Super selective grammar school or Winchester College

[Pomonasky]

Hello mum's net,

My DS has just finished year 6 and was offered a place at a very selective London grammar school starting in September. We wanted to keep our options open (I wasn't sure if he would be accepted at the grammar school) so we also applied to some independent schools including boarding schools.

He was offered a place at Winchester College starting in year 9 , the cost is an issue for us so we thought the grammar school would be our best option. Now my parents in law have offered to cover the fees ,if we want DS to go there. His current prep school could keep him until year 8 and prepare him for the Winchester entrance.

Has anyone faced a similar dilemma? I am not 100% convinced about boarding but DS will be almost 14 at the beginning of year 9.

He is our only child and I don't have experience of the high school system in the UK.

‘There were definitely a few troubled boys, some obviously due to family issues “

These boys will be at every school but their affect will be far more damaging at a boarding school. Winchester swept the issues in our house under the rug but they do have a history of this. My DS wasn’t directly affected but we lost all trust in the school , we felt trapped as DS was coming towards the end of year 12.

If your DS is happy to keep his head down ( and stay silent) no matter what he see going on around him then send him to Winchester. QEB is the obvious choice.

Name change for this post .

I second this, the problem with the “few troubled boys” is the impact they have on other students.

This was also our experience. Some families hold so much influence over the school, their son's are untouchable.Boys know this , sometimes it's due to vast wealth but often it's due to their connections in politics, the church etc etc.

Choose the Grammar school he will be meeting a better type of individual both the staff and students.
Private schools are a business.

Interesting 8 Winchester pupils got 9 nines and 23 more 9/8's. When you consider the amount of tutoring that goes on during the holidays, this is worth watching OP. Please save your money and send your DS to the grammar school. The teaching will be far better.

Weird video. That's a really strange conclusion she's drawn - personally I think someone with "made up" exams at GCSE level would be less employable, not more, as there's no oversight.

She is right when she talks about the poor teaching at private schools, parents just supplement with tutoring.

They basically live off their name. I hope the OP chose QEB.

Do not expect less supplement with tutoring in QEB though.

There is a big difference between “poor teaching” to the actual GCSE exam/test and poor teaching overall. You really cannot tell just looking at a school’s results…
The very best teachers manage to combine inspirational teaching but also impart the skills to do well in the test and get the kids to work to the test, at the same time.
My DC are at grammars, there is no end of testing to the test and tutoring too. That is especially true for years 10&11. Before and after that, it is a bit better. It is extremely exam focussed, perhaps some independents sneer at that which looks arrogant on paper.

When I interview I look for self motivated candidates who think on their own two feet, take initiative and do not expect to be spoon fed. Whether they have had pushy parents who tutored them is neither here nor there. It is irrelevant to me what the character of their parents is, I am interested in the candidates themselves. Grades alone do not tell me much, it is just a way for HR to get through the paperwork. A kid who has been tutored by anxious pushy parents can be absolutely fine in themselves.