Best academic boys boarding school.

[Nantucketsummer]

Hello everyone.

This is my first post. I known that many of you are very knowledgeable and wondered if you may me able to advise me. We are from the U,S. but live in the U.K.

Our 8 year old son is showing signs of being academically gifted and we are considering sending him to a British Public School. We love the thought of a traditional boys boarding school. How difficult will it be to gain entry ? I am aware that the boys start at 13 but how many hoops will we jump through before then?

Thank you all in advance.

I don't disagree with peteneras except that no matter how soft the duvets are today you are still apart from your parents. That will not be a problem for many of the children and the parents on this thread but it is worth noting that despite modern conditions, no beatings etc etc it is still being sent away.

St Pauls have a test for state school boys in year 5, I think.
Other than that, Eton or Winchester if your son is brainy.
Millfield if he isn't.

Millfield is not academic.

Why not move to London? And have a go at St Pauls and Dulwich (all boys, throughout) and KCS Wimbledon and Westminster (girls in sixth form). All sound academically, names that people may well have heard of, and some (flexi?) boarding if he really wants to live in.

Get a copy of the Good Schools Guide as a starting point, then go and have a look at some

There are some services that match schools to boys-usually find adverts in the back of the Junior London or Baby London magazines

Oh and Tatler does a schools guide

You really need to go and have a look round though-some schools suit some boys whereas others do not

Be prepared for your thread to be hijacked by the 'boarding is abuse' brigade 🙄 happens every time

Not sure why people think the OP is odd to be considering boarding as the USA probably has more of them than we do over here. All my male relatives on my father's side for the last 3 generations went to Philips Exeter for example. Andover, St Paul's, Choate, Deerfield, Milton, Hotchkiss, Groton...that's just off the top of my head.

Co-sign what pete and Etonian say above - OP if you want a school that is all boys, boarding and academic, able to give your son a good chance of getting into an Ivy or Oxbridge, you should be looking at getting your son into a prep ASAP that has form for sending boys to Eton/Winchester as they'll know the system and prepare him well. In London consider Arnold House, The Hall, Sussex House, Wetherby Prep, Thomas's Battersea/Clapham, and the preps for Westminster and St Paul's. Outside London consider the Dragon, Sunningdale, Caldecot, Papplewick, Lambrook.

Any questions PM me as I have some inside knowledge and a friendly American accent and can meet for coffee if you look round one of the above listed schools

Xiaoxiong, thank you for the endorsement - but I didn't actually say that. I said my DS had been at a prep which isn't a traditional feeder for Eton, and is a long way away geographically from Eton. However, he was dead set on going there, which helped. Sometimes it is also an advantage not to have been at one of the 'big name' preps, as Eton really does want the very best/those who can make a particular contribution to the school/those with something a bit 'different' to offer, not the ones who have been at certain schools already.

Ah sorry, I misread you Etonian - I do think that this OP in particular might be well served by a prep that knows the system though as they seem quite new to the world of British boarding schools and admissions requirements. While I take your point about Eton working hard to widen access, the annual dinner for prep school heads at Dorney does have rather a lot of the usual suspects invited along which does mean they tend to be able to advise parents from a position of relative knowledge.

Brighton College? Co-ed, boarding at Prep on a different campus, boarding at senior school (from age 13) on Brighton College Campus. Brilliant school academically and in all other aspects.
An email came from the Head this morning, here's a paragraph:

"I am delighted to inform you that Brighton College is to be named UK School of the Year by The Sunday Times this weekend. This is the single most prestigious award in the world of secondary education and I am absolutely delighted for pupils, parents, teachers and support staff. More than that, I am thrilled that the editor of The Sunday Times Parent Power made it clear to me that what most impresses him and his team about Brighton is not just how well pupils perform academically but also the environment that makes that possible: a culture of kindness and inclusivity, a place that seeks to celebrate and nurture children’s differences, always recognising that a youngster who is encouraged to be himself or herself will always achieve more than one who is not."

Have Cairns and Seldon ever been seen in the same room at the same time?

I would move to a prep school for year 5 at the latest. Check the prep school move boys on to Winchester / Eton etc.
I know Radley is pro USA universities, but has a broader academic intake than Winchester at least.

Check out the websites and note the registration dates now.
A good headteacher will be able to advise a good senior school for your dc.

Astonishingly (to me anyway) it is now eight years since my DS took the Eton Assessment test. It was very competitive then and I think it is even more so now.

It is a real toss up between choosing a prep with a strong record of getting boys into Eton, and just choosing a good school that will suit your son. The school has been trying for some time to take boys from a wider range of schools other than just the Summerfields, Dragons and Caldicotts, so there are no guarantees. There are still a lot of boys from those schools who win places, but it would be interesting to know what percentage of those who apply are actually successful.

My DS also came from a rural prep school, but one which had a good record of sending one or two boys a year to Eton. As usually only a handful applied, it was quite a good success rate. DS's year broke the record in sending three, including him.

Do visit Winchester and Eton, they do many things differently. You need to see which style you prefer.