Harrow vs Eton | Mumsnet

smilingfaces10 · 23/09/2025 15:03

Hey! How come you haven’t selected a house?

Original poster

Irreverent13 · 23/09/2025 16:47

The house selection process for 2027 at Eton commences in November.

OP posts:

dottyhen · 24/09/2025 06:14

Hi. We rejected Eton for Harrow for both our ds. Absolutely no regrets! It felt like we were in the minority for doing this, but we went with our gut feeling that Harrow was the right place for our boys.
It’s a much smaller school-about 350 boys less-and for us it felt more welcoming. All these school will get great results for your ds, the main question is whether they will be happy and settled there.
A smaller school meant that my ds are picked for more teams, the headmaster knows their name, they are more “seen”.
There are extremely bright boys in both schools, but Harrow does not cream off the top, it takes a broader intake. I would say-go with your gut!
DM me if you’d like more info

MaxJLHardy · 24/09/2025 06:57

Eton has the river and much more space.

HampsteadAcademic · 03/11/2025 19:22

Irreverent13 · 23/09/2025 12:12

My son has been lucky enough to receive offers from Harrow, Eton and Brighton College, amongst others. We have discounted BC and are left with a straight choice between Harrow and Eton. Whilst we haven’t been through the house allocation at Eton yet, our thoughts at this stage are that Harrow is our preference. Has anyone declined a place at Eton in favour of Harrow (I believe we will be very much in the minority if we do this). If so, did you ever have any regrets?

We were in the same position, with offers from all three. We absolutely loved the housemaster at Eton — which did delay our final decision — but ultimately chose Harrow because we felt it was the best environment for our son. The slightly smaller scale and more structured framework just seem to suit his personality at this age better than Eton’s more self-directed feel. To be fair, Harrow had been our top choice from the first visit. Eton has extraordinary opportunities, but we found ourselves working a bit too hard to make the case in our own minds, whereas Harrow always felt right for him.

NeuroticParent · 07/11/2025 11:50

HampsteadAcademic · 03/11/2025 19:22

We were in the same position, with offers from all three. We absolutely loved the housemaster at Eton — which did delay our final decision — but ultimately chose Harrow because we felt it was the best environment for our son. The slightly smaller scale and more structured framework just seem to suit his personality at this age better than Eton’s more self-directed feel. To be fair, Harrow had been our top choice from the first visit. Eton has extraordinary opportunities, but we found ourselves working a bit too hard to make the case in our own minds, whereas Harrow always felt right for him.

Show quote history

My son joined Harrow in the sixth form and has had an absolutely fantastic experience. He is in the Upper Sixth now and doing Oxbridge, the support for which has been amazing.

We are SO impressed with Harrow and absolutely love it. Fantastic school - not just academics (which are excellent) but outstanding sport, music and drama.

The Head is absolutely excellent. Every time I hear him speak I am extremely impressed with the strength of leadership and what a superb role model he is for the boys (and the parents).

The spirit of the school is just wonderful and the importance of Harrow songs really captures this!

One might imagine Harrow to be rather aloof and snobbish but actually the complete opposite is true. Very down to earth and friendly and the staff can't do enough to help you.

Our son has been very happy there and will look back on his time there with great fondness.

Your son is very lucky and I am sure you will not regret this decision!

HampsteadAcademic · 07/11/2025 12:07

NeuroticParent · 07/11/2025 11:50

My son joined Harrow in the sixth form and has had an absolutely fantastic experience. He is in the Upper Sixth now and doing Oxbridge, the support for which has been amazing.

We are SO impressed with Harrow and absolutely love it. Fantastic school - not just academics (which are excellent) but outstanding sport, music and drama.

The Head is absolutely excellent. Every time I hear him speak I am extremely impressed with the strength of leadership and what a superb role model he is for the boys (and the parents).

The spirit of the school is just wonderful and the importance of Harrow songs really captures this!

One might imagine Harrow to be rather aloof and snobbish but actually the complete opposite is true. Very down to earth and friendly and the staff can't do enough to help you.

Our son has been very happy there and will look back on his time there with great fondness.

Your son is very lucky and I am sure you will not regret this decision!

Show quote history

That is so fantastic to hear. Thank you for sharing about your son’s experience. We’re all very excited for this next step.

CedarCloud1 · 02/03/2026 21:15

I would really appreciate honest feedback on how academically self-directed boys need to be at Eton. Are there structures and support in place to help them organise their work, or is it mostly on the pupil to manage everything? I am just a bit worried that my DS might struggle with all the independence.

MrsHLQ · 30/03/2026 20:45

Quite different schools IMO