Harrow/Eton/Radley/Winchester Entry 2028

[MrsHLQ]

Starting a thread for all those parents whose sons are currently in Year 6 and who are hoping to join one of these 4 schools in 2028

As the first stage of their assessment process, the boys are sitting ISEB exams this month

Here we can discuss anything and everything to do with the entire application and assessment process over the next 6 or so months or so. By which time we should all know if we have offers, rejections or have been waitlisted

Good luck to all the boys sitting ISEB exams!

Harrow enters partnership with Lockers Park.

I’m not familiar with the particular prep school but if it’s a Harrow feeder I presume this is an attempt to help Harrow secure an inflow of English kids

Radley did the same last year albeit on a much bigger scale by taking over a trust with I think 8 preps

Children are tutored throughout their school years especially if you want them to go to the four top boys schools and then the top universities! I mean they are all tutoring one does it they all have to do it ! It’s a vicious circle

It is a lot of nonsense! The obsessed parents and the boys that have been tutored to keep up and get into these schools will always need tutoring, it has nothing to do with the schools not being able to teach !! it’s the boys that are not as academic in the first place and have to rely on round the clock tutoring . It’s the boys that do not have the tutoring who really deserve the place at these schools.

My point was @Tobstar106 that in my DS’s year less than 30% of boys had straight A star / A grades at A level . I can only speak of Winchester but that’s hardly the intellectual powerhouse that it claims to be. Many boys grades were over predicted which means they lost their place at their first choice of university.
Others were desperately trying to find a place to resit A levels on results day.

When you consider the hoops parents ( and boys ) jump through to get a place it’s a pretty poor show in my humble opinion. Also they way the sell the school and the ‘ Toytime ‘ is very disingenuous. There is very little oversight and the pastoral care is very poor. I expected much more , I would have from any school. There is nothing about the school that warrants the fees , the welfare of the students seems to be way down on their list of priorities.

Can someone say which of these 4 schools is the hardest to get into please ?

Eton or Winchester.

Base on what did you pick Winchester specifically? Am still wondering on that same question two .
I was thinking the same as you @Lilylol however after the first stage results in descent am no longer sure if that still the case.

From the current cohort going through the process, everyone I know that failed to get invited for interview after ISEB at Tombridge didn’t get invited at Eton some of then didn’t get invited at Radley either but they all got invited at winchester and Harrow. I was quite surprised 😳
I later heard winchester really vet the academic intellect level at interview, I am not sure how mush true is that though.

That’s what I thought , do you think Winchester is harder than Eton I have heard it is !

Possibly what questions they answered correctly on the ISEB test ! My boy has got interviews at all four schools , his first choice is Winchester

well how can it be in this cohort? , the current year 6 that Eaton rejected after ISEB are all invited at winchester, ( so far I have not heard of anyone that didn’t get invited at winchester but got invited at Eton. It has been the other way round) to be honest i don’t understand and i don’t think it is worth pondering over . @Tobstar106 .

Possibly go for election in that case, if it’s so easy to get into !

Am sorry I never said it was so easy to get in too, only give analysis base on facts available this year with the current year 6. Besides no one has gotten the final offer of a place yet , so any this can still happen either way . .
the truth is many parents had same impression before ISeb and this was base on legacy stories , but most are shock because current facts are showing otherwise.
for the record i don’t think the current selection process makes wincoll any less academic.

It’s not just about ISEB scores it’s about fit

I’m often surprised at parents carpet bombing all the boys boarding schools

they are all so different, it would be quite extraordinary if a boy were suited to all of them

we tend to see Radley paired with Harrow

we also see Radley used as a back up by applicants who are aiming for Eton.

In fact every single boy we know who has already been interviewed by Radley (because they had names down on Wardens list before age 4) doesn’t want to go to Radley!

The number keeps increasing but I think we are now at 6 boys we know who have already had (in my view, preferential) interviews as part of Radley Wardens list who don’t actually want to go there!

The boys we know who applied for Winchester are also using it as a back up for Eton

interestingly we are not seeing Harrow being used as a back up for Eton. It is tends to be either, or, not both.

so in summary, amongst everyone we know, first choice seems to be Eton by a long way

then its Radley where its people who love the school and have chosen it as a good fit for their DS (open entry) Vs a big cohort who are using it as a back up for Eton (wardens list, chosen before age 4)

Harrow is battling it out with Radley for the sporty, less academic DS, but is far less popular than Radley

second to last is Winchester which is seen as a back up to Eton (apart from two kids who have stone g family ties to the school…wrong reason for selection IMO)

last is Tonbridge. We don’t know anyone who has applied. That’s not because of the school it’s a function of 3 things:

• geography, it’s far from our prep
• not full boarding
• not as high profile (yes there are many we know who want a bigger international brand. Again wrong way to choose a school IMO)

That is very good to hear , thank you

What prep are you from ?

