Winchester College Open Day

[bico]

Anyone going this Saturday? Ds is in year 4 and keen to have a look, I think mainly because they have an 18 hole golf course .

I should have said maths and science is an upper-tier me-too education, just good but not exceptional compared with WC's education in other subjects.
Not sure I understand why, the dons are very inspirational and are well capable of the same free range style, yet they only use that capability on demand.

Terms,

You have expressed cogently my concerns. In fact from what you say Ds might have done ok in election as he is a creative mathematician, not an arithmetician, and usually invents alternative ways to the rage of weaker teachers. So perhaps I now regret it even more! But his current school does provide the support for the latter in the upper and middle sets.

The mfl is interesting. Ds's cousins have been going through the rather typical boy refusal to speak foreign languages when on holiday with us, despite I assume good teaching. Their father speaks several languages as do the rest of the cousins in common so I have put put it down to ethos at school. But I may be completely wrong. Whereas Ds's class is polyglot as so many London schools are and they all try out each other's languages and respect those who are multi lingual.

That said, I still think WC is a wonderful school.and in my less maternal moments wish Ds was there! And I would and do unhesitatingly recommend it for the interesting and interested boy.

i would wish for Marcus du Sautoy inspirational type maths learning .....A level maths is kind of grunt work by comparison.

Interesting. I think MrsFred we may think you know what going on in a school or how things are done but its not till your own DC is actually in the place do your really fully comprehend the situation we also need to remember education even at places like WC is evolving all the time.
My Experience or perhaps I should say my DS's experience is that math/science is very strong at WC, chemistry is the most popular Pre U followed by physics. Many of his friend are avid about maths/physics and many of his friends in the 6th form have applied to do physics science at Uni or that is their intention.
At prep. my"exceptionally bright" across the board but identified by an ed. psych assessment as having a particular aptitude for maths DS did well but never excelled. But the teaching was mega traditional and being encouraged to question things was certainly not on the agenda, he left uninterested in virtually every subject bar art and Latin and after 6 years of French 4 times a week barely knowing anymore French than the dog in fact the dog probably had the edge. Just under two years later not only is he excelling but loving maths becasue its encouragement of a variety of problem solving approaches and so he should be bearing in mind his profile but also showing real passion enthusiasm and ability for subjects he find harder e.g English. He was the other week much to my surprise considering Pre U French (the dog is jealous) and is certainly thinking of doing another MFL along side maths/further maths etc this is from a child who two years ago hated any MFL and was planning to drop it as soon as possible.
Both maths and further maths are only studied now at Pre U up until recently I understand the former was done mainly only at A level and my DN whose very recently done maths pre U but A level further maths felt that the Pre U requires genuine ability wheres the A level could be learnt by rote. With regard to physics my DS is mad about it (he certainly wasn't at prep) and I notice that in the fairly recent past the school won 15 gold medals in one year at the British Physics Olympiad and Challenge and that all the boys were from yr 10. It's also certainly amongst friends with have at varies super selectives generally believed that WC is exceptionally strong for science and perhaps less so for the arts although this is not my experience.

AnnaBBB as a fairly recent mature student I came to the conclusion that one man's "inspirational" teacher was another man's nightmare and vice versa. We had a lecturer who IMO and the opinion of many others was truly inspirational but a good friend of mine hated his lectures and positively avoided them as she came away none the wiser. In contrast her inspirational teacher whose favourite saying was "fairly obviously" made his subject as far as I was concerned anything but fairly obvious. WC's liberal attitude (in most things) and its encouragement of the boys to question when combined with a child that feels he is at last free at school to be himself and not conform means that my "lone wolf" DS is excelling in all areas. But I am nothing if not a realists this ethos many not suit other very bright boys who would perhaps not excels there and would be better off in another super selective with a different ethos. We are lucky in that those of us who are considering WC or Eton or SPS etc have this choice many don't and it is those that I feel sorry for.

HG ....ha ha about the dog...which is deserving of its own blog...I will keep an open mind on this topic and look into this further ...and ask around. My DS is not a lone wolf type so will need to assess what environment suits him best but I imagine other bright young sparky mathematically inclined boys around him to bounce off will be the ideal.

Mrs FW, funny, my DS also often does maths problems his own way (who says maths is not creative) ...gets to the right answer though sometimes unconventionally which is also to the bemusement of his teacher...I don't even try to change that...whatever works.

