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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

Harrow School

121 replies

Rache101 · 19/12/2011 00:39

Hello
My son is applying for a sixth form scholarship to Harrow school and have 3 exams and a interview, does he stand a good chance of getting in?. He does Cadets, debating, Prefect, part of a classsical society, shooting, part of the Labour Party and represents his county at Cadet football. His predicated grades haven't been released yet but I reckon he will get around 3-5 A*'s and GCSE. Do you think he stands a realistic chance or am I living in a dream world?

Thank You

OP posts:
schmee · 19/12/2011 22:01

I don't know what other posters' motivations are, but I've seen Harrow mess a fair few people up and the majority of people I know who enjoyed it are narrow minded louts. I'm sure it does have good points, but I think a lot of people think it's a good idea to send their children to "top" schools, without really understanding what a negative effect it can have.

Not necessarily the case in this instance, granted.

Happygardening · 19/12/2011 22:21

The OP was not asking our opinion of Harrow it doesn't matter what we think about it she and we have to assume her DS likes it that's ultimately all that matters. I personally don't like Eton but am aware that many do and I acknowledge that it's a good school if it suits you.

bulletpoint · 19/12/2011 22:28

Goodness me peteneras! are you an Eton parent ? If you are i'd be withdrawing my registration immeadiately you sound very arrogant and completely put me off the school.

So what if Eton is the better school ? People have their own reasons for choosing a school, the whole world doesnt want to go to Eton despite what you might think, you sound really awful.

Happygardening · 19/12/2011 22:36

Eton is not a better school it's the most famous but this does not mean its better than any other school. It does have very vocal supporters particularly on MM.

bulletpoint · 19/12/2011 23:00

There are many vocal supporters of Eton, Colleger being one, but i've never seen insultimg anyone's choice.

Shame they don't take girls at Eton, peteneras could well do with a few lessons in manners and courtesy there.

Original poster
Rache101 · 20/12/2011 00:26

I have 2 questions; Do any of you women have any idea how many people apply for this scholarship? and does someone have past papers, Common Entrance or any of the subject ones? If they do, would you mind PMing it to me, it will be of HUGE benifit, thanks :)

OP posts:
Colleger · 20/12/2011 00:51

CE papers can be purchased from ISEB.

Your son sounds like a strong candidate for any school but the difficulty is knowing who re competition is and what Harrow is looking for in a particular year. It is worth considering other schools that would snap your son up and give him many opportunities but are not quite as oversubscribed. I think it unlikely that your son will be able to mix with his friends during term time so other than the scholarship being location based it would be best to look around. What about Haileybury or Stowe?

I'd like to think I don't criticise other schools but alas I have my views on Canford and Wellington! Grin Oh and how could I forget Bedales. But not everyone is academic enough to get into the likes of Eton and Win, as I know from personal experience, and some children would fail miserably in these environments.

Original poster
Rache101 · 20/12/2011 01:02

COLLEGER- the reason why he opted for Harrow is becuase we live in the area so it would be nice if he got in. It was always a long shot but we figured that someone has to win it, why can't he? I agree with your thought that it is nearly impossible predicating what Harrow are looking for; esspecialy as they have just got a new head-teacher. I will try but I have not put all my eggs in one basket, banking on him to get the scholarship as probaly 40ish people will apply, maybe more! but it would be nice if he got in :) Oh, and the ISEB only have 11 and 13+ papers

OP posts:
Happygardening · 20/12/2011 06:14

Have you spoken directly to Harrow? Most school admissions offices are very helpful. My concern would be that they want A*'s across the board. Ask them.
My friends DS quite a few years ago sat the Eton (for 13 yr olds) scholarship which is notoriously difficult. The head of his prep was against it he was in the lower class for all his subjects. The parents logic if you dont try you definitely wont get it.
He came 5th an incredible achievement.

