Wellington and boys sport

[timmytoes]

DS loves playing sport and is quite talented at cricket, hockey and football etc but at 13 (judging by parents height and weight etc ) he really is not going to be a great rugby player. I think it would be wrong to think about sending him to a school where the majority sport is rugby but I cannot find a South East England academic co-ed boarding school that fits the bill. Wellington comes close but i wonder if anyone can advise me on just how rugby orientated it is.

propatria, could not agree more.

Wellington is a "rugby" school, Eton is not. In the circumstances Eton are beginning to do surprisingly well. That was my point.

Rugby is getting more popular but there is a long way to go,Wellington interestingly did not have a good year at most levels,a blip or has Seldon really changed the school,interesting...

"Eton has many many fine points but I would hope all parents and people connected to it were big and mature to admit that on the odd one or two things it isnt the best or indeed anywhere near the best."
Be careful propatria you risk the wrath of some MN posters.

Who could you mean,sadly there will always be first time buyers who get over excited ,its the job of people who have a deeper and longer knowledge of the subject to show other posters that not all people connected to a school hold the same views.

"over excited"
thats one way of describing it.

?sadly there will always be first time buyers who get over excited ,its the job of people who have a deeper and longer knowledge of the subject to show other posters that not all people connected to a school hold the same views?.

Excellent! Very well said . . . can?t agree more that pitiful excited first time buyers like yourself would have to buy their way into private education. As for us, we just simply walked into the world?s greatest public school as a matter of right . . . although I volunteered to contribute something.

I?ve refrained from saying too much on this thread other than trying to reassure the OP who has indicated her concern about rugby that there is/are boarding schools that don?t emphasize too much in playing rugby. Also, I?ve provided evidence proving an individual with the smallest physique can still excel in playing and I suggested a few ?safe? positions (i.e. so-called ?safe?) that one can avoid being unduly squashed.

Well, put it this way, you cannot even be safe even if you?re walking down your local High Street because you might get mugged or run over by a drunken driver let alone exposing yourself to danger in an open playing field. To be really safe, maybe you should tug yourself up tightly in your bed but even then, your roof might cave in due to the thunderstorm!

Unfortunately, there will be those who either cannot read or think they know the game of rugby ?deeper and longer? than anyone else that they see the need to come and exhibit their ignorance here and completely disregard what the OP is asking. These are the ?armchair coaches? - blessed with loads of theories and imaginations but in reality have never actually touched a rugby ball in their life let alone playing in a game!

I could have been duped by talks of ?school rugby rankings? (if ever there was one), ?how strong are the schools oppos? (your only way to find out would be to play a match, I?d have thought), ?how many boys play divisional,group rugby,how many go on to pro careers etc?.

Pro careers? Are you serious? - a public schoolboy having used up his family?s fortune in paying fees now becoming a professional rugby player? C?mon, give us a break! New Zealand All Black sheep farmers do that without having to see much of schools!!

And this to cap it - the Rosslyn Park 7s. If you know your rugby so well, you?ll know that even the Hong Kong Sevens is nothing more than an annual gigantic weekend tea party in the park for the benefit of the sponsors, never mind Rosslyn Park 7s.

Grovel, you?re right - Eton demolished Harrow in one single afternoon! Tonbridge, you should be shaking in your pants come next season.

propatria rudeness then bizarre ramblings you've been doubly lucky.

Sadly your lack of knowledge and understanding both of the school your son is lucky enough to attend and now Rugby iS now evident in everything you post.
If you actually knew the first thing about Rugby youd know where Etons place was,Tables ranking schools can be very easily found,you are usually very fond of those,why not one that perhaps just shows that others schools are actually better at Eton than something..Pro career,oh dear oh dear,please stop you really are just so ignorant,but then again you live your live in a totally vicarious manner so perhaps we shouldnt be suprised.
First time buyer,spot on..in 1830...
"We just walked into the worlds greatest public school as a matter of right" ,You didnt walk anywhere,your son was lucky enough to win a scholarship,,you are and will always be a non OE,get over it.live your own live and stop being a total embarrassment to your son and Eton.

propatria thats told him I await peteneras response with bated breath.

Wait no more happyg, I know how much you miss me and here I am!

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

"Your lack of knowledge and understanding of both the school . . . and Rugby"

Ha! You?re beginning to look pathetic now because you still don?t get the message. But you?re quite right these two subjects (plus a few others) are more or less everything that I post, quite unlike you who are an expert in everything under the sun - or so you?d have us believe.

Nice to see you squirm when you have rudeness shove back firmly your way as you?re apt in doing to others, patronising them because they don?t have the knowledge and understanding to reply you.

