Winchester College

[Doolittle1]

Hello

Does anybody have any insight please into which houses are good. I am especially interested in the housemasters / if they are staying or going and facilities in the houses.

Many thanks.

I was in and around win Col as a female student at a nearby school in the late 90s, early 2000s. All I can say is I hope the whole culture has changed there, because from what I knew of it (which was shockingly appalling) as a teen, there is no way I would send a son of mine there. However, I’m sure a school can change enormously in 20 years.

If your son passed election, then surely he should be at College and doing excellent, even if he is lower set of that he would still be doing better than most. Even if tutored to an inch of his life, I cannot see a boy not super bright passing the election.

Maybe you are so anxious because you are used to looking after his work all the time? He still has prep/toys and support, I would not worry. Leaving it to the school is the par and course for most boarding schools.

Is he still new? Maybe he is still doing his orientation and figure things out before doing more activities - maybe at prep he was so used to everything and comfortable enough to try out anything, but this is a bigger world with big boys, so he may be apprehensive initially.

I'm sure he'll be fine.

@sw1mummy my son is not in college. His prep Headmaster thought that he would enjoy the scholarship course and he did. His results were good but not college level. I'm not even sure how the boys are chosen , some are brilliant at some subjects but not accoss the board. He is sitting his GCSES , I did leave it up to the school and hoped it would work out. That's unlikely now.

@njshore my son's results won't be at that level. I'm so pleased that it works out for your friend's son. We are looking at other options ,a new start is definitely needed.

@Notanotherusernamenow I would be interested to know what you experienced ? My son is a lovely ,kind teenager and I am very proud of him in that respect. Possibly that is the more important than anything else and I need to make sure that I don't loose sight of that.

*Lose sight of that.

@Donotgetmestarted

I sympathize and completely understand what you mean. Studying at Winchester is like studying in the university, they are not feeding the kids with knowledge, sometimes they are teaching so many other things outside of the syllabus instead of concentrating on the exam syllabus. Being independent thinker and self starter is needed here.

However this is like in the real world where you have to push yourself. It helps the kids to grow up faster and it would be good in the long run.

The mediocre boys at Winchester will still be ok since they will still get a very good grades and get to top universitIes. Those boys who are in top set whom represent the school in academic competitions generally are very bright but many lack communication skill so being a middle of the road in Winchester is not that bad since in the real world we do not need to be that academic.

As far as confidence level is not dropping and the boys are enjoying the school I think everything will be fine.

Well Im sure that it will be a relief to the parents of the "mediocre" boys that they will be "ok"..when you only paying 40k+ a year that is of course the most you can hope for....but if the alternative is to be in top sets but "lack communication skills" then its not much of a choice..still Im sure all of this will be solved by bringing in a few girls and day boys..

Dontgetmestarted oh my goodness sorry to hear about your son. He sounds lovely though so I am sure you are very proud - happiness is the most important thing. Great that you will find him new start after GCSE. I accepted a place for my non self starter son at WinColl 2023 because I thought he would NOT fall through the cracks at Winchester (compared to a bigger school like Eton, which has more than twice the number of boys. bigger fish in a smaller pond, I thought he’d slip through cracks in a big school ). I thought WinColl was smaller and more nurturing. I wish you all the best.

@arianne800

I completely agree with you. As far as I know my DS and all his friends at Winchester are happy and love the school. Happiness is the most important things.

Winchester college is a nice place where boys of all characters are happy and there are no bullying issues. It is where all boys can be themselves.

Many of my DS friends are now at Eton and it is pretty tough place for some boys. It is a much bigger school and they have to survive by themselves. Not all survive since they are not only competing academically but also in everything. Many end up lost their confidence and it is difficult to stand out in a big crowd of extroverted boys.

@nolanscrack

People who are mediocre at Winchester are still ending up with all 9s in GCSEs and top grades In Pre U. I am sure they will produce one of the best A Levels results in the country. They will still end up at top 20 university in the world. But that is not the most important thing. What the most important things at Winchester is manner maketh man which means ‘ a person may be judged according to his behaviour towards other people‘. They will grow to be nice reasonable citizen.

When I say lack of communication skill it does not mean they will not be successful, most financially successful guys are introvert, look at the Forbes list. Those scientists and researchers who help the world are also introvert. The world needs this geniuses.l who may be abit quirky but they are nice.

