13+ boys school advice

[hewettsj]

Does anyone have a view/experience of Oundle, St Edwards Oxford, Stowe, or any of the other schools (for boys/mixed) in this rather enlarged area i.e. not London and not too far north. Trying to find the right place for ds who is pretty sporty, very "into things", not obviously very academic (although doing quite well). Liked what I saw at Radley, didn't like Eton (too much pressure for him anyway). All thoughts gratefully received!

I know St Edwards very well. It is a happy liberal school offering a broad curriculum: there is something for everyone, excellent sport needless to say and lots of other stuff too and in a very caring environment. As I sure you know its in Summertown which is a nice part of Oxford.

I know of happy DCs at all these schools from my DCs' friendship circles.
The Oundle group tend to be more academic as a whole (as it is a selective school) but according to my DCs good fun and they like their school; these are day pupils so I am not sure what the boarding is like for a full boarder.

The other two have a much wider ability range (not saying that is bad but it is a consideration). Stowe seems to have quite a major country set (rather like Radley) as well as a mix of others (including overseas ). St Edwards has a large number of Oxford day pupils and perhaps because of that has more of a large town or city vibe. St Edwards is the only one that does IB as well as A levels.
Stowe and St Edwards do have high achievers who must be well supported at least as far as exam grades are concerned. Both schools have very good music and sport.

IMO Radley generally still attracts the sportiest boys who like to win at team sports. It has a lot of experience in getting the best academically out of boys who are quite bright but who need a push to study.

This may sound obvious but it is worth asking parents and pupils about the reality of the different boarding houses when making a choice rather than relying on how personable a housemaster is from first visits. Sometimes a less chatty housemaster may be really good with the boys in his care or a stricter one be more effective at preventing bullying.

I have friends whose children were very happy at Rugby. I do know both Stowe and Rugby have London based pupils as well as more local ones. Rugby is academically strong but "middling" children also do well there.