Original poster
Rache101 · 20/12/2011 11:39

I have...they told me nothing! Angry so I have no idea... HG, do you know if the Harrow exams are similar to Eton's?

OP posts:
Abitwobblynow · 20/12/2011 17:14

Ponders, yes they do! Harrow is called 'the dump on the hump' and Eton is called 'the drain on the plain'.

At the annual Eton/Harrow match an Eton chant is 'Who goes to a minor public school? You do, you do' and the Harrow chant back is 'You are going to work for us one day'...

Rache, don't listen. Harrow is an absolutely fantastic school and your boy is doing well to go for it. Nothing ventured etc. If he doesn't get it, disappointment fades. If he doesn't go for it, regret lasts a lifetime. Like the lottery quote says 'it could be you'...

The Peter Beckwith scholars are terrifyingly clever. But this Kane scholarship sounds great.

If he gets it, tell him to prepare to two huge shocks of his life:

first and foremost discovering that he will be required to work 4 times as hard as he is now, and no excuses will be tolerated (I have kids in both the state and the private system, and state kids just have no idea how hard kids in the private system have to work);
and secondly, what a soft little Mummy's boy he is compared to the others. Don't panic about that, let him go and let them turn him into a man it is the right thing emotionally and developmentally.

Hmmmm, Labour party. Good on him. Like that Harrow boy Winston Churchill said: if you are not a socialist when you are young, you have no heart. If you are still a socialist when you are old, you have no brain.

If he gets it, do tell us how long he stays Labour for!!!!!

Original poster
Rache101 · 20/12/2011 17:45

haha Abitwobblynow he will stay Labour; He is one of the youngest members in the party (2-20 youngest i think!) and he will always stay Labour...it's in his blood! And I think he is trying to prepare for the hard work, but it will be very, very hard. The only problem is if he wins it, I promised him a week in Park Lane Hilton, £500 a night! it would be cheaper paying the bloody fees...Xmas Wink

OP posts:
Abitwobblynow · 20/12/2011 18:25

Peteneras, why don't you have any time for Harrow?

From a pastoral care point of view, Harrow looks after their boys much better than Eton does. The boys' performances are monitored closely and any dips are noted within 24hours and passed on to the house tutors. Eton on the other hand is much more collegiate and requires more precocious boys. So by the time they have worked out he is slacking in, maths for instance, they will find out that physics etc have gone the same way.

Harrow used to be a brutal school, it is anything but now. A lot of Eton parents are moving over and Eton itself are realising that they need to row back on the Eton test, give more weight to old Etonian kids, because the ethos of the school is being lost.

Anyway, Rache, the scholarship test won't follow the syllabus it will more likely test for reasoned thought and aptitude. Tell your son read a lot, good luck and just be himself. I bet the interviewers would love his Labour thoughts, they would be a bit different!

Happygardening · 20/12/2011 19:06

I know nothing about scholarships at that yr group at Harrow Eton or my DS school Win Coll but I can give you a bench mark which might help. Win Coll is a little more academic than Eton to get into the 6th form we were told that the existing commoners (non scholars) had to have a minimum of 7* at IGCSE. I suspect Eton is similar so if we assume that Harrow is slightly less academic it would probably safe to assume they are looking for similar results for their scholars entering into the 6 th form. Does this make sense?
I suspect any exam will want to sees he can write clearly and intelligently and formulate an agruement.

Ignore those who are rude enough to slag it off I'm assuming you looked at Harrow carefully and spoken to the masters and came away feeeling positive about it. Good luck let us know how you get on.

