If Eton was/is your first choice for DS , what was/is your second choice and why ?

[timmytoes]

I like Eton, I think it will be a good choice for my DS who is sporty, musical, academic , a go-getter ( has prep school all rounder scholarship ) etc BUT I am very conscious he may not get in , thus I need a back up plan or maybe 2 plans ..Anyway I would be interested to have suggestions where else to consider , I suppose you could say what is closest to Eton without of course being Eton ?

Based on your description of our son and if you want all boys I'd say Harrow and Radley in that order.

My second choice would not be applicable as I chose it based on my son, therefore I would never have considered Harrow or Radley for him.

We have looked at Harrow but we are not on waiting list for Radley. We are urbanites so not sure re Radley. Would you consider Tonbridge or Chaterhouse ?

I wouldn't but that's not to say they will be fine for your child. As an all rounder he should do well anywhere.

Does it have to be all boys/boarding/both?

Tonbridge is great fab head very modern good facilities but hardly any full boarders and I think 40% day children. But excellent train links into London and along East Kent coast. Definitely worth thinking about if your location is right.

We are LOndon based, and I do think boarding is the better option for DS ( As an only child DS has never had to share space, attention etc with any one , i think boarding school will work wonders on the softer skills such as tolerance , working in a team etc ) but it does not have to be full boarding although I accept that in weekly boarding you may lose some of the benefits of boarding. DS will need a high academic standard , gets bored easily and needs to have a fair few peers who can challenge him but also loves sport , really is part of who he is and what makes him tick . I like Eton inter alia it manages to combine academia with sport and music and I like the fact it is close to London so it works for the rest of the family .

Harrow is also very academic and has a good number of exceptional boys who could have been scholars at Westminster and Winchester.

What about Marlborough?

would Harrow look at someone who has them second choice to Eton? they quite probably see themselves as equals and may get uppity about being 2nd choice (I know eg Downe House don't accept being 2nd choice for girls)

Radley is a lovely school. My son is at a local rival, but we know teachers at Radley and have been very impressed. And the facilities are great.

I don't think you need to worry about Harrow finding out that it is your second choice because Eton pre test in year 6 and I think Harrow pre test in year 7. So you will know whether he has got into Eton before you go for the pre test at Harrow.