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!

How come when they are close till 20th after Easter holiday. Either way it will be sooner than later .the wait can’t be longer than it has been any more

School might be closed but staff are still working

it’s an opportunity to get stuff done without the children being there

I would second almost all of this and could practically have written the same account.

We have seen our son thrive in his first year at WinColl. He has kept up various interests we feared he would drop as a teen (eg singing) and has tried many new sports and societies etc and stuck at a few (more than enough). Interestingly, he has also developed a habit of taking himself for runs, something that never ever happened before. He’s starting to remember he’s actually rather athletic having absolutely not been given this feeling during the latter years at his prep.

His social skills have come on in leaps and bounds these past few months and when we look at his cohort we are not seeing the stereotype of a quirky boy at all. Yes, there are some clearly clever pupils but they are down to earth, polite and respectful. The schools seems to be rallying around furthering its focus on developing critical thinking. Some strong views are forming and the Head needs to articulate and discuss these when being bombarded with questions around AI and the post inflation and VAT driven inflation in fees. I’ve never felt this was anything more than confident resilience. Narcissism isn’t how we interpret her in any way, but each to their own.

The pupils are also doing well on the sports field for a school that’s apparently not sporty. We also learnt they were runners up in what is, according to the organisers, the most prestigious royal marine endurance event for cadets. Again at odds with many mumsnet comments about the “type of boy”.

One of the most pleasing things we have seen play out is that our son has pivoted from the subjects his prep told him he was good at ie maths and sciences (possibly for 11+ results reasons?) and is now also immersing himself in new languages, history and English (not taught but coming via Div). We did not expect this pivot but from what we can work out this has happened because he has had the time Boarding provides and been engaged/inspired by teachers in subjects he almost dreaded as recently as 6 months ago. He himself mostly cites the teachers for this, but it may be when home he now reads a bit more to learn versus relax. He is even more curious since he started. Wonderful.

Why making a first post? I’ve finally spoken up because of the volume of comments about the school we simply don’t recognise as parents. Some comments even make me uncomfortable eg in other threads the casual comments around “boys being on the spectrum”.

Some negatives. The school is much better than it markets itself. On the one hand this is better than lots of bluster and no substance, but it may mean they are missing out around the margins getting some great pupils so they ought to address this to maintain a diverse cohort. To understand what I mean; have a try at finding the Royal Marines result, how good the school is at cricket or how many players are fielded through the levels for football etc from the schools own sources. It’s tough to find so can lead to assumptions about the pupils sporting abilities. Other schools do a great job of this.

With regards to boys v co-ed, it’s not something our son has ever raised with us and although we clearly opted for a predominantly boys school we welcome a co-Ed sixth form. Possibly the bigger topic being grappled with by the school and parents is how they are dealing with full boarding versus other schools relaxing this. They remain as strict as they say they are. Comparing notes with friends, Radley is probably the “most” full-boarding of Radley, Harrow, Eton and Winchester. Winchester and Harrow seem to tie for second. But this is anecdotal.

It’s a great school with smart, polite and well rounded pupils from what we can see. It stands for critical thinking and educating versus teaching for exams, but seems to have struggled before the new head joined to confidently articulate this.

@Winchie I have spoken to alot of people telling me negative things about Wincol and tbh I do not believe them , I believe a child has not been a good fit! And the parents are blaming the school !

I totally agree with you

I’m a big believer in finding the school that is best fit for your child (and your family situation)

someone recently here said that is not the way to view it, but I think it’s the only way to view it

all these schools are good schools

what is concerning for one parent will not be a concern for a different parent

and what is a good fit for one child will be a poor fit for another

@MrsHLQ yes they are all very good schools , tbh I am happy for my son to go to any one of them but the school that suits him is Winchester .

Fantastic, good luck to him!

I think the Winchester results are due to be published this month, is that correct?

But how do you really know which is the right fit? Doesn’t a lot of it come down to who ends up in your year, your house and your housemaster?

We aren’t coming from a Prep school, so not getting any advice and the decision is between a great boarding school or a decent day school.

The day school feels much lees risky - in a year of c150 there will be some people he likes, and the stakes are just much lower because he comes home every night. The boarding option feels very high risk, but potentially very high reward.

My instinct is to let DS make the decision - but would welcome thoughts on how others do this!

You cannot know 100%

you have to do a lot of detective work and then go and visit and make the best call you can

our DC does not go to our local prep…we found one quite far away and made it work because we thought it was the right place for him and it is

we are taking the same approach to senior school

and yes in any school there will be people he likes, people he fights with, people he can’t stand and people who he thinks are “ok” but just never hangs around with or plays with

You cannot know 100%

That is true, but surely a good school would cater for all sorts of different children.
Obviously a very academic school wouldn’t suit a non academic child but the entrance exams would rule that out anyway.

@MrsHLQ yes that is correct

Hi , we are almost in same shoes with the different that we did apply for any day school other then state grammar ( got offered in the top 1 ) .
but like you from state school we don’t get much advice from the Head and teacher. Precisely our head tends to avoid the conversation and the teacher just doesn’t even no anything about public schools.
we did all the detective work and now and viewing and liking , i think am going to leave it to conveniently based on on the all family.
i believe he will do well in a small school hence we are now ruling out few .
my ds said he did his part, ( got multiple offers) I should do the other choosing the school 🤣🤣🤣 as it is to hard they are all great school and he doesn’t have attachment to any.
Good luck

Hi Ayome.

I imagine it is a lot tougher without prep guidance, apologies. I think as mumsnetters we can only help at the margins.

