Wellington College, Sherborne or Radley-Opinions sought

[SROSSO]

Interested in opinions of parents with children currently/recently attending any of these schools as to their suitability for international boarders, academic rigour, friendliness of the boys, boarding houses, etc.
Our 16 year old DS, has been accepted on a sports scholarship (non-monetary) at Wellington, a waiting list place at Radley and Sherborne. He is a witty and sociable lad, academically strong in all subjects, particularly maths and is a nationally ranked sportsman. He is also half British and half SE Asian. This will be his first time living abroad, but is culturally assimilated to the UK already.
As a boarder, we want to ensure that at the weekends, he will not end up being in the boarding house on his own whilst the other pupils head home. We have read on this message board that Wellington boarding empties out at the weekends, however we are not sure about the other two schools.

Understanding that it is difficult to generalize, which school's student body might be more welcoming to someone of his background? Whilst I understand that Radley is said to be more for "blue bloods", whilst Wellington has naturally a more martial flavour to the place, I am not quite sure of the atmosphere around Sherborne. That being said, we understand that the younger generation are generally considerably more welcoming and friendly to "outsiders" than us oldsters.

DS is also considering studying in the US/Asia/Continental Europe for university rather than the UK, so we want a school that has solid experience with these varied educational systems and their application processes. When talking to the admissions staff, they all state that their college admissions offices are well-geared up to applying internationally but just wondered what your experience was.

Firstly , @MrsDiddy i did not direct the question to you !
secondly i was confirming what I had read i was unaware that the boys have another two exeats on top of every other weekend . My son is already at an all boys full boarding school so i am well aware of the criteria. There is no need to be so smug and cockey you never know who you are speaking to !

Regarding Radley getting back to us, we did follow up with them after Wellington had offered our son a place, however, they responded that they would let us know, but in the end, they never did. Bit disappointing really, would have been polite to let us know either way. However, our son is mentally gearing up for Wellington and we are busy buying items that he will need and booking flights.
We think that it is the right choice, so we are happy.Thanks for all your help and guidance.
Best,
SR

I won’t credit that outburst with an entirely comprehensive reply, and not just because its largely illegible or you sound like a bit of a loose cannon. It’s a public forum, replies aren’t by invitation. If you do have a DS at a FULL boarding school aleady, you will know that exeats are not every other weekend. If you have read the OP's request fully, you will have seen that they requested 'we want to ensure that at the weekends, he will not end up being in the boarding house on his own whilst the other pupils head home' and that, a number of times in the thread, the debate about full boarding vs emptying out at the weekends has been discussed. Radley is one of the few remaining full boarding schools. Parents should at least be committed enough to a particular school and know enough about it to understand what the boarding arrangements are, before applying. It's not exactly buried in the small print. Otherwise it can sound rather like applying to a school simply on the name alone and not because it suits the profile and personality of the DC, which is frankly, perennially irksome. In any case, the OP appears to have concluded their search now, so there is little point in hijacking this thread.

Goodness me, step away from the computer and take a few deep breaths

It is worthwhile becoming familiar with the very basics about the mechanics of school before you consider applying, rather than trying to find out after you are so far through the process you have an offer

furthermore, if you ask questions on a public forum, any member can respond. That is the nature of it

Stop trying to cause trouble ! Of If I would like to ask a question I will and I can ! It is not for you to tell me how I control my life .
thank you

@MrsDiddy you are a funny one aren’t you ! For the record my son comes home every other weekend ! He is indeed at a full all boys boarding school which has exeats every other weekend ! You know if you reread my first question you will see what I asked ! There was absolutely no reason to answer the way you did , indeed I know which schools would suit my son and which do not ! I am lucky that my boy will thrive in all the schools we both choose for him ! The prep school my son goes to he is fully prepared and ready for any situation.
be nice it’s not hard x

@MrsHLQ are you aiming that at me ? Why are the pair of you so upset ?
the mind boggles ! I can only think of one reason ! Come on girls be nice , it’s not the end of the world is it ?

@Tobstar106 Can we have some decorum please.

@MrsHLQ yes we can! I only asked a simple question and you felt the need to try and belittle me .
like I said previously my son is already at a full boarding school so o know about the exeats. I just did not know about the 2 extra weekends out ! It is not an offence, you came across as being very upset with me , even if I didn’t know about exeats it’s not your problem it’s mine , we will be moving from one full boarding school to another no big deal ! I’m not sure why all the stress , it’s a walk in the park at the end of the day .

You have the wrong end of the stick.

Maybe , nevermind

@SROSSO the weekend question is the right one to push on, and the honest answer is that "full boarding" means different things at different schools. At schools where most domestic boys live within an hour, even a technically full boarding school can feel very thin on a Saturday evening. The boys who are left behind are not always a critical mass.
What actually makes those weekends work for international students is whether the ones staying in form a real group or just coexist. That depends less on the school's policy and more on the specific house and year group. It is worth asking each school not what percentage of pupils are international, but how many boys in a typical house stay in on a non-exeat weekend. Those are very different numbers and schools are often evasive about the second one.
On cultural fit — in my experience the boys who settle fastest are not always the ones who fit a particular mould. They are the ones who are genuinely interested in other people. A witty, sociable boy with real sport behind him tends to find his people fairly quickly regardless of background.
I post more on what those first weeks and weekends look like from the student side at @boardingschoolguide if it helps while you're deciding.

This is all really good advice

Hi,
Thanks very much for this information. Yes, our son is sociable, a sportsman and a team player, so hopefully he will find his niche quickly. He has already made friends with other boys in the UK whilst attending his international sailing events. These boys have friends at Wellington that they said they would introduce him to.