Harrow/Eton/Winchester Entry 2027

[Num1]

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.

well done! congratulations!

now to decide between harrow and Winchester... goodness, so many things to think about! Any tips are most welcome

Good news here too! Congratulations

Both are great. Depends on the personality of the boy.

it sounds like you are of the same mind - but I would always suggest general places as optimal in terms of finding the “right” house. You can relax about the house choice and let the admissions staff curate the right mix of boys and put your ds where he will fit. It is probably the better option tbh.

Congratulations!

Thank you. I'm wondering visiting other houses or just letting it go. Any advice?

@vjceqgub my Ds had a general place, and was eventually offered a place in the house we'd originally applied to during Year 8. We didn't ask to visit other houses, but I did make a point of meeting and chatting to as many housemasters as possible at offer-holder events. This meant I was able to send the registrar the names of several other houses we'd have been happy to DS to join.

Just to warn you that a lot of the houses invite the boys with house place offers to events in Year 7 and 8 so that prospective new JPs have a chance to get to know one another and the housemaster. There weren't really any similar events for general place holders when we were at this stage (though this may have changed in response to feedback), and as a general place offer holder it can feel like you are missing out on the chance to get to know the house and other boys/parents while you're still at the decision stage. However, in the long run it really didn't make a difference to how easily my DS settled in to his house when he started at Winchester.

@Micheldever Thank you very much for sharing your first-hand experience. I really appreciate it and what a huge relief to us!

Out of interest, does anyone know when the tranche 2 Eton offers are due out?

@RisingStar9 They say this week. I hope good news to everyone here!

Good luck, I hope it’s positive news

has anyone heard back? suppose to be this week I think.

For tranche one we heard back on the last day of the week that they said results would be out, around 3pm. Everyone waiting should hopefully have heard by now, putting an end to the inbox refreshing…

Positive news here.. DS now holds offers from Eton, Harrow and Winchester.

Congratulations! Did Eton indicate in the offer letter when you would be invited to meet a selection of their housemasters?

Yes, house selection is done in the autumn term they said.

Impossible (in my view) to make a decision until you know which house and HM is being offered at each school. A shame Eton leave it until autumn.

@Suna18 congratulations!!! And to everyone else with offers as well, bloody well done!

@RisingStar9 having been through it once before, I'd advise choosing the school first rather than on the basis of the house you get, as no matter how much you like them or carefully you screen them, the HM or dame might change even in the year before your DS arrives. They're only human and they might get promoted, leave for another school, retire, go off on sick leave, get hit by a bus, who knows.

I'd say choose your school on the basis of which school will suit your DS first and then the house second, because you have to trust that the right school will put in a good successor housemaster or dame even if yours leaves halfway through.

@Xiaoxiong I've phrased that badly. Whilst it might not be the deciding factor in deciding which school to chose, I might rule a school out if I really don’t click with the HM offered or think he was someone that I wanted in charge of my son’s care. In this case, second choice might become first, particularly if there wasn’t much between them. In many respects, it would be easier not to have the choice, although it’s a nice dilemma to have!

No, it’s much later than that. You won’t find out which house you have been allocated until mid-March.

@Suna18 Amazing! Which is your favourite?

DS now got the offer from Tonbridge, Sevenoaks, Winchester and Eton. We are struggling deciding between Eton and Winchester...

Congratulations @2025mshere !!! You've got a crop of fantastic schools there.

Eton vs Winchester - I don't think there's a right or wrong decision there, depends whether you endorse the direction Winchester is going strategically and the changes that have already started and will continue to bed in and evolve over the next few years ie. co-ed, new boarding houses, day students in 6th form. Or if you want a more traditional all-boys full boarding school, bigger school but smaller boarding houses (with the exception of College), single rooms all through, etc.

It is possible to hold both places for a while to see how things go, how you feel after visiting the schools again in Y7, how you see your son developing, and make your decision later - at least for Eton you won't be on the hook until you pay the entry fee on 31 March 2026 (so a year from now).

Congratulations to everyone!

Does anybody know when tranche 3 will hear back with results from Eton? Thanks.