Harrow/Eton/Winchester Entry 2027

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Hi all,

Just thought I would start a thread for Entry 2027 for the above.

My DS has had the invite for the Harrow Test in Jan 2025, has anyone heard back for Eton or Winchester?

i appreciate its just a waiting game, but am asking out of curiosity.

Just found this thread, hi! This is interesting ref Eton. Did you hear anything for Harrow/Winchester etc?

Hi there,

No, I have not heard anything for Harrow or Winchester, sorry.

We are at primary school (not a prep) (not local) and both my son and his friend got thru to interview at Winchester

I have no way of knowing either way. I do recall the Registrar saying something similar actually, in between saying boys shouldn’t prepare for the ISEB, and instead should be climbing trees.

Thankyou for your reply. I do recall the same. Climbing the trees 😂

Hi all,

I hope you had an enjoyable and restful holidays.

Just wishing you and your DS best of luck for the interviews.

Fingers crossed for everyone in the same boat!

Hi All,

Just in case anyone’s DS applied to Tonbridge, the results and offers are starting to come.

Has anyone had their Harrow or Eton assessment days yet?

My DS has not yet. End of the month.

Eton, tranche 2 will be assessed in late Feb to early Mar.

We hold an offer and visited Winchester yesterday for an event. It is no doubt a beautiful location and the new sports centre is terrific.

However, the Head seemed disinterested (or off her game on the day) and other teachers weren't particularly friendly either. I get the feeling they are very focused on the admission of girls (hence the appointment of a female Head) and as a mum of a boy joining at 13, I'm not sure it's the right time to be coming to the school, particularly as we have other alternatives on the table. Is it just me being a bit nervous?

My son is at Winchester, we had some reservations but went ahead.Our HM is completely unsuitable for his role, the disinterest you observed is what we have experienced.There is nothing about the school which makes it worth paying the fees,the teaching is patchy at best. Most parents in our house use tutors which cost a fortune and are very difficult to organise.

We won’t be staying past next year.Parents in our house were very disappointed with A level results this year, some subjects make tutoring very difficult when boys are only available on Sunday and during the holidays.

A sports centre which is open to the public every day as a gym is not worth paying £60k pa. They are offering both gym membership and pay as you go. Winchester falls very short of being a home away from home.

Daylesford's experience of Winchester sounds very disappointing and I have every respect for the negative view they have formed of the school as a result; but without any wish to dismiss others' opinions, I wanted to give an alternative experience.

We have, on the whole, been very pleased with Winchester. DS knows of a few boys who are tutored, but it isn't widespread amongst his immediate cohort. DS wasn't tutored for entry, isn't tutored now, and is achieving excellent academic results without feeling under particular pressure. Apart from one exception, all his dons have been at least good, and some are truly outstanding. In his first year, we were impressed at the first set of parent-teacher meetings by how well all the staff seemed to know him after less than a term. We have also seen first-hand how DS's extracurricular activities have been supported and encouraged by staff, and how much his contributions are valued.

I've never spoken personally with the current Head, but when addressing parents at school events and in update videos she always seems very grounded and sensible. Watching her interact with pupils, it is evident that she gets to know the students; DS says that she knows him by name and remembers events he has been involved in (and he is a fairly "ordinary" pupil). I don't get the sense from school communications that there is a disproportionate focus on female pupils, but DS isn't yet in sixth form so I don't know whether this may change further up the school.

My impression is that communication with parents by house staff and senior leadership has improved since DS first started, and this appears to have occurred in response to feedback from parents. We have found pastoral care to be fine, though I'm conscious that we haven't really had to test the system on that front as DS hasn't experienced any issues requiring particular pastoral support.

It isn't a perfect school. We would have appreciated more consultation and communication over final GCSE allocations when first-choice options weren't available, for example. But Winchester is suiting our slightly quirky, laid-back DS who dislikes cliquey social politics, enjoys getting stuck in to a range of extracurricular activities, loves having interesting conversations and debates, and appreciates the academic breadth and rigour of the school.

Thank both of you for sharing your first-hand experiences about Wincoll. As a potential parent, I'd appreciate it so much.

I’d echo Micheldever. 2 sons at WC, one just left and another doing GCSEs. We are really happy with the school - a few minor blips but overall great teaching, great pastoral support from our housemaster and lots of fantastic opportunities to extend and develop. My eldest became a sportsman out of nowhere.

Hi All,

DS is due for his Harrow Test and Eton List Test next week.

Hope your boys aren’t too stressed!

Best of luck for all those who are now in the next phase.

Good luck!

Thanks

Hi FaF,

Any school will have pros and cons but I hope I can give you a balanced view after five years at Winchester College. At the end of our journey with so many ups and downs, our boy had an Oxbridge place so it worked out and a second leaves this year. I will happily tell you that we tutored them for the last three years as we didn't think he was being taught properly in his target A Level subjects. We did so in and around the sports timetable as they have a LOT of unsupervised time that they can use for online tutoring.

Pros
We love the diversity - pupils from all over the world, speaking many languages gives it a cosmopolitan feel. A strong bursary programme means there's lots of kids that our son wouldn't ordinarily encounter. Community Service is also amazing. At the same time,

It's not flashy or London centric and most are nice kids and parents

Throughout his time, he was free to be a "boys boy" and the (mainly) boys school environment has been great for him. In the Sixth Form there are something like 15 girls with aims to go fully co-educational from 13.

Lovely facilities as you'd expect for the price.

Winchester is really safe.

Cons
On the whole the last two years has been disappointing for us. Academic results and Oxbridge stats are poor for a school like Winchester. I can't tell you exactly why but most of his friends missed out on their Oxford offers last time around so only a dozen or so made it. Apparently this year is the same with lots of retakes and reapplicants making up the numbers.

Div has been a letdown. As the centre of the academic offer, it should be more than a rambling unprepared teacher at the front of class discussing the Times headline.

The teaching has been variable. One teacher taught the wrong exam for a term, another was off sick forever and English Lit results were so dreadful that they stopped teaching it and examining it rather than sorting out the underlying problem.

Has it worked out? Sure. But we wouldn't do it again today given the new direction of the school. At the price, there are many other options out there. But it will work for some.

@CoolBlueCat Interesting feedback on Winchester, thank you. Can I ask which boarding schools you would choose for your son today?

DS has had his Harrow Test. HM gave positive feedback on interview, let’s see if he can make it.

They emphasised again the importance of the interview.

DS was interviewed largely on sport.

They mentioned that outcome would be given at end of April/early May.

10 groups of 50 boys are interviewed for 160 places!

A pleasant mix of students from around the UK and indeed the world.

Best of luck

Thanks for sharing. Good luck.

My DS had a House Master's Interview of WinColl last week. We've got a positive email from him after that, but I'm not sure it's just a cliché. Anyway, good luck to everyone!

@vjceqgub do you mind me asking what sort of things were discussed at the interview please? DS has his on Tuesday but coming from a state school we aren’t sure what to expect. He’s done no prep for it. I’ve just said shake hands, be polite and have a nice chat!