Winchester college class size

[Tobstar106]

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

@Sistersledges I would be happy with them results for sure

Not necessarily @Tobstar106 not all boys in college got straight A * / A in 2024 . The results are generally higher though but there tends to be more boys from Asia so being tutored is common.

Really @Tobstar106?, I wouldn’t be happy be B’s and C’s at A at A level from Winchester. You need A * and A star for the most competitive courses at top universities these days.

I think as a parent you can predict a grade your child will get more or less , where do boys head off too? If they don’t stay at Winchester ?

I know some who went to the local sixth form - Peter Symonds. But then I assume they are squeezed middle like us and need to save up for uni. I think people realise now the UK uni debt is not all it was cracked up to be.

I have tbh at our prep school all the boys who have got into Eton / Winchester and Harrow even Radley were all tutored massively , and I can tell you one thing one boy was tutored none stop ! He got into Eton but wait listed to win and Harrow in fact it was several Asian kids , didn’t get Eton nor Winchester top set and tutored none stop , and all the white kids also tutored none stop . Top set middle set all tutored ! We can’t compete but we got all our offers thank goodness !

@Sistersledges - the tutoring is a real problem for teachers to assess where the kids are, in all types of schools now and figure out how to actually pitch their teaching.
It also takes the pleasure out of teaching if progress in your own pupils is not down to you. Seems such a shame that so many people are now resorting to this.

@Tobstar106 It’s mix some London schools, other boarding schools, grammar schools and a few to Peter Simmons .

Their outcomes have been very impressive from what I can see.

@Tobstar106 - so are these parents going to hire tutors once their DC are at uni or even working? At some point, they need to figure it out themselves. Quiet working spaces, resources, good food yes. Handholding, no, they won’t learn how to revise for themselves or figure it out alone.
One of my nephews is at Eton, zero tutoring, not even a prep school. He got in, common entrance he was very average as not taught at all. Then 3 or 4 terms in they gave him an academic scholarship because he topped all the exams (or whatever percentage you need there to get a distinction in your exams).

I think Winchester is at the extreme end of this @Araminta1003. Eton is operating on a completely different level, I know from friends who attend, it’s an outstanding school and I am not surprised to hear about your nephew.

There may be less leaving if it becomes fully co-ed. A lot of teens do get fed up with single sex environments. One can see why. Also, I guess they want more freedom at Sixth Form and be allowed to leave on weekends etc.

It’s an odd environment for 6th form in my opinion even, I don’t think that girls boarding will change that. They seem desperate to fill the places .

@Tobstar106 It’s not difficult in the current climate to into these schools with the exception of Eton and Westminster. The London day schools are different story, you certainly don’t need to tutor to get into Winchester or Radley. They like most schools just want to fill the places at this stage, they will replace bursary students with boys from state schools with top GCSES. I know of a boy who was asked to leave after the mock GCSES despite having a scholarship award because he was on a bursary, his GCSES were not going to fit what they wanted.

A* A and a B I mean definitely wouldn’t want a C

My son has been given a full bursary so they are not filling his space to make money ☺️

Now you are talking nonsense!!! Asian boys in our top set got Eton and definitely did not get into Winchester , you can’t compare Winchester with Radley

You definitely cannot compare Eton to Westminster , most of the boys would not pass the first stage to Westminster and St Paul’s .

Well several top set boys were tutor to a high degree and they didn’t get accepted to Winchester , Winchester is incredibly selective they do not like over processed boys they like naturally clever boys not bullied into learning everything of by heart . That’s not being academic that’s being a parrot and hoping for the best ! Pass this stage and they need to be tutored their whole life !

The boy that I was referring to above was also on a full bursary but the requirement for him to stay after GCSE were different and despite also having an academic award he had to leave. The bar for 6th is actually quite low unless you are not paying fees , it’s different for sons of staff who are all on bursaries. There are some examples who did really poorly and went were allowed to stay but they did poorly at A level also.

I have never heard of a boy getting into Eton and not Winchester, all the waiting list boys for Eton declined their Winchester offers and went to Eton at the end of year 7.

It’s true you can’t compare any boarding school to Westminster or St Paul’s.
They are all a back up for London parents these days, I do know of boys who applied again from Winchester and were successful at 6th form ( just don’t really on the school if that’s the path you want) 😉

Most of the boys who applied from the top boys prep school in this country did not get into Winchester only 3 of our boys got in !

In our year they all got in , some in year 6 and the others in year 7 when the Eton waiting list place offers were given out .

Yep only 3 boys got into Winchester a lot more got into Eton , we have bottom set boys that got into Eton they have a brother there and are incredibly wealthy and I’m not joking he is halfway down the bottom set , you explain that , and the boy on the bursary of course will get kicked out if he is not achieving, you need to be incredibly bright to keep the bursary they judge you every year academically and financially they take bursary boys because they have something special , if you don’t come up with the goods you are out ! And if that was my son I would pull him out you take advantage of their generosity.

Why do you think there is a massive wait list at Eton , because not everyone wants to go there ! Who would want to be on a wait list I wouldn’t I would only accept a school that really wanted my son ,

I think the bursary boys are funded by the endowment funds. So the places are not “free” although do not attract VAT. The endowment then comes with its own terms and conditions as to performance.

The teacher discounts are separate. Not actually separately “funded” just seen as extra places.

They rely very heavily @Tobstar106 ,just look at the tops sets. It’s the same with the SATS for US university. We actually came off the waiting list at Eton but regretted it later . I think that I had your mind set about wanting my son , we have learned a lot in the last few years.

Sorry I do not understand what you are saying .