first criteria always needs to be what’s right for the individual child. They spend their days navigating the environment and demands as individuals, not as a two for one package.

I think it helps to think in “tiers” when managing applications. For instance if you applied only Eton, Winchester, Westminster it’s almost fair to say you don’t have a back up. Of the schools you have mentioned Winchester is a different league academically, and you likely need back up applications. Harrow and Charterhouse are great for the right child and are competitive but not to the same level at all and could be considered valid bank ups for that. Unless you have strong indications from his school that he will likely achieve these places, I’d go for something a step back from that as well, so you might try Winchester as top tier, Harrow and Charterhouse, then a fourth that would be very achievable for him, just to play it safe. It is quite stressful doing lots of interviews etc so ideally I’d try to structure it so you feel you have covered all bases with four or five at most, including an option from each “tier”: so 1x ambitious, 2x expected, 1 x back up. Does that help?

Going through the registration process for Haileybury for my daughter. She's been at Felsted prep since reception. Please can anyone give me some information about School, teacher experience and the boarding aspect of the school and friendships. Just want to make sure I'm not jumping from frying pan to fire 🔥 if all goes well she'll be starting next year 9 there. Could really do with some advice here.

Many Thanks xx

Just to say that I don't think the same school is always the best choice for every family. We have four kids quite close together in age (three in consecutive year groups, then a few years before number four) and started off with them all at the same school but as they grew we found they had different needs and interests, and they all ended up in different schools. The logistics is tougher but the kids are happier.

If the OP is confident that her DCs would flourish from being at different schools, and the DCs are happy with that, I would not attempt to dissuade her.

Thank you so much. Your guidance was the sort of structure I was looking for. Very helpful and clear. Thank you for taking the time to post your thoughts. I will do this assessment for both boys!!

Thanks everyone. I ended up with my list for both boys :-)

a. Harrow - ambitious
b. CharterHouse - expected
c. Kings Canterbury - expected
d. Bromsgrove - expected
e. St Edwards Oxford- expected
f. Lancing College - back up
G. Kingswood Bath - backup

Glad it was helpful - and fingers crossed!

We have two DC, both sporty and academic.
We considered more than 10 schools. We visited 7.
DC1 sat the entrance exams for 3 (1 v academic, 2 achievable) and was offered places at all 3.
However we decided dc2 would not be suited to the same school so he is going to a different school despite our desire to have them at the same school! He only applied for 1 school which was v academic so it's a relief. It's not a school we considered for DC1.
Someone we know has been turned down by Winchester, waiting to hear back from Eton and harrow and have applied to a non selective school as a backup.

Good luck with any further visits and the applications.
After you’ve made your choices don’t forget to be careful about choosing the right house that suits your dc too.
Look forward to hearing how you get on!

@Iyoma you need to start your thread in the boarding school section. This thread is about the OP's question

Thanks everyone, visits done and I am sure of only 2 schools now, trying to decide back up school :-)

@Rennypie03 This sounds more sensible to me. My personal experience - and what our prep school head always advised - is that applying and going through all the tests/interviews for 3 schools is more than enough. Ideally one ambitious option, one on target and one back up. In practice applying to more than this means your DC ends up spending ridiculous amounts of time going to other schools and misses out on school lessons/matches/family time.

Only if applying to London day schools (I.e. not you) would most people apply for more than 3, this is because of the local market there.

@DishyDad2 thank you. Totally agree with you. I'm really trying to avoid the stress of 101 applications 😀

This is excellent advice. I did the same with my son having learnt a huge error from my daughters experience as I was too tight on the registration fees applying only to two schools! She eventually got her school of choice but she had to wait till the last term of year 8 which was quite nerve racking. With my son I applied to 1xtier 1. 3xtier2 and 2xtier3. Got all his offers and we will now decide on what the best school is for him as he develops and changes wrt to academics and sport. Football and cricket look like his sports and surprisingly he had taken a keen interest in classics over maths which I never would have thought last year.

@Anotherviewing thank you. I will do 4 schools and see where we end up

@Iyomamay i know which school you dd join finally? haileybury? boarding?