Winchester college class size

[Tobstar106]

Does anyone know how many boys in a classs and year at Winchester college please ?

Can you not ask the school? To be fair though we have never found them to be very transparent, DS says it varies between 18/ 22 for most classes.

I think it’s different in the 6th form but that’s the case for all schools. Even state schools near us often have 10/12 in some classes post GCSE.

I can't answer your question about Winchester, but I've found that if you ask about class size teachers are vague as they have been warned about the question and are worried about being quoted.

What I have found more useful on open days is to quickly add up the number of seats in a teachers classroom and then ask if their classroom is typically full. Teachers very quickly either say yes that is the number they teach (possibly without realising what they are giving away), or no the room is usually only half full, and you get useful information without alarm bells sounding.

Probably not helpful for your question OP, but may be for others........

From experience, particularly in recent years due to trying to balance the books, independent schools will have classes sizes with an upper limit of 24 for GCSE. There may be fewer pupils in the lower ability sets depending on the support needed and type of school.

A Level cohorts will vary massively, but from experience, an upper limit of 16. I would expect Winchester to be similar, but do not have insider knowledge.

Does Winchester college have lower ability sets?

20-22 is normal.

Yes it does @MeetMeOnTheCorner .The vast majority are not straight A star / A students at A level. I believe it was less than 30% in 2024 and the A levels were better last year but it still only about 38%.

Winchester was 75% A*/A last year.
It does not have lower ability sets in the traditional sense like some other schools would have.

Yes but the percentage of boys who had a profile of only A star and A ‘s was 38% . Less than 30 % in 2024

The remainder had mixed profiles of A star A , B , C and so on . The majority would have A star / B but not A star A .

JP(first year in WinColl) is around 145 students and Maths (a subject that everyone is doing) has 8 sets. This is an average of 18students per class. Lower sets might have less in the class that the higher levels but I think you can get an idea.
The number depends on so many factors, i.e. subject combinations, subject popularity, setting etc.
Regarding the lowest sets, bear in mind that the 4 top sets in maths (almost half of the students in the year group) take additional maths GCSE (which is actually FSMQ a standalone qualification which is higher than GCSE). So the lower sets are still quite high level students.

I hope this helps Tobstar.

Thank you very much ,
what does JP stand for ? Very helpful information

I think 🤔 it's Junior Part, and MP is the second year which is Middle Part. Just a name for the year group.
I have found that all these schools have different name for the year groups. Year 9 is F block in Eton and Rugby, Shell in Harrow and Radley etc

Ok great , JP it is

It’s better to have some fluidity so kids can be moved up and down sets more readily? That would be best for actual learning. Otherwise it’s one in one out.

A lot of top private schools weren’t teaching to the narrow syllabus and rehash answers by memory of current English GCSEs and A levels - but were teaching pupils to think and learn for themselves. I think since VAT that may have changed as it appears all parents now obsessed with results and class sizes.

I couldn’t disagree with you more , I think you may find parents have always been about class sizes and results !

Winchester peddle this narrative especially after the disappointing A levell results in 2024 when boys missed their offers for university.
The head actually said in a video that exams results matter for short period of time , music to the ears of parents. I don’t think that you would ever hear that at any other school, it’s complete nonsense of course.

Maybe the boys needed to put their heads down and work a little harder! You can walk GCSE but A levels are a different matter, they are very hard, it separates the men from the boys 🤓maybe it was just a terrible intake that year the best of a bad bunch ,

Possibly @Tobstar106, but it gave us in the lower years food for thought. Their grades were obviously over predicted by the school, I was actually quite surprised at the low percentage of boys who get straight A* /A at A Level not just in 2024 but last year also.

You know I have a feeling they select boys differently to other schools , I’m not sure the boys they select are paper and pen boys , I would of thought they were more think out of the box type , I know my boy is definitely the latter .
how are your boys doing now ?

I have only one DS he is doing well, my others are girls. Not paper and pen boys doesn’t bode well in exams does it? Along with a terrible intake for 2024 A levels as you put it.

All I can say is if your son is doing very well there is no reason why the other boys can’t do well too !
it’s definitely not the teaching it’s the boys 🙈

Boarding schools have very long holidays. Maybe some of the kids need to do more in the holidays and the school needs to set more work there, in the key exam years. And communicate clearly with parents what is required there.

St Paul‘s boys has the best results now but it’s very Maths/STEM with a bit of Econ/history thrown in at A level. Much like a lot of grammar schools.
Seems a shame that a lot of bright boys are doing the same subjects at A level and that that is a bit of a universal fashion.

@Araminta1003 if you want top A levels or even GCSES you can’t leave it to the school at Winchester. I don’t think parents consider this when they start and with the benefit of hindsight I don’t know many who would choose the school again considering the fees.Tutoring is very expensive during the holidays and while many overseas parents see it as the norm most in the UK don’t. They are also very cagey when you ask for actual predicted grades because they are aware parents are considering other schools, unless the boy is on a bursary when they will tell a boy to look elsewhere. We were told by a teacher in GCSE year that they are not allowed to give predicted grades.

Apparently some good boys did leave after GCSE in 2022 so that didn’t help the 2024 results. They are talking about making changes but I’m not sure there heart is in it.

@Sistersledges - I don’t think any bright motivated DC needs a tutor. There are loads of online resources to learn most exam content from and most outstanding schools have relevant subscriptions to them. If Winchester doesn’t they are perhaps missing a trick. Or they aren’t communicating it well enough.
I can’t afford Winchester for my DC but I have a brother who is childless and has made it big in tech (not in the UK) and keeps insisting we should consider an independent school for DS who is 12. I really don’t think I am a boarding parent but I feel obliged to look to be fair to DC. From where I am sitting it seems madness to move him from a grammar school. We are squeezed middle otherwise. If we were poor I think DS would have gotten a bursary (he is in a superselective grammar and diploma level on two orchestral instruments). From what I can tell the elite uni places go to the bursary kids and there are no scholarships for squeezed middle. I think it’s best to save the generous offer from family for uni abroad/working the system from the squeezed middle position. I don’t believe in tutoring, I think the kids need to learn how to learn for themselves sooner rather than later.

@Araminta1003 I definitely would not move him but if the offer extends to US universities I would grab it with both hands.

Your son is probably getting great teaching, it’s hit and miss for us tbh.

You are absolutely right , my boy has 10 full weeks starting July 2nd ,
this half term he has been sent home tons of revision , not sure they will give for the summer but I will ask for some to tied him over . For the new year .

Are the 30% college boys ?