A child of a close friend has always been a bit off the scale, and has now got top marks in all papers (he's at a bog-standard primary, no tutoring or specific prep undertaken). Unfortunately he is out of catchment for the really good grammar schools. Whilst I know that many people believe that a good scholar will thrive in any environment, I suspect that he will perhaps be susceptible to bullying - it's happened in the past, and he does sometimes struggle with normal friendships - he's a fair bit away from the normal bell curve in virtually every criteria - including social skills. His mum is not rolling in money so she's not sure of the ins and outs of private education or whether/when she might apply for scholarships/bursaries. Another friend has indicated that Winchester might be interested in someone who is brilliant academically and 'unique' in other ways, but I was wondering if there anywhere she can go to for guidance on options at this stage, given that he is two years away from common entrance, and the next 2 years might be critical in terms of preparing him, etc? Are there any good websites or suchlike? Or has anyone else had same experience?