Eton - too many distractions ?

[timmytoes]

My DH thinks , as I do, that Eton would be ideal for our academic (but probably not Kings scholarship level) , sporty, outgoing, DS but DH also worries that the sheer amount of activities on offer and of course the away from home bit will mean that DS will be distracted from his studies. If DS had his way, currently he would be in every school house competition, every school orchestra/choir, participate in after school clubs every night as well as play sport for external clubs all weekend so the concern is not without substance. He likes academic work but does not currently have to work very hard to maintain a high standard. Is DH right to be worried ? Would a careful choice of house and house master reduce/negate the risk ? Does anyone have any experience they can share ?

Don'y worry. I went to boarding school and there are a lot of hours in the day to fill. Its not like going to day school and coming home. Activities and extra curricular is what it is all about.

His housemaster and form master will monitor his extra curricular activities and his studies. They will make sure he gets the right balance.

Our DSs go to a private day school and I wish they did more extra curricular like I did at school. Your DS will love it if he is a sporty outgoing type.

Well Eton would have failed spectacularly if that was the case and most of the boys wouldn't end up on top courses at top universities. Where do you get your ideas from?

My DS, not at Eton I hasten to add, but full boarding has certainly in the first two if not three years has very fixed times for prep. Although activities do take place in this time he is I believe only allowed to attend one a fortnight and then will have been expected to do his prep at another time. He does many many extracurricular activities and in fact his HM is delighted that he is doing so much. So far it has not had a detrimental effect on his academic work in fact he is doing far better than he ever did at his prep where his interests were not catered for! I recently read in one of the schools publications that there is no evidence that those who actively participate in a lot of drama at the school have a negative impact on their exam results (39% Oxbridge entry last year and over 50% A*?s). Drama is only done as an extra-curricular activity but they put on about four productions a term! School is not just about exam results the whole point of boarding is that you get so many more opportunities than at a day school. I was recently listening to my son discussing something he has studied in the unexamined part of the curriculum discussing it with such passion and energy and also relating to the other areas where examinations do take place.
With regard to Eton itself I may have misunderstood what a friend said but I thought she said at Eton there is no a set time for prep, boys have to organise themselves and fit it in around their activities. I suppose that if your son is very keen on a particular sport etc. he could let academic work slip. But IME of these type of very selective schools his tutor/HM/subject teacher will quickly pick up on this and put him back on the straight and narrow!

Nope. He should not worry. Eton does not maintain its standards as the a top school by letting its students flounder. These schools are very selective and do their best, with considerable effort and experience, to offer their limited places to pupils who will thrive there.

If he has a place, and you can afford it, I would sprint there as fast as you can. Say what you like about state/independent/blah blah blah, this educational experience is what we all dream of for our DC's.

My DS left a couple of years ago. His housemaster and his tutor (overseeing his academic progress) helped him balance his work with his extra-curricular activities. Generally they encourage lots of participation up to GCSE and then recommend a bit more focus for the final two years. He'll do fine.

What hearts trumpsdiamonds said.

Thank you all so much for your words of comfort , I must admit worries have been fanned somewhat by a boy we know, currently at Eton, who did poorly in his GCSEs, not helped by his uncontained emphasis on rugby over academics . I appreciate one must not form an opinion based on one example hence my desire to see if any others had similar experiences

There are some kids at Eton, a very small percentage, that I don't think should be there and I wonder how they got in. There will always be kids that arent as bright or that have been heavily tutored and then flounder in a boarding environment. And... You never know what's going on within the family to make a child mess up.