I wouid hope you can glean from the school tours what kind of boy your lad is, and where he is more likely to fit in. I know multiple boys at all the top preps ( I think) over multiple years. I would suggest that you really have to listen to your children - think about where they will realistically fit in.

We briefly thought my youngest would be happiest in a less academic coeducational place - we swiftly pulled the Marlborough offer when we read Prince George may go there (he is lovely, but not the right vibe or safety stuff for us). But deep down we knew it wasn’t the best school for him - oddly he knew as soon as he went around his current destination school (despite our reservations).

These schools are all excellent. However a boy very happy at Radley isn’t a necessarily a boy happy at WinCol, a Radley boy isn’t necessarily a Brighton boy, a Brighton boy isn’t necessarily an Eton lad. An Eton bound lad may well be happier and more successful at Radley.

Which of these top boarding schools is easiest to fit into, if you’re really not sure which to go for (for a friendly, academic all-rounder)?
Another thought, what if one school fits the 13 yo version of your DC but another might suit the 16 yo version of them better? Which do you go for?

“Another thought, what if one school fits the 13 yo version of your DC but another might suit the 16 yo version of them better? Which do you go for?”

This would require you looking 3 years into the future and determining exactly what your future DC would be like with 100% accuracy

AND

also assuming that the best fit school for them at 13 was just 3 years later completely inappropriate for them, which would indicate that they and/or the he school had changed beyond all recognition

the first is impossible and the second is very unlikely

A mind bending question!

Countryside/ rural might be nice for young teens while more of a village/ town vibe might suit older teens, there are ways to think about the question more widely @MrsHLQ . A school doesn’t have to “change beyond all recognition” to be less suited to the same child/ young man in the course of five years.

Your example was 3 years: 13 to 16

FWIW I happen to think that Oundle is the best of all worlds in terms of setting.

Pity that it’s in such an inaccessible place, but that has also preserved its charm.

@Winchie thanks for your input very much appreciated, I do agree all this school are excellent schools with vibrant environment. They will all bring out the best of any child.
if you read my previous message you would see my child is happy to go anywhere as long as i choose 🤣🤣 he believes in my choice and feel overwhelmed with all their all have to offer.
we no prep school head support, and mumsnetters support and views, I believe it will all be down to who is our mates kind of people in the house, Hm …. How do they handle misunderstanding, argument etc….
the prayer point is for him to fall in the right house with the right people ( unfortunately i don’t think anyone can control that at all until it happens) .

The other biggest factor for him is family presence at feature / event as long as we are present to support and shears him up, he can cope with others.

This was really insightful. Out of interest @Winchie what would make you think a boy would do better at Radley than Eton? What is a “Radley” boy?

Prideoflions - to be clear, I think Radley does a brilliant job, and is a wonderful school. It wasn’t a negative comment versus Eton.

I guess key differences are it is campus versus town, a lot smaller (less easy to be overlooked), I think the demographics are more traditional boarding school families for multiple generations, and I think the intake is a little more academically diverse (although they have a lot of very bright boys). My sense is that it is a gentler environment as compared to Eton, whilst still being very sporty and the pastoral care is high. The boys who I know who have gone there are very much team players, all rounders springs to mind, bright and fairly traditional in outlook families.

At DC prep it broadly goes thus:

ETON: No 1 choice for vast majority. That includes all the Asian kids, all the smartest kids, most of the British kids. Interestingly the British Kids almost entirely have an existing connection to Eton since their dad and/or older brother went there. Since all Asian kids applied, the only cohort who didn’t apply was a selection of British kids who are very sporty and/or who just aren’t academically able or focused enough.

Offers so far: the very smart kids who also have good extra curriculars in sport. plus one very average kid who doesn’t shine in the classroom or out of it. Would be a very surprising/puzzling choice for Eton but one thing to note is that he holds a very major hereditary title. Make of that what you will.

various other DC who are in later tranches have not been interviewed yet.

Declines so far: kids who are average academically declined at ISEB stage and after interview, even if they are quite good at sport (and they don’t hold a major hereditary title)

RADLEY: No.2 choice for the British Kids who have Eton as No.1 choice. No.1 choice for bright but less academically focused British kids who would happily play sport all day, especially rugby as it is the main sport. No Asian kids applied, all British. Easy to get to the school for vast majority of parents as many prep feeders are within 1 hour drive.

offers: virtually everyone who applied got an offer

declines: some declined at ISEB stage, others after interview.

HARROW: joint second choice for all the Asian Kids (after Eton and joint second with Winchester). No British kids who applied to Eton also applied to Harrow (they chose Radley as second choice instead).

Again, like Radley it’s the British kids who prefer sport to academics that applied.

I am Aware that certain assessment days at Harrow were predominantly Asian, albeit Asian kids who are at UK prep schools already.

No offers yet. not heard of any declines at ISEB but that was because there were only a few applicants.

Winchester: joint second choice for All the Asian kids. No British kids have applied.

no news on offers after interview as results aren’t out yet. A few declines at ISEB stage but those were to boys who frankly shouldn’t have applied due to below average academics

Would be a very surprising/puzzling choice for Eton but one thing to note is that he holds a very major hereditary title. Make of that what you will.

Prince George?

No

Your inference is that this boy has only got a place at Eton because of his title. Given the number of boys with hereditary titles who haven’t got in over the past 30 or so years,I think this is unlikely.
Maybe he performed well in the tests and interview.

Well, I know him and you don’t, so out of the two of us, I suspect I’m significantly better placed to make a judgment call on this