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 .

At the open day there seemed to be a consensus amongst the boys we spoke to that one housemaster in particular is very unpopular (boys from different houses said this).

HG - I just PM'd you on houses......appreciate yr views

what is the timing of interviews and offers at W? You register with a housemaster sometime in Year 5 after an informal visit at houses,then what happens in year 6 ? Do house lists close once they reach a certain number of registrations even before they formally interview anyone in year 6 ? When do they make offers, and set a deadline for acceptance ?

They said that the house lists close when they reach 30 boys and this happens by end of year 5, first term of year 6. Not sure when in year 6 they interview (the registrar said it depends on when your ds's birthday falls). Offer letters sent out second week of June.

There is one thats not popular but I think that may be about to resolve itself.
Amber2 as you said you register with a house in yr 5 I understand HM's close their lists when they've got about 30 interviews are in yr 6 between Feb and April (I think it all seems so long ago my DS) and the HM's write to you and your prep school at the beginning of June.

Difficult - I really couldn't get the feel for the houses other than seeing their facilities we visited as v few boys around - all in lessons bar one or two in their room or a library - more of a 1:1 sit down with the housemaster and a walk around the buildings so it did not really click for my DS in that he did not come out saying ...yes I really want to go here...I am going more by reputation ...and we are too late for the year 4 tour...just not sure why they don't do tours for year 5 ...feel like it's a big decision because it is so full on boarding and an expensive investment to say the least

Do people also choose houses based on a DS being good /very interested in a subject that the HM is specialist on?

We didn't we chose because of the subject he taught we chose one we personally liked who we felt had similar outlook on life as we do and we also met the boys of all ages to see what sort of boy goes to this house and how they turn out. Some are more sporty than others (you do need to get this into prospective its not a very very sporty school) and thus take inter house sports competitions and some are more musical and thus take inter house music competitions more seriously. T§here is variation between houses (although I suspect not as much as it used to be) some were/are liberal in the extreme some very strict. I think the HM's are very important more so than at other schools I know a lot about. The boys do have a tutor but the reality is that the HM's responsible for all aspects of your DS's school life and they person they or you turn to for advise about anything or in a crisis.

Amber2 (and Happygardening by copy )

If you wish to PM me please do & I can give you one parent's opinion on choice of house (parent of happy boy ) I think that HGs comments are very sensible . (Sorry HG if sounds weak - dictated by dog )

My opinions are only mine but as HG said upthread , you can do so much for your boy & after that they make their own way, if your son wants to go to WC and makes the choice , I would bet he will be happy there .

I am not a salesperson for Win Coll - there are other schools I personally would have been happy for DS to go to , but it was the one he felt comfortable with .

I also believe (and HG tell me if you think I am wrong ) a lot of the things I worried about prior to DC going to WC have faded into insignificance now he is there and forging his own way

MadeleineBassett - can i also PM you please? Don't want to start discussing houses on the open forum as you say - they are all the best except HG's one of cause :).

My advise to all considering Win Cill Eton SPS or even some unknown out in the back of the beyond; do you like it? Do you feel comfortable is living up to your expectations? We looked at quite a few schools and only liked two but that doesn't mean that the others were wrong or bad school or that the two we liked were better but we as parents liked them and felt comfortable there. Our children are heavily influenced by what we we think they're quick to work out that we like X and don't like Y I think if they think that we believe its the right place so will they they will go with a positive attitude if we are alos positive about it. It inevitable that no where will live up to all our expectations and there's bound to be things we as parents think are wrong but as long as the good things far out weigh the bad and we still carry on believing in our choice of school then I think our children will. IME its when we stop thinking its a great school then our children also think this.
As parents its so easy to think that we have to send our DC's to a particular school but we need to ditch our preconceptions and critically evaluate each school forget where your DC's best friend is going or where everyone is currently going or which one the GSG likes or Tattler or the most academic/top of the league table or the most sporty just look at it and see if you as parents like it.

good advice HG....I have walked into some schools with preconceptions (good or bad) and often changed my mind after the visit - sometimes i really wanted to like it because of its great reputation or it is closer so easier to get to, but didn't ..at least not for DS .....other times I liked despite not wanting to...a bit like househunting but all the time thinking if I were my DS would i want to spend 5 of my most formative years here?

Pianomama

Of course you may

PM-ed you , thanks

As a late contributor to this thread, I would add that one of aspects of Winchester that my DS thrives on is being able to choose for himself (with the advice of the housemaster etc) his mix of activities for the afternoons. The serious musicians, particularly after the first year, can spend most of that time (2 hours on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, 4 hours the other days) practising should they choose to do so, just as a sports enthusiast can spend much of that time doing sport . There are a very large number of very talented and passionate musicians (of all types including music tech) amongst the boys and therefore a very strong culture of music making and music talk. However my DS also has purely sporty friends who are equally very happy despite some of the team sports not being the strongest compared to schools like Radley.

