Winchester College - supposing you're not at all quirky?

[justlearning2017]

Hello
I know there is a lot of conversation (all relative but there is more here than anywhere else I can find) about the quirkiness of the boys at WinColl. My son has just been offered a place and isn't quirky AT ALL. Not one little bit. He's pretty bright (decent IQ but would rather play sport than do too much extra work), loves sport, enjoys music and likes taking part in drama. In other words, he's a classic all-rounder, or just a fairly normal 11 year old boy.
Everything I hear about Winchester suggests you need to be exceptionally bright, with a quirky personality. Supposing they accept you but you haven't got those things? Are you going to fail to fit in and should you head off to a more classically all-round boys school (Radley, Marlborough, Sherborne etc)? Or is the fact they've offered you a place enough to suggest they think you'll thrive there?
Many thanks

You aren't in the dock,just being asked where exactly some of your "facts" come from..
I know very few people that would think H,E and Win were all suitable for the same boy,they are very different schools
It really isnt difficult to get solid info as you put it,what is difficult it to get a real feel for a school,exam results,uni destinations etc are easy,whats hard is seeing what school would suit your son/s best,that isnt often a matter of just picking the best known names..
If you said why you picked those three schools and what interests your son has ,then people could help you .

It’s not just your completely off-colour remarks about “Rain man”. You seem to be working from this strange interior value system that ranks any shyness as a poor character and superficial charm as the most desirable trait possible and then you post as though everyone will naturally concur with your peculiar world view.

It really does come across as most strange, as well as horribly judgmental and bigoted.

Propriata I can only speak for my DS's experience of Div and that of what he has been told by his house / year when they compare notes. Although there was a focus on English and History in his first two years, what they covered varied enormously according to their div teacher for example one of his did loads of Russian literature and history covered was also eclectic. Some Div dons were amazing characters, others more straightforward

This is the official line from the school about it www.winchestercollege.org/division
I can imagine what good speakers Eton has for its talks and the opportunities they provide to broaden education for those boy s who attend. All these three schools will be lucky enough to have lots of outside speakers.
Wormthreads a Div task is just the weekly essay they write for their Div lessons. Only final year sixth formers can have some extra Saturday evenings / nights out of school but they still have to produce their Div essays for Sunday morning.

I don't want to sound judgemental like you but I agree with Battleaxe that you are coming across as having rather one dimensional views of what you view as desirable characteristics for your DS. My DS has learnt to 'rub along' as you put it but even more get to know and appreciate beyond superficial impressions all sorts of boys, including those who you would classify as socially inept. Many of my eminent colleagues are also not 'salesmen' and may have some ASD traits but they certainly have depth and produce amazing work. I personally prefer that to charmers or leaders who do not deliver (Winchester will have their share of those types as well).

Worth remembering that boys at Winchester dont sit English Lit GCSE and History GCSE is an option,,so that frees up time for Div.

I just wanted to unreservedly apologise again to you all for putting such crass and unnecessary comments earlier in this thread. It was not at all helpful, and I can completely understand the offence these caused - sorry.

We put our DS name down at E and H when he was six years old, after visiting a prep school that seemed surprised we had not already registered anywhere. We only registered at those schools because their facilities were not like anything available locally and we wanted our DS to be at a boys boarding senior school (so choice was relatively limited). It was nothing to do with status (as suggested earlier my AP).

After he started at his current school, the guys from Wincoll came and spoke to prospective parents, we visited and were blown away by the beauty of it and registered him. Everyone we met was really helpful and understated.

Meanwhile, and being factual, the problem we have is that our DS would suit any of the three schools, even though we had no idea about that when we first registered. He's very musical (grade five+ on three instruments), he's not a scholar (but still pretty bright), he loves sport and is in the school's first teams, but is not at county standard.

Thank you all for all your kind help and sorry again for the way I wrote such appalling comments earlier.
We're really struggling here and have now decided to take the advice of OP and leave the decision for now, but thank you for all your helpful comments and please accept my sincere apologies for any upset I caused. To a certain extent, we're still in limbo as DS does now currently know the result of his final test, interview at E and is one of 250 that will find out next week. Presumably, if he's offered a place, we'll get to ask as many questions as we like and can make our minds up from there.

Correction: DS does not currently know....

I dont think even the biggest Winchester advocate would claim that team sports are a priority or indeed that sport is a priority.from your description,pretty clear which school you should choose,if you get the choice..good luck..

