Apologies to the OP for being off topic(?) but a couple of queries need answering:
GrimmaTheNome
The Eton and Harrows (etc) are a mystery to me. How does it work, does Lord so-and-so still 'put Fred down for Eton' before he's born, and then Fred gets in even if he's dim? (sorry, off topic but its something that DH and I were puzzling about the other day)
Those seem to be the places needed for real 'contacts' in politics etc.... are most of them still all-boys?
No Grimma, Fred may still not get in even if he?s super bright. There?s this small matter of an interview or two, besides the Common Entrance. The practice of putting his name down by dad, Lord Soso even before Fred is born, has now been consigned to history, oh, I would say, for at least a decade now. Fred would be just another one of some 800 boys (yes, it?s all boys only) competing for one of the 260 or so places each year.
codinbatter
You can't generalise. you have to fit the child to the school unless it's something off-the-scale like Eton where they get very personalised learning. or so i'm told. peternas will know.
Depends on what you mean by ?personalised learning?. Yes, boys are streamed according to their abilities in each subject into different divisions (class). For example, for a ?compulsory? subject like (say) Maths, you may have four classes of the 1st Division each comprising of 14 boys; in other words, the School views these 56 boys are of the same ability. The next group will form the 2nd division and so forth. Obviously, for a less popular subject like (say) Ancient Greek, there will be less classes with much fewer boys.
Each boy is assigned a personal Tutor, usually a senior Master, who oversees the boy?s overall academic work and also has pastoral care of the boy. They meet at least once a week usually in the evening in a small group (5 or 6) at the tutor?s residence for an hour or so. It?s not all work and no play, of course, sometimes the tutor brings his tutees to the theatre at nearby Windsor or even a day out in London during the weekend; or perhaps a meal at the local Italian restaurant, etc. The idea is to engage the boys with the outside world and to discuss anything that may be of interest that they may pick up.
Needless to say, all the bills including the school fees etc., add up to the boy?s School Account which is then sent to the boy?s family at the end of each term which inevitably would trigger a few heart attacks on some parents especially those who drive battered white builders' vans.
The Tutor reports back to the boy?s House Master each term. It is the House Master who communicates with the boy?s parents about the boy?s progress or otherwise. I hasten to add, at the boy?s House, there is this very important person, the ?Dame? or matron who is about the only female figure close to the boys in this all-male environment - there are some female Masters, yes, they are still called Masters but they come and go. The Dame is the surrogate mother, if you like, to the boys; attending to the welfare and needs that a mother would to her son(s) e.g. prescribing medicine, patching up that torn pair of socks, etc. She is also an invaluable source of (unofficial) information about the goings-on at the School. Get on her right side and your DS will have a very happy time at the School. Get on her wrong side, and your DS will still have a happy time at the School. 