For what it?s worth, I don?t give two hoots where Eton stand in the rugby stakes. My confidence in the school?s standard in every avenue is unshakable. All I care is to inform the general public to go for it given half the chance as in this thread to dispel OP?s fear about rugby. But to mislead forumers ?many schools are far better for Rugby including one that starts with H? is absurd, particularly when OP at the bottom here specifically states she does not want a school that ?just hero worship of the rugby boys?. In any case, your claim about H?s ?far better rugby? is utter balderdash!

And just to update your knowledge and understanding, all the luck on God?s earth won?t win you a scholarship to the world?s greatest public school. You?ll need much, much more than mere luck. And no, it?s not a scholarship, it?s two scholarships, either one of which would have us walked into this great school.

To use your bosom pal?s own derogatory term, you on the other hand, will have to ?cripple? yourself in your great excitement to buy your way in - assuming you get in. At least, happyg, the crutches are not as cumbersome as the barge pole you wouldn?t use to touch those Etonian uniform!

Peterneras, you mock those that have to pay full fees to Eton and yet without such parents your son would never have been privileged enough to receive two scholarships. Without fee paying parents your precious Eton would not even exist. I find your comments deeply distasteful. I hope Eton has rubbed off on your son because your posts prove categorically that you never went to Eton, such is your arrogance, rudeness and lack of manners. You should be humble that Eton was willing to have your son, he is not the only smart child capable of entry, and not think you or he is better than the other 1000 boys who had to "buy their way in". You hide behind your son's achievements, why not have a good look at yourself and ask why you've never been capable of affording such schools. Should you have worked harder, made better choices so that you didn't have to rely on the charity of Eton?

Take note other posters: I am not criticising those who cannot afford school fees. My comments are directed towards the hypocrisy of Peterneras. I believe in widening access to these schools and I currently fund a scholarship to another public school; the thought of my money going towards such a person is sickening.

Essentially the gist of your posting is correct PetiteGrenouille re funding and widening access etc. but there are a few technical points that I?m not prepared to go down here.

What I?d say most importantly is that it will help matters if you?d taken the trouble to read through the whole thread and similar threads on MN associated with the same posters and myself. You talked of mockery, hypocrisy, rudeness, distastefulness, arrogance etc.

Good. Now go back half a dozen or so postings to see for yourself who started the mockery, arrogance, rudeness, etc. with phrases like ?over excited first time buyers?; ?bizarre ramblings?; ?people who have a deeper and longer knowledge of the subject? and so forth.

My solution to such individuals is, as always, a very simple one. Just play the game according to their rules, Yes, I deliberately played on the word, ?buy? as in ?excited first time buyers? to emphasize that, unlike them, I didn?t have to ?buy?. This was a direct answer to their insults to ?excited first time buyers?. Mind you, this was not the first time such insults and patronising comments had been used by the same posters.

My subsequently postings were in no way directed to the millions of genuine people like yourself and other parents/pupils, teachers etc. and I did realise that they could be much offended to whom I apologise. I?d just put it down to collateral damage. Of course, I?m thankful for the scholarships but if you must know, my DP had a big quarrel with me at that time because the local top grammar school was the first choice and DS was able to go there one year younger. There was one moment when I was almost swayed towards the grammar.

Don?t know about you, but I?ve never believed in a free lunch. Scholarships to me (not necessary to others) are an unwritten loan. There is the potential that this unwritten loan would/could be repaid many times over in the future when the beneficiary makes it to the world. I?ve reminded DS a million times it?s got to be repaid sometime in the future and there is no ceiling nor expiry date.

But I?m very comfortable in the knowledge that there are posters here on MN and other forums who have met me in person, through private emails, my family and personal friends who know I am a million miles from what you have described me. You are free to think and do whatever you like.

I apologise if I misjudged your comments Peterneras and I thank you for offering an apology to those you did not mean to offend. I do hope one day that those that can afford to repay a scholarship do and do not just merely reap the benefits. It is admirable that you are installing this expectation into your son.

Hand on Bible, I've reminded him that over and over again and every time when he tells me about his success in school and now medical school (he just passed his major January exam with flying colours) I tell him about his responsibilities to the underprivileged, the sick and the defendless, etc.

I thank you too for offering an apology and admire your generosity in funding a scholarship. If I had my way, I want every kid to go to Eton and similar schools which is the main reason why I am here.

peteneras, I'm feeling very broke at the moment. As we paid full fees at Eton for our DS could you possibly ask your son to pay us back first?

Oh c'mon grovel, give him a chance - he's just started on his way learning his trade to hopefully make some serious money to repay Eton but pulling a lifeless body back onto this world in the operating theatre is just as rewarding!

Not sure how relevant this is but I was advised today that if you have a sporty or musical dc then getting 60% in CE will be enough to get you a place at Wellington. The head is apparently very keen to recruit dcs that contribute to school life and will accept those even if their academics aren't that strong.