School selection advice

[MeredithBlake]

Looking for some advice from those who have been through the process of selecting boarding schools to apply to.

My year 5 DS is a very good student, well behaved, enjoys learning and participates well in all his academics. CAT average is 110, but report card has A's for all subjects except for Sport, Music and Art which are B. He hasn't really found his passion yet, so not excelling in any one area. A lovely all-arounder.

Anyone who has a similar child, which boarding schools suit this kind of boy? And are realistic to apply to? Do the very selective schools (Eton, Winchester, Radley, Harrow) accept all-arounders? Which schools will suit this profile and then help them to flourish and find what it is they love?

We are open to all boys or co-ed, and would prefer schools reasonably close to London.

Any advice much appreciated!

What does your current head say, presuming you’re at a prep school? They should have some good suggestions knowing your son.
eton etc are all so competitive to get into that you’d rather think they cherry pick so would expect each child they take to have a certain je ne sais quoi about them, be it intellectual curiosity/ability or co-curricular prowess in a certain field.
the other thing you need to specify is do you want a full boarding school where your son stays in every weekend except for the exeats each side of half term or do you want him to be able to come home at some/all weekends of his choosing. Depending on your answer will give you a list of a handful of schools (full boarding) or a very long list of schools that allow weekly boarding alongside full boarding.

Hi OP,
Just bumping your thread for you.
MNHQ

Thank you so much for the thoughtful response

We are at a prep school, and have met with the head who has given us their opinion. We are taking that in to account, and alongside that was looking for advice here from parents who might have a similar profile boy or currently at a school where that kind of boy might flourish.

We don't have a requirement for full or weekly boarding, so aren't using that to rule out options. Appreciate that might mean a lot more options!

Does not sound like an eton/harrow/winchester boy. You do need to be stand out and/or alpha … to some of those three. Radley maybe if you’re a tradtional country family but that doesn’t like your set up.
you describe an average good egg kind of child with no preference to full or weekly board. There’s probably 50 schools within a couple of hours drive of London that would suit these parameters. I think you need to be more honest about what you really want to get some insightful suggestions. Which schools did you prep head suggest? How did you take those suggestions.
Off the top of my head Teddies on Oxford might suit. An all round nice school that will do weekly boarding.

I am getting the impression that you are not entirely happy with the advice from your prep school head. I would not dismiss it lightly. He or she will be very well versed at knowing what different schools are looking for. They are not going to put their reputation on the line by plugging your son to an unsuitable fit and risk it turning out badly both for your son and the school.
I think Radley would be worth a visit given the information you have stated about your son.

It would be interesting to know where your prep has suggested as a starting point…
And if you’ve seen any schools so far and what did/didn’t like. But Teddies or maybe Bradfield if he’s not bothered about rugby are nice weekly boarding schools with a decent London contingent that would suit an all rounder.

Why are you looking at Eton/Winchester/Harrow if your son doesn’t have a passion? You must know what his personality is like. Choose a school that matches his personality.

All rounders are exactly what the boarding schools you’ve mentioned want IME. They want boys who will take advantage of all that’s on offer. Obviously some have stand out talents in certain areas but that’s not everyone by any means. I’d look at Radley and Harrow for him.