Less academic school with scholarship, or more without?

[anotherfinemess1]

I’m just starting to think about senior schools for DS. He’s pretty bright but not super-bright. I’m just wondering if we should be aiming at a really academic school he might just get in to (Magdalen College School in Oxford or something similar) or the opposite - Cokethorpe is near us, easier to get into but appears to have a good scholarship programme which he might be eligible for there. I’d love to know what others think!

Most senior schools offer a small scholarships which is usually about 10% of fee (sometimes more / sometimes less) so I go with the school that suits DC the most if the fee remission isn’t the biggest driver. If they are interested in a specific subject (sport, art etc) scholars often get further enrichment activities over other students but how much really depends on programme the school runs. FWIW our child is bright but not academically driven at all so we are attracted to schools that offer scholarships / opportunities for their area of interest over a super academic school as we know that will suit them the most.

I can’t speak to those particular schools but I’ve been less impressed with some of the schools I’ve visited that hand out scholarships like sweeties. The money off doesn’t seem to be that significant in the scheme of things but obviously seems effective at getting acceptances. The strings also seem to be quite high- eg having to do gcse music etc.