For those middle of the road children at Winchester. They will flourish in another way. They will become more of a people person who will treat other people with all character well as well as being smart yet humble.

Sorry for my typo and grammatical mistake.

Boys do not "have to survive by themselves" at Eton,what utter nonsense..I know you have a problem with competition but breaking news the world is a competitive place,if Win Coll isnt preparing boys for that then its not doing its job..
The word genius is much overused..the boys you are talking about as being quirky with a lack of communication skills and introverted are Im sure intelligent boys but I doubt very much if any of them are at genius level.. "The world needs this geniuses" lol..obviously the being humble bit doesnt apply to certain parents..

Thank you @ariane800 it was a huge mistake for us. I should have gone with with my gut instinct, he is a bright boy but he's been left to fail. Perhaps because he doesn't stand out in any subject he just went unnoticed We've had very little contact with teachers , I think certain parents have more influence , it certainly seems that way. Possibly this wouldn't have happened in their case. He will do much better in an environment where students have a more realistic view of the world , although he has said there are a few standout boys in his year who he hopes to see running the country one day ( Thay have vision apparently 😂😂) He has learned a lot from those boys at Winchester, they are not the majority though. I did wonder what @Notanotherusernamenow experienced from what my son has said it may not be a thing of the past. Although I must add my son says that there are boys who have an inner confidence and behave impeccably.

@nolansscrack you did make me laugh and that's not a frequent occurrence at the moment.

Delighted to be of help..I hope your son finds a school that he and you will be happy with,now sorry to break this news to him but wykhamists arent allowed to run the country,thats the job of Etonians,they are however allowed to be senior civil servants if they are well behaved..Rishi might break the mould but i doubt it..

@nolanscrack he has described the boys in question as the exact opposite to Boris Johnson in every possible way, ,so you may well be right.
He is after all what the people of the UK want , God knows why😟

This is 21st Century and there should not be a stereo type of who to become civil servants or to become PM. Prime minister job should not belong to alumni of certain schools but should be for anyone from any background whom is good enough.

Warning-Sense of humour bypass spotted in Hampshire

I totally agree with you @Beyondthesea123. There are some exceptional boys at Winchester who from what my son tells me were like that on arrival in JP. He has learned a lot from one boy in particular who he thinks would make a great PM , if you can tell at 15/16. I'm sure these boys will go to do great things , they have certainly made my son's time at the school happier and more interesting than it would have been otherwise.. Although they probably don't realize.

There are of Johnson like characters there also (with just the same appalling views on woman , minorities etc).
They are at every school although there is higher concentration at school such as Eton, Winchester , Harrow etc.

They’re not things I want to post about here. Generally, though, it can be labelled rape, drug and alcohol culture. Certainly Not unique to any school, state or private, but it was really, really messed up and harmful, and I know a disproportionate number of damaged girls/women from that time (and boys/men by extension), but it understandably upsets some of those here whose sons are wykhamists, or are married to one. And it was 20 years ago. I can only hope it’s changed. I am absolutely prejudiced so people tend to dismiss me as such (and as bitter and/or irrelevant). It also existed in pockets, so it is entirely possible that someone else 20 years ago had an entirely different perspective. Certainly, though, there was an entitlement/rape culture overlap amongst certain boys in certain houses (not in college!!).

@Notanotherusernamenow I am so sorry to hear that.You are not bitter and have every right to be angry no matter how many years have passed.
Indeed, I would say that you are incredibly brave.
Wishing you all the best xxx

Donotgetmestarted - your DS sounds lovely! Have you kicked up a big fuss with the housemaster and the school?

The reason I ask is because I talk to my friends a lot and some with kids at independent schools complain far less than those with children at state schools. Every child’s best interest should be put first and every child should make progress.
If your child is taking GCSE very soon I would request extra attention, revision classes etc. GCSEs really are not that difficult and with the right attention many can be crammed, perhaps not languages, but the rest perfectly possible.

