Just confused and want chat re what school to apply cor.

[farawaymummy]

So if i want to register for a chance at winchester, then we apply in year 5? Ds at a school in dubai and have absolutely no idea what we will do after year 6. Sounds as if he wld have to go a prep sch nearby to even have a chance ?
And also sounds as if its hard to even get into those prep schools ? Am going in circles wondering what school and from bedales to canford to this and the bumpf all the schools write seems to be aimed at our ds. Maybe am going mad. Sort of given up on finding perfect state school as they seem too purely academic if tgey r any good. Or am i wrong ?
Oh dear. We want to live anywhere in the south westish up to kent, having chosen school first. Am i the only one who has absolutely no idea ? I mean, at 9yrs you really cannot be sure that a passion they have now will be the same as at 13 !

Well, the good news is that you've got at least a year before it's too late for any of the schools you mention (assuming your son is 9). So, no immediate panic.
Yes, all school prospectuses and websites are glossy and make similar claims. Not your fault if you can't choose between them from Dubai.
Canford has a special exam for kids who have not been to UK prep schools (and therefore have not been trained for Common Entrance). Winchester does not use Common Entrance (it has its own exam based on the Common Entrance syllabus).
Winchester is generally more academic than Canford but has plenty of sport, music, drama activities as well. Canford can still get get bright kids into Oxford, Cambridge, other top universities.
Winchester is all-boys and the school buildings are scattered around the centre of the city. Canford is co-ed and is all on its own campus in the countryside.
You can register for more than school so (if you don't mind paying registration fees) you can get into the loop at both schools and make your mind up later when you know what your 12 year old son is like.
Hope this helps a bit.

farawaymummy, are you already using resources such as the Good Schools Guide? If not, you need to. I don't think your DS necessarily needs to be in a prep school to have a chance, but it might make life simpler. I'm a bit confused, though, because elsewhere you said your budget wasn't for private school; if you mean that literally it may limit your options severely as bursaries are much harder to come by for prep schools than for senior schools. (It might be a bit easier if your DS is a potential Winchester scholar, mind! I think most people with a DS that extreme would know they were looking for a highly academic school, though, whereas you've sounded more unsure.) You really need to have a plan B if plan A is Winchester, in any case. Maybe ringing or emailing the school for their advice would be a good idea? They must have dealt with lots of overseas parents in similar situations and could probably advise on which prep schools are likely to have Y7 places available and to prepare well for Winchester. I guess the obvious candidate is Pilgrims, but I have no inside information about it.

At the risk of repeating myself Win Coll does not only offer bursaries to scholars!

And unless i'm missing something I would not say "the school buildings are scattered around the centre of the city." The boarding houses are not within the school walls but the furthest one is only a ten minute walk away! They also own a lot of buildings around the school.
I also think to say that "Winchester is generally more academic than Canford" is a bit like saying a formula 1 race car is a generally faster than a lawn mower. Winchester is exceedingly academic and in opinion the head is trying to make it even more so, primarily because nearly all independent schools have fantastic results now so he is trying to make its USP the fact that it is a worldwide academic centre of excellence.

I hope you didn't think I was contradicting you, happygardening, but IME prep schools are usually much less well-endowed than senior schools, so if the OP needs a bursary at the prep school stage, that may be harder to come by than a bursary at Winchester. At that level, so I've heard, the belief that a DC may win a prestigious scholarship can in practice help to secure the bursary.

I've looked at the Canford website the boarding would appear to be organised in a different way. At Win Coll the boys eat all their meals, sleep, socialise, do their prep get changed for games, basically everything but lessons and actual games in the boarding house. All houses have libraries, separate areas for prep/common rooms for younger boys and some houses have music practice rooms, squash courts and small gyms. Younger boys are in dorms of up to six and I believe twin and single rooms only occur in the top two years. The house is everything and a boys whole life evolves around it. He does a couple of lessons and then returns to his house for a break and books for the next lessons and the returns for lunch and so on. The house master is in charge and sets down the rules reflecting his ethos, some are stricter than others even the food in each house is different. The boys are unbelievably loyal to their house (assuming their happy in it) and the overwhelming majority of their friends will be from their house. This is why choosing the right boarding house is so important.
The other thing my DS found is that life at Win Coll is very busy there is little free time from the moment they wake up till they go to bed. They are expected to be busy. Every day there are chunks of the timetable where there are no actual lessons but time has to be spent doing an activity sport or more intellectual pursuit. This is not a school for the lazy or those who want a quiet life and all this is combined with fast moving very academic lessons and loads of prep (2 hours six days a week from the start). Its not for everyone.

