Saint albans boys v haberdashers boys

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does anyone have any experience of these schools ? And would they be a good second choice to harrow school ?

What really got to DH was that our DS regualrly runs for his county at weekends and we wouldn't be allowed to take him to fixtures.
The school said they would ensure he got there. Then we could cheer him on at the race. And then they'd take him back to school.

That just felt ludicrous to me as a proposition.

Wordfactory, your view is perfectly reasonable in terms of what you want for your DS. It just makes Eton the wrong school for him. Eton caters for parents who want their sons to take advantage of what full boarding offers. It's a different model.

See Grovel I can't get my head around that.

Parents actively want not to see their DC at weekends?

I had assumed that they just sucked it up because it is such a lovely school and you know, it doesn't give them any choice in the matter.

But if majority of parents want their ds to take advantage of "full boarding" then how does the odd parent taking their child out occassionally affect them ? Surely that option should still be available then its up to parents if they wish to use it.

No wonder why restaurants in Eton and Winchester, like any other termly schools, are full over weekends. Lots of younger brothers and sisters in the crowd looks so tired and bored.

wordfactory, we saw our DS most weekends - either for one of the exeats or at sporting/music events. We don't live far away.
Eton actively want boys from all over the country and wouldn't want some of them flogging up and down to Scotland, Northumberland etc every weekend.
School matches are played on Saturdays and most boys are in some kind of team.
Eton has lessons on Saturday mornings. This allows them more time for sport and extra-curricular activity on weekdays. etc
It's the full boarding model and it works for some.

One if the reason why we choose Win Coll over St Paul's is because it's full boarding there are no viable weekly boarding schools where I live. So I for one want it to stay as it is as does the current head.

grovel to address your recent point, the boys wont' HAVE to be going up and down every weekend as i dont expect weekend exeats to be compulsory, its only for the odd occassion and it won't affect fixtures as majority will still be in school, AND if they had more flexibility in their exeat policy fixtures would be arranged to take that into account.

The point is the whole structure of Eton has been arranged over the entire week so that boys really have no choice, and although they may recognise this jugding by the HM response to grovel they really arent interested in changing.

bulletpoint, I understand your question but sports teams, orchestras etc perform at weekends. How do they cope with random absences? Incidentally our housemaster was fine with the odd "Granny's 75th birthday party".

"how do they cope with random abscences ?"

For music, i'd say the same way Oundle school cope, they have a fantastic Chamber Orchestra.

For sports i'd say same way Saint albans (day school) cope and still manage to beat them!

I think they'd manage in much the same way that other schools do.
A core of pipils will remain within school either because it's too far to travel home, or because they have comittments, or because they simply want to.

The others leave after sport on Saturday and head back on Sunday evening or Monday morning.

TBH I think most parents would prefer flexibility. Everyone I know who is sending their DC termly boarding is doing it begrudgingly and suckinhg it up.

It's a terrible shame.

wordfactory, who is it a terrible shame for? Parents/children who don't like the model can go to other excellent schools.

This thread is so interesting, on reading it I almost felt that this type of debate is normal. In fact most people in this county would lump all of the private schools together as most of the children leave the schools in a type of bubble, thinking that it is real life.

My db went to st albans and did very well there academically, and the school seemed to suit his quirky personality. Habs boys seemed to be more arrogant.

If every pupil decided on a random absence then half the school could be gone. Quite frankly, by age 13 a boy has little interest in seeing his parents at the weekend and is very happy to full board and seek out nice you ladies in town!

I've had experience of full and flexi-boarding anf flexi is not good for the full-time boarders. My son was the only junior left in school at weekends and it was very hard for him. We had no option and he had to stay in. Flex only really works for the whole peer group if it's a Mon-Fri school.

grovel I think it's a shame for those parents and DC who don't want to termly board but feel they have to suck it up. And there are many I know of.

I think it's a shame for boys like mine who by all accounts would be just the ticket but we won't suck it up.

I actually think it's a shame for the school. Such a lovely place would, I feel, only improve by being flexible.

colleger I can assure you plenty of 13 years olds like to hang out with their parents (especially those with debentures ). It's perfectly normal.

But I can see it would be a pain if the majority of pupils went home only leaving a handful. We looked around a girlls's school like that for DD and it wa slike the Marie Celeste. Three bored looking chinese girls in the library.

Frankie3 That's very true. What year did yr DB leave SA?

wordfactory, we are not going to agree then (which is another terrible shame!).

The parents who suck it up are daft. If they live close enough to Eton to pick sons up every weekend they also live close enough to Wellington, Charterhouse and other schools which allow boys home every weekend.

Your DS would not be a perfect fit if he doesn't want to termly board in the full sense.

The school benefits from being a 7 day enterprise. I would never send my DS to a school where half the boys cleared off every weekend. I believe in day schools, in weekly boarding schools and termly boarding schools. I don't like hybrids.

A friend of my DS went to day co-ed school at Y6. He was v good enough for WinCol Election (he actually wanted), but his family was against boarding. Some parents who were against boarding also complained about 'prestige schools = termly boarding'.

Some conversations remind me a guy ordered a big mac meal in Burger King.

The country is positively groaning in good schools that offer weekly/flexi boarding if you want it. Popping home on the train on Sunday or lunches in Winchster with his bored brother are not a goer for us. In fact we were disappointed when we found out how many do go home on Sunday although it occurs less as they get older. The boys work incredibly hard and although activities are organised this is a time for themomits to chill. We for one have not sucked up anything.

dungiven - I'm not sure the % of pupils accepted at selective university tells the WHOLE story, since I think it records offers at only UK highly selective universities. St Albans sends almost nobody, on average, to Yale, Princeton, Brown and the Sorbonne, I imagine the likes of Winchester and Eton do. I reckon they think: "Well I've got no friends and my family abandoned me when I was 7, I might just as well bugger orf to America." (joke btw)

These statistics also don't take into account the many land owning families and their son's go off to agricultural college (not selective) to learn how to run their country pile even though they got four A*s at A'level. Not sure many St A boys are in the same position. A large percentage also go on to Ivy League.

About termly boarding at public school(s), in an establishment like Eton it?s the only way that works. It has to be remembered that the pupils are not the only boarders - almost all masters including the Head and the Provost board in and around the school. Boys and masters alike come from all parts of the UK and a large number are from abroad.

On weekdays, lessons sometimes continue till late in the evening. Certain afternoons are scheduled for sports and other activities e.g. CCF on Monday afternoons and most societies meet in the night often starting at 8.30 p.m. On numerous occasions I tried ringing DS at 11p.m. without success because he was at a society meeting or other.

Saturday lessons finish at around noon and boys have sports fixtures to attend to later in the day. Some away matches can see them travelling long distances. Once I saw coaches arriving back at well past midnight from heaven knows where. On a sports free Saturday evening, it is quite usual for tutors taking their tutees to a show/play in Windsor or even London.

Even on Sundays, boys get up early to attend chapel after which they have their own free time till supper in the evening. Parents can take their child out for lunch/dinner but more often than not the child would rather the parents don?t turn up.

Likewise, parents are welcome to watch their child play sports. I know of a rugby-mad dad who would follow his son to all rugby matches, home or away. In conclusion, there will be ample opportunities for parents to touch base with their sons even during term time and the extended term holidays more than make up for your son?s absence from home.

Colleger - Ha! I bough they all went up to Christ Church, Oxford (the cream of colleges ) and did History of Art? And I already made the point about Ivy League. Do you have a destination of leavers list for ALL Eton students last year or the year before?