Wellington College

[melonie68]

My son has been offered a place but I would like to learn more first- any personal experiences would be well valued especially money related as I do not want to be sending my son into snobbery....

It is very London-centric and the only people I know with dcs who have considered it are very moneyed indeed. That may be a red herring as I don't know anyone with dcs there. Apparently the head is very accommodating of lower CE scores than the published requirement if prospective pupils have other aptitudes, eg sporty, musical etc.

Look at the results and compare with those of local state and independent schools. It offers a very well rounded education, but the academic results are mixed.

bijo realistically only the monied can pay £34 000 PA.
I personally cant stand the head a self publicist if ever there was one full of gimmicky ideas that capture the imagination of the TV etc that alone would put me off.

True but there are those that wear their wealth more easily and less showily than some of the parents with offspring at Wellington.

The head and the fact that the school is less academic than he would like us to believe are two of many reasons that put me off considering it.

Wellington accepted about 3 - 4 boys at DS2's prep school last year - all of whom were in the bottom set failed to get places elsewhere, so I suspect that the school is indeed rather less academic than the headmaster claims. That said, we've met delightful, hard-working boys from country families who are at the school. They both mentioned an increase in numbers of "thick rich" from London in the last 2 - 3 years...