Britishsummer (a hopeful name!!!!....): thank you for your perspective. I had not heard or read anything about "afternoon activities" (though I assumed they existed!). Are the times you mentioned formally set aside for "activities"? Are the boys supervised in some way -- ie do HMs keep track of what the boys are doing during their afternoons? I just assumed the boys were "free" to do whatever they wanted, without any structure (for good or bad). I think I still don't understand the relationship between the boys and the HMs and to what extent the HMs are involved in decisions regarding the boys' studies and activities.

Britishsummer - is your DS a serious musician? Do they all have instrumental lessons at school? Do you know anything about piano teachers in WC?

Also - all of you lovely WC mums, did you decide yourselves whether to go for Election or regular entrance exam? Is it up to you to decide/can you chose to do Election just in case and still get into your house if you do "well enough"?

There are afternoon activities every day on three days lessons finish at lunch time and on the other three afternoons there's space to participate in activities there are loads of things available to suit all tastes see their website.

Thanks, HG. I've seen the long list of activities on the website so am aware of the range of "extra-curriculars" available. What I was interested in, from Britishsummer's post, was the involvement of the HM in the choice of activities. (ie "my son thrives on being able to choose for himself with the advice of the HM"). Not having ever gone to a school where I sought, much less took, the advice of any teacher regarding my life outside the classroom and not having (so far) felt neither the need nor, more importantly, sufficient respect, to ask a teacher for advice regarding my son's after-school activities, I was interested to read about the apparent role of the HM in advising boys at WC. (I would see it as a positive, by the way, if HM were sufficiently respected that boys or their parents -- sought their advice on curricular and non-curricular activities)

Some boys probably don't need advise I don't believe my DS asked for it he arrived very keen on a certain activity and is delighted at how often he do it in a week. Others probably need encouragement and maybe even help to decide what to do.
Our HM is very keen that the boys participate in something on most days although as its not compulsory there will always be those who don't. At the end of the day we all know the rather over used but very true saying about horses and water.

After today's weather my username is a confirmed oxymoron.
Re housemaster and activities, our personal experience from the early years is that the housemaster and team do guide and supervise the choice and balance

Re pianomama's question, yes my DS is a musician but not an amazing one at least in part because he also enjoys doing other things. He thinks his teachers ( including piano) are fantastic. You might be best meeting the head of music and attending some concerts with your DS to see what you feel about the playing and therefore the teachers. In theory I suppose he could continue outside lessons on Sundays.
My DS loved Winchester when he was taken there without us but he was in year 7 and perhaps better able to judge at that time. Particularly for competitive younger boys, sometime the kudos of a particular school with their peers may sway their judgment in thinking they want to go there?
Re election, DS was in the Eton / Winchester scholarship set at his school, and really enjoyed the teaching but in the end decided not to do the Election, reasons being that he did n't strongly want to go to College after a visit, is not very competitive and was a bit nervous about doing the exams outside his prep school.. Since he is n't brilliant enough to have done well when anxious, it seemed the right choice and his confidence was boosted by his entrance results. At his school the boys in his year who got Eton and Winchester scholarships were all boarders and did n't appear to have had extra tutoring.

Sorry, to answer more specifically pianomama's 2nd question, if your son does the Election, on the Election form which is filled in towards the end of the Spring term of year 8, you choose whether if successful you will accept a scholarship and go to College or only accept an Exhibition and go to your selected house. Obviously if you get neither you will go to your selected house anyway

Thanks again HG and Britishsummer/Oxymoron. I guess we still have time to find all that out / but you did give me some great ideas, especially regarding music management. 2/4 hours or music practice would do us nicely/as for having outside lessons on Sundays - well, we've done that before when DS was much younger. I guess going to the College is completely different kind of experience and it it quite early to decide. Will discuss it with his current school.
Hopefully in 2 years time I will be giving a very useful advice to nervous prospective mothers. Back to my toy-time learning the Notions .

Election is really about wanting the College environment which is quite different from the other houses. It is better if the decision comes from your DS rather than parents or school or others. Obviously, apart from the College environment, there is the question of the exam itself. Again, it is better to have a look at some past papers, if your DS finds them fun (and he likes College), then his decision would be fairly straight forward. For some, Election exams are definitely easier as they are less academic (as in requiring lots of studying). It is important to see some past papers because of the myths and misinformation surrounding Election. Doing it for prestige (for whomever) is bad because no one cares within WC, and the pressure/disappointment could be immense if the eagerness is not there or the style of questions is not compatible.
The chambers arrangement can be quite stimulating; older boys do mix well with and inspire younger ones. Different from mugging halls in other houses. Toytime for first and second years is done in School rather than in their chambers. Chambers have real fire places. College food is generally accepted as the best in WC. New HM and tutor are excellent and well respected/liked by collegers (Previous also a biologist and well liked/ respected, became second master in Harrow). There are a few trivial privileges for scholars. Accommodation is arguably inferior to other houses though they don't seem to complain. Mobile reception is non-existent inside and making calls means going outside which is not so great on cold rainy days. There were talks about not allowing those on the roll to opt out of College as exhibitioners in commoner houses, but it seems that it is still allowed. The Election form still gives that option at least. New HM may have made some subtle changes to the Election process if you read the tea leaves by comparing this year's roll with the last few.