Eton boarding houses

[Wirral2013]

Can anyone recommend good boarding houses at Eton College?

I agree with reckit. For certain sports especially you need more hours training (as well as the coaching and opportunity to compete outside of the school matches circuit) to stand a chance at competing at a high level. Unless there is a specialist programme at a boarding school that is n't going to happen. I don't doubt the competency of the tennis coaches at Eton but there will be too much else to fit in. Having said that since extremely few make it as top level national players or swimmers or similar other time intense sports the bonuses of an excellent boarding school make up for the relinquishing of top level sporting ambitions.

Apparently they have 32 tennis courts there, and the Master in charge was saying that that wasn't really enough and he could do with more. In the recent OE Review his report said 'If we combine our strength in depth, there isn't another school out there that can touch us. We might lose in the final or semi-final of competitions, but invariably it will be to one of the scholarship schools out there.'

To reiterate the points above, the sports training will be excellent at Eton but the academics will always come first. It's up to you which is more important to your DS.

Indrid I would say that it is more than a choice between academics and high performance training. I think certainly up to year 10 both could be achieved and are IME with certain pupils at day schools. The problem is the lack of flexibility of a full-on boarding school schedule, priority for school matches, plus the opportunity and push to do and develop other things. It is the latter that would make a boarding school like Eton a different opportunity from an academic day school with out of school time focused on putting in the sports training.

Hi summer

Yes, full boarding will certainly limit the ability to top up training out of school, and if the PPs son wants to be the next Andy Murray then Eton is not the place to go.

However, if he wants to continue developing his talent and wants to compete at national inter school level, then he will receive excellent coaching and a good pool of accomplished players to practice with. It all depends on what level they want to get to.

Interestingly day schools are not necessarily the answer either, especially for the big football/rugby/cricket axis. We have friends whose 16 yo DS is is a highly talented sportsman. He is at a West London indie day school (where he won a sports scholarship) and he has also been in the Olympic youth development squad during that time. However, his sport is not a 'school' sport, and as his academic work has suffered due to his sporting commitments, he has not been accepted into the 6th form of that school.

Yes I agree and for some sports like rowing Eton and a few other boarding school (including it would now seem Winchester ) would actually be a better prospect than outside school training.

My last post doesn't really make sense - third para should read 'other than the big football...'

I realised that's what you meant . At that level for any sport it must depend also on the flexibility of the school for helping student to catch up with work when time is missed plus the ability of the student to be efficient academically.

Perhaps this might be a convenient moment to link to the Boarders' Thread?

Hi There
Gruach, yes, I fully intend to visit Eton in autumn; it's about time I make the time now as he has been offered a conditional place. I also intend to speak to them Re tennis.

grovel: wow, the info you just gave me actually makes me very hopeful that DS will continue his tennis at a very high standard! Which might mean that he will continue pursuing this passion of his and that deciding we accept the Eton offer is not equivalent to dropping his tennis!

Many thanks, all replies have been v helpful!????????????

Ladies -- so my DS has chosen Farrer House ( correct spelling?) & he is due to start this Sep, depending of course on good enough CE exams.

Anyone else joining the same house or who has knowledge of this particular house?

Thank you

Lulia68

My son is also heading for Eton in September and we hope to keep up his performance tennis programme. He is currently training at Dukes Meadows which is 30 mins down the road and we hope to keep that up.

A

Hi mccourta

Is your son going to Farrer too?

I don't know anything about Dukes M : how good is their programme, coaching etc?

It will be interesting to see what can be done Re performance tennis @ Eton: they will not allow boys to " replace" any team sport with tennis, so I was told by Eton

Hey - which house is your son going to?

Rgds

Lulia - congratulations on your son getting a place at Eton.
He'll have a wonderful time, get a superb education and make a bunch of friends for life.

Thank you

It is still new and rather daunting. Only now I reckon we are v proud of our boy.
The adjustment will be tough, his first question to the housemaster was "will I be able to play tennis every day?"- quite funny!
Life is often an adventure and if you are not going for anything hard to get, the only thing one achieves is mediocrity. So, we are going for it. As I said to DS: you will be surrounded by the most amazing opportunities but if you do not grab them with both hands, you will regret it later.

Proud Mum!

Big issue OP, Millfield and Hawtrey are chavvy as fuck.

All that trashing restaurants for kicks - I'd worry about my kids hanging out with young thugs like that. Peer pressure, you know?