Ponders · 20/12/2011 19:16

Ponders, yes they do! Harrow is called 'the dump on the hump' and Eton is called 'the drain on the plain'.
At the annual Eton/Harrow match an Eton chant is 'Who goes to a minor public school? You do, you do' and the Harrow chant back is 'You are going to work for us one day'

If that's just the students ripping each other, wobbly, I don't have a problem with it - it's parents denigrating the other school I don't like

Original poster
Rache101 · 20/12/2011 19:16

Thank you HP Those rough grade boundries are acheivable for my ds and I think Harrow is less academic that Eton and Win Col. We have looked @ Harrow carefully. And I will tell you how I do :) thanks

OP posts:
Abitwobblynow · 20/12/2011 21:00

Agreed Ponders. And it is the old Etonians who slag off mostly. 'The only nice thing about Harrow, is that on a clear day you can see Eton'.

That made me laugh!

Rache, tell your boy to WORK. All the Harrow boys I know got 7-9 A* if not 10.

Greythorne · 20/12/2011 23:50

peteneras
you really give a very poor impression of Eton oarents. Snooty, snippy and childish.

peteneras · 21/12/2011 00:00

Never mind about Eton parents. They're a nice bunch, I promise you.

It's just my own personal way of dealing with Harrow, if you really must know.

Greythorne · 21/12/2011 00:01

Why on earth do you have "to deal" with Harrow if they are nothing to do with you?

peteneras · 21/12/2011 00:24

Huh! So you thought.

How many of you guys, particularly those who criticised me, have had direct dealings with Harrow? No, I?m not interested in stories about ?my friend?s friend blah, blah, blah . . .?

Just that . . . how many of you had actually picked up the phone and asked Harrow about things they should be telling you in the first place, e.g. scholarships/bursaries, admissions etc.?

I now know OP has done so and she has made it a point to include an angry face Angry when she tells us above that she has contacted Harrow. If it?s any consolation, OP, you?re not the first nor the last that Harrow has insulted and patronised.

I do not know exactly what OP?s conversation with the school was but I can visualise a polite OP asking some very reasonable and polite questions about scholarships/bursaries, exams, admissions etc. - just to be ?slagged? off by Harrow as if she?s a pain in the behind, or worse still, a bloody cancer that Harrow wish will go away.

At least that was how I was treated by them some years ago.

The sad fact about a minor public school is that it artificially inflates its ego when it deals with ordinary members of the public. Can you believe it . . . it even tries to play God!

I say, there?s no need for all that humbug. The scholars in the video aren?t exactly there for free. They will win honours for the school and when their time comes, they may contribute perhaps more millions back to the school than your self-made God.

As for the only public school that matters back in Windsor, instead of the annual parade to demean and patronise them, Scholars there are much venerated. It is believed the King?s Scholars (of which DS was one) are so revered that even the Head Master cannot touch them e.g. expel them; they are the King?s Scholars, not the Head Master?s. Benefactors of the school contribute anything from a million to £10 million without having to make a song and dance out of it. In fact, the benefactor who contributed £10 million only did so on the one condition that he/she remains anonymous.

You are a poor show, Harrow.

kerrygrey · 21/12/2011 06:23

Oh peteneras, I know just how you felt when patronised and treated as scum by Harrow. It happened to me when speaking to Eton - truly. All was fairly reasonable until I asked about bursaries, then I had the impression that I was a scrounger and they could do without my sort. F'instance, asking if younger children's expenses were taken into account when fixing a bursary I was told 'if people chose to have several children one must presume that they can afford them'. That's when Eton was crossed off my mental list.

Perhaps it just depends on whether you're unlucky enough to get an arse on the end of the phone

Happygardening · 21/12/2011 06:41

Kerrygrey you should have spoken to Win Coll everyone I know who has spoken to their bursar comes away feeling positive.
peteneras there are many out there who think Etonians are arrogant, I personally am not a fan of the school but having met many Etonians of all ages don't actually believe this is the case; lets face it their are arrogant people from all walks of life. But comments like "As for the only public school that matters" do not help this view.

kerrygrey · 21/12/2011 08:08

HG - I did speak to Wincoll and they were lovely. So were Oakham - so that's my plan A and plan B and the moment. The other place as arrogant as Eton was Repton, also off my 'list'.