@Donotgetmestarted

Thank you *@ariane800 it was a huge mistake for us. I should have gone with with my gut instinct, he is a bright boy but he's been left to fail. Perhaps because he doesn't stand out in any subject he just went unnoticed We've had very little contact with teachers , I think certain parents have more influence , it certainly seems that way. Possibly this wouldn't have happened in their case. He will do much better in an environment where students have a more realistic view of the world , although he has said there are a few standout boys in his year who he hopes to see running the country one day ( Thay have vision apparently 😂😂) He has learned a lot from those boys at Winchester, they are not the majority though. I did wonder what @Notanotherusernamenow* experienced from what my son has said it may not be a thing of the past. Although I must add my son says that there are boys who have an inner confidence and behave impeccably.

@nolansscrack you did make me laugh and that's not a frequent occurrence at the moment.

I'm so sorry to hear about your experience. We were in a bit of a similar position 3 years ago and I remember it as a very difficult time. The good news is that we did find DS a place at a day school for sixth form, and he did much better in that environment. I hope things improve for your DS and for you

@semideponent thank you so much. It really helps to hear that your son is doing so well now. Best of luck to him for the future.x

@workisnotawolf you are probably right. I think it's because there is such favoritism , boys know where they stand in the pecking order. Some parents (and their sons)are very important to the school , that's clear to see. We are doing the best we can for now and we will also get lots of help for him during the Easter holidays. A boarding school makes things much more difficult. There are extra classes boys can attend but my son won't be getting any extra individual attention.

I think at a state school everyone one is on a equal more of an equal footing . A well behaved boy with supportive parents is likely to do well and teachers would be happy to engage I think. It's clear to see that from the threads year 11/ GCSES on MN .

@Donotgetmestarted - yes, I think state schools have to be seen to be treating all pupils equally. However, from conversations with my friends they seem to worry about kicking up a fuss in case they don’t get references for the next school or in case they just get asked to leave. One had a big issue and wouldn’t write to the governors and it was all hush hush about her child’s SEN. I find it quite shocking really if you are forking out 40k plus your child definitely deserves some individual attention and pushing and also be made to feel just as special as any other boy! What if the reason he isn’t performing is precisely because they undermined his confidence indirectly and so now he believes he is less capable than he actually is. That in itself would deserve individual attention so personally I would kick up a big fuss in your shoes.

Not to prolong this thread but it was encouraging to see such open discussion regarding our children’s education and choice of school. This goes beyond Winchester probably as every school has its culture.

These choices I have found to be deeply personal and we all want what is best. That is why we are here trying to get info.

It is evident that we are all doing our best! One point to share is that my DD was in a similar situation not doing well in GCSEs with mediocre outcome despite being at a top notch school. I made every attempt to change for sixth form and although she got a few offers, in the end there was reluctance to change as she has established relationships at her current school that outweighed her desire to leave to get better grades. In sixth form her motivation changed dramatically because she has to make the decision for her future and define her goals to get there.

It is not easy seeing children not match your expectation for them but many have come through stressful times in the last 2 years. In my case I had let go despite extensive efforts and let her determine where she wants to end up in her final years at school.

With this. I saw more maturity and more confidence, which in the end matters hugely once they leave. I agree social skills are never to be underestimated and to your son whom you describe as a clearly bright, kind young man you must feel proud even if at this point in time when the prospect of grades can be overwhelming,

He’s has succeeded in the past and it is not about how others perform but that he knows that he can achieve excellence for himself. I really wish you and him every good wish for his future school (if he chooses to leave) and thank you for offering a perspective for me and others to consider regarding being a self-starter at Winchester which I have noted. I’m not sure whether my son is a self starter at 10 years old as he’s guided by us regarding revision. However, he is a self starter for what he is passionate about, I am sure he will not be passionate about GCSEs when that time comes.

@Lastoneleft thank you for sharing your experience. I am so pleased boarding at 6th form worked out for your daughter. It was obviously the right decision for your family. We have decided that a day school either independent or state will the right choice for our son.

He has always been a very sociable boy who makes friends easily, lots of children move school at 6th form in both the independent and state sectors. Boarding school is a big commitment for the majority of families both in monetary terms and the loss of families time. It needs to be an enjoyable experience for everyone.

I am very proud of my son , I'm just very disappointed in myself for not reaching this decision earlier. I have let him down and as a parent that's the last thing we want to do.

Oh no dontgetmestarted, I'm sorry to hear this story about Winchester

We decided to go with our Day option in the end because of exactly the reasons that you say.