Hi thanks for great input.
while I understand you analyse and agreed it is not all about Iseb scores, I don’t see how your response explanation is an answer to question the other parents asked.

What school is hardest to get in between the 4 schools?

1. Not everyone are coming from prep schools that is a feeder to this boarding school.
   while they get head teachers ref from prep ( which can be easily boast because it is in the school advantage to say our destination school are Eton Radley….)

2. They still need to performance well somehow to meet the cut off a particular school to be invited at interviews.

IMO the fit do get access in dept only at second stage / interview as this is where the child do get to show him self and prove his Iseb results and head ref.

If school receives over 1000 + applicants, for let say 200 spaces, it is only fair for them to eliminate almost half with out even seing them using a particular mesure, I doubt in that big pool they would be looking for for character fit in the first place. Why the Iseb? After all they are leading boarding school for a reason.

Assuming no prior connection with any of the schools, I think the order of ease of entry from hardest to easiest is Eton, Winchester, Harrow and Radley. That’s based on my experience from last year’s applications both from my son and friends’ children.

@Irreverent13 thank you that looks like what we are experiencing with this year6 cohort still
on the process.

I have heard quite often in prior years that Harrow is the most oversubscribed school, so that’s the one with the most competition. I’ve been told varying numbers in the 10x to 12x range. They don’t want as high scores from ISEB, so many more children qualify for interview

Wellington College also hard to get into for boys because it’s not massive school and also co-Ed so there’s only 50% of places available for boys. Plus you need to be smart AND really good at sport. Add in further that it’s weekly boarding and just west of London, so very attractive to everyone in wealthy areas of West London and south east where most prep schools are. I have heard of quite a few people getting turned down for Wellington but receiving offers from other schools. I also know that this year they received a record number of applications.

Eton, Tonbridge and Winchester require high ISEB but it’s also self selecting.

cast majority of Tonbridge boys live within an hour or so of school. So that excludes west London and the north and west home counties.

competition for Eton is high but in our experience it’s only the top at boys set boys that tend to apply, plus a few who have strong family links.

overall I’d say Harrow and Eton are the hardest to get into because of brand name. Then Wellington and Radley, with Tonbridge behind them.

Not sure about Winchester, it does not feature on the radar of our friends or school.

Well that is how I thought it was ranked ! But it seems to be changing ! Or is it ? Maybe not

Did you try for Eton as well ?

Totally agree with you

Anyone have a simple answer as to why Eton is often people’s first choice school (aside from the brand name, which is probably only helpful outside the UK)?

Eton is seen as the most elite school because it has such a storied History. So many influential people have been there including royalty and heads of state. Most VC winners of any school. The legacy of Eton is beyond compare globally hence its global reputation.

That said we have not applied to Eton.

Why IMO Eton is first choice amongst many of those pupils which we know:

• The global reputation as per above. Other schools abroad refer to it as the gold standard in education. For example, Doon school in India is called “India’s Eton”
• England’s most academic boys only full boarding school (only others still left are Radley and Harrow. Perhaps include also Sherbourne Boys which is 95% boarding)
• Very strict academic cut off at ISEB so hard to even get an interview. Strictest academic standard of the remaining boys only boarding schools. So highest bar to entry.
• Brilliant place for brilliantly minded kids. They will be properly pushed
• very traditional and still remarkably English despite global reputation
• Kings Scholarship is seen as the most prestigious scholarship in the country (sorry Winchester fans!)
• The immense network one will get from being a pupil there
• fantastic sporting prowess especially in rowing and climbing
• the fact that all round it’s an absolutely brilliant school with very little to fault it
• excellent music department
• some pupils have strong family history there (poor reason for the choice IMO)
• lastly and unfortunately….because of all of the above, bragging rights. I do know some parents of Eton pupils who cannot help but weave the fact the that their kid is or was at Eton into every other conversation. It’s a particularly type of person but sadly that profile is going to attract those kind of people occasionally. I stress it’s not everyone but I have met my fair share!