He is also the type that would have hated Kumon rote learning with a passion (never tried it as I know if would not have been motivating for him to do endless worksheets)

Anna
My son isn't a lone wolf type and he loves WC. Also , somewhat to my surprise he is doing Maths pre-U as he has ended up enjoying it . To be fair he has always been better than the dog at Maths , but possibly we just have a particularly stupid dog. So a bit like HG's son , mine has ended up taking a subject I would have put money on him not doing some years ago. So the WC maths teaching must have something going for it . I think often the boys just know where they will be happy. We didn't do the open day , just the meetings with HMs and it was the only school he came out of (and he'd been to see some good ones ) saying "I want to go here ".

thanks MB, that's good to know....hope your dog is not able to read MN posts either ...poor thing ....As for HG's dog, HG has made it clear in a previous post she wouldn't send it to Eton !

The dog has carefully read many websites he's quite keen on Bedales he likes the idea of bread making and outdoor activities.
I'm wondering if he would get bursary or should we go down the scholarship route? I have to say he's not particularly clever although he's managed to organise his life so that someone runs behind him picking up his poo and staff to do his shopping and he will never need to work so perhaps Milton abbey would be a better choice.

If Bedales is the one with the sandpit our dog would love it. Unfortunately my propensity to call him stupid on a public forum has severely knocked his confidence and therefore I doubt he would pass the entrance requirements .

i think you should rethink what Eton has to offer, the beagling and swimming in Eton Dornay would appeal for sure ...

"My DS is not a lone wolf type so will need to assess what environment suits him best"
In fairness to WC it's not packed to the gunnels with lone wolfs but from what I can ascertain there are quite a few and they are not just tolerated but actually liked. The school unlike some others being very liberal does not force encourage conformity on them and after all even a lone wolf has to go to school somewhere.

Yes thats true I was thinking he could disguise himself as a beagle and being black and white he's already half way to wearing the uniform but he does loathe water. I also worry that he too is a bit of a non conformist and definitely not a team player and the entrance test is oh so sterile his many qualities might not be immediately apparent in an 8-10 min interview.

How important is which house your DS goes to?
DS has just been offered a place in a house we haven't applied to/seen it/nor met the housemaster. I guess the question is - do they socialize much outside their houses or is each house a micro-school in its own right?

My DS has freinds in other houses as like all schools they make friends in lessons and also through their own interests outside of lessons. Although obviously in the beginning most friends come from your house. I suppose a lot depends on how sociable your DS is and what his particular interests are.

Plan -- congratulations to your son! how did the process work? Was he originally but on "hold" and then offered a place or was he immediately offered a place in a house other than the one for which he applied? Have you (and he) now been invited to meet the housemaster and visit the house?
I'm curious to know how the process works -- it seems it might be more flexible than the admissions instructions suggest.
(By the way.... I'm very amused by this long thread.... Having only just started to look at Winchester myself, it is interesting and helpful to be able to read so many opinions and experiences about it. I wish there were similar threads about Eton, SPS, Westminster and a few others so I could expand my education about schools.....!)

pianomama was your ds on the general list?

Having dismissed W as an option for ds his school has recommended we consider it for him (I asked them for a list of suitable schools but didn't tell them we had been to the open day). Talking to ds this morning he said he really liked it, which isn't the way he felt shortly after we visited. I think all we can do is look at other schools next term and then make an appointment to visit boarding houses if ds is still keen.

Thanks just . We only had a letter yesterday - he had interview in Feb.
A bit bemused myself as the other housemaster accepted him on recommendation , we have not met yet.They said he will be in touch soon so we will get to meet him after the firm offer .. strange but who cares - it's WC :) !

bico - no , not on the general list, a straight "house list"

That's interesting. Congratulations (my poor manners!).

At the open day they said you applied to a house but if you didn't get a place but were a strong candidate you'd go on the general list and be allocated a house from that. From your experience there appears to be a third way to get a place. Which house has your ds got? We looked at Toye's.

Pianomama

Whilst WC is very house-centric , and therefore getting on with your HM is a good thing , my observation from DS is

1. He has plenty of good friends in other houses
2. Whichever house your DS is in - it will be the Best House . Just as my son's house is the Best One and I am sure so is HG's. I am equally sure these are not all the same house. My impression is that all boys end up very loyal to their house so I would not worry.

DS was asked this by someone applying and his answer was that no house is a bad house (although his house is the Best House - see point 2 above )

Madeleine sorry but my DS's house is generally acknowledged by all to be the best. [smug smiley]

Happy , How lovely that our boys turn out to the be in the same house (warm glow emoticon)

You must be that nice mum I often meet.