I don't know which school your children are in but there is a small number of people people from Dubai whose sons have successfully applied to Eton and Winchester and plenty of other, less selective schools without using a prep school. Takes quite a bit more effort from you though to ensure you are familiar with what they want - not at pre-test level which is largely an iq type test and interview, and should not pose a problem if your child is of sufficient academic calibre, but later, when doing Common Entrance as the syllabus differs somewhat from National Curriculum. Some tutoring would be needed.

The gap between NC and core CE subjects (Maths, English) is not much if you are at a top Dubai school as standards are high, but Latin provision can be a problem, even though all schools, even Eton, allow for a lower tier exam to be taken in this subject in certain circumstances - and French teaching is different and, I am told, of a lower standard than at prep schools. The other problem is that Dubai schools are not gearing up for exams at the end of year 8 as prep schools are so exam practice is not available in school (except at Repton, but I don't know much about Repton's standards).

It is not uncommon for anxious parents to send 9 year olds to well known Uk preps in order to get into top schools and to find that their "third set for maths" son is placed immediately in top set at his new prep. If you don't want too much work and want to keep your child with you until 13, I believe that as well as Canford, Charterhouse is very understanding of overseas children who have not attended traditional prep schools. Many other schools will be too if you ask them.

The decision about leaving for prep school depends entirely upon the school your child is currently attending in Dubai, however, as only a tiny number cut the mustard in this respect.

If Eton or Winchester are your aim you need to be well organised, well informed, and self disciplined if you decide to keep you child with you after the age of 10. It is possible though.

happygardening, I'm not going to argue with you. You know your stuff. But the "city" versus "campus" debate is important to some older kids. My DH went to Radley and swore he'd never send our DS to a school where he never saw the real world at work as he went about his daily life. He felt really trapped as a 17/18 year old in leafy Berkshire.
That's one of the reasons we chose Eton over Canford. But we thought Canford impressive.

I should also say that volumnia knows her stuff.

And alsoconsideringWinColl seems very clued up.

I agree about the city versus campus debate. We live in a twee market town and have prior to this lived in tiny villages my DS wanted to be in a town/city when at school. This is particularly important if you are properly full boarding; ie not coming home at all at the weekend. At Win Coll the boys can go home on Sunday although they must attend chapel and generally there are no activities organised although s few things are open to them. Lots seem to go home for a few hours particularly the younger ones and for those that stay going into Winchester is then one of your options. This sort of thing may be important if like us you live a fair distance away or abroad.

Thanks very much for your replies.
To clarify - we were not budgeting for private but now think we may have to just go for smaller house, I will work etc. We will leave Dubai when he has finished year 6. He is 9 now and in year 4. I am sure he is not the sholarship type of material for a school like Winchester even though he is apparently intelligent. I find it hard as his mum, to see him in an academic way - we only have one child.
It was the way that Winchester described the debating, question asking and academic program that I knew would really suit him.
My other worry is that he is statemented ADHD and though this is no longer holding him back now, I don't know if he will manage to concentrate through the dryer academia at secondary level, whereas in his very free spirited primary school, he is stimulated and enthusiastic.
We are not worried whether just boys or boys and girls, and not bothered about town or country -he loves the country and the outdoors though.
Some schools seem to have a farm attached ( like Milton Abbey I think ) - what a brilliant idea.
So I will do my homework and find out about the common entrance and other exams. Any tips on specific websites for this ? I mean of course I can google it but you all very much in the loop compared to me. Thanks again.

Here are the current Common Entrance syllabuses - note these may change a bit over the next few years
www.iseb.co.uk/syllabus.htm

The general info for parents is useful too.

Not Milton Abbey its aimed at Tim nice but dim with lots of money behind him who is never going to need a proper job so doesn't need any qualifications.

Oh happy gardening that made me laugh so much ! As mine won't have any money behind him, lets give that a miss then !!

A boy we know spent five years learning to mow their very extensive lawns it's very expensive as well least it was.