Thank you Propatria, that is a very kind and, under the circumstances, generous comment. I thought that was the case about team sports at Wincoll, and although DS loves football and cricket is less keen on rugby. In fact, he'd not be keen to have to play that at any school (thinking about that, is rugby compulsory at H)? We were told last week from a freinds DC at E, that he scrapes into the third and fourth teams there (even though he was very sporty at prep). Wincoll is doing a sports scholarship now and I get the feeling that if DS went there he'd stand a better chance of being higher up the order (so to speak). Also, IMHO the new HM seems keen to focus on football and cricket and there's an Ex Southampton pro there coaching the boys football, so there's clearly a 'push' to improve.

Also, being a smaller school, there's not so much competition to get into the teams.

I am not going to think about this for a couple of months and revisit when more is known about the options. If anyone can add anything about the characters of these places (not the boys) it would be really appreciated.

Doesnt need to play Rugby at E,can pick football,its roughly a 50/50 split,yes many boys that were star sportsmen at prep find themselves in third or fourth teams
Winchester will always be about the academics,everything else is second..

I know plenty of ex Winchester boys and they are perfectly normal , confident but by and large modest. I think the quirky weirdo thing is something of an MN myth. I have no skin in this game - just let your son look round schools and with any luck he will decide for himself where he finds most congenial. Non of the schools you speak of could be a disaster , unless your son does not feel happy there.

English as a second language

Winchester 136/685

Harrow 134/828

Eton 80/1320

Radley 18/684

Oxbridge admissions v Total sixth form size

Winchester 37/240 (website states it averages 32%)

Eton 80/520 Estimate

Harrow 21/360

Radley 18/281

St Paul’s 68/400

Westminster 78/410

From ISI reports and GSG

There is, of course, more to schools than Oxbridge entry figures.

This is the final of the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup on Sunday. It’s worth a watch. It’s incredibly impressive by both crews, all 17-18.

St Paul’s beat Eton breaking all records. Their crew has completed the treble of winning the National Schools, the Schools Head and the Princess Elizabeth, and also won the Charles Head in Boston. In the commentary, it mentions that of the upper sixth formers in the St Paul’s VIII, one is going to Oxford, one to Harvard, one to UC Berkeley and one to Princeton IIRC.

Globaliser..excellent points,had the privilege of watching the race,would have liked a different result but St P are an exceptional crew
It is possible to combine academic excellence with excellence in other areas,that is what is missing from Win,there is(or should be) so much more to a school than academic results..Why just settle for that when you can have so much more.?
As an aside, its Head of The Charles not the Charles Head.

All these school are amazing. Try no to over think it!

That sounds like a fantastic place and many congratulations on such a heap of success. It’s rare, so enjoy it and savour every moment.

Due to location, London day schools wouldn’t work for us. Although we were told yesterday our DS has been offered a place at E, so we’re looking forward to meeting House Masters and finding out much more about it.

From PO’s comments, sounds like it would be a good fit, so looking forward to getting a bit closer to it now the selection process has finished.

In the meantime, we’re v proud of our DS and his prep for the work they did to achieve three offers from the schools he applied to.

OP’s sorry.

Not a college parent but a local whose first teen job was in a college house kitchen.
Boys seem to be a real mix. There was often a food fight to clear up after breakfast on Sunday, 1 or 2 boys were very arrogant, particularly the foreigners, many were shame-faced and apologetic.
Around the town they are gracious/polite. Trailed a group along Kingsgate Road once chatting to a group of cleaners. Miles apart in class but cheerful and respectful chatter, certainly no communication issues.
I also know a family with 4 old boys who are delightful and can talk to anyone.

@propatria I agree about the need to combine academic excellence with excellence in other areas, particularly sports. I believe the new Winchester head is taking steps to improve the standard of sport.

Looking at the figures in my post above, I'm surprised by the large numbers of boys with English as a second language at Harrow and Winchester. Can anyone shed some light on this? Recruiting overseas pupils is a way for schools to either boost falling numbers (unlikely to be a problem for Harrow or Winchester) or to boost academic success. The Winchester figure is almost 20%!

I live very close to Radley College and whilst I don't know anyone who goes there I do generally get a good impression of it.

The facilities look amazing. My daughter has done loads of different things there. Sporting events, trips with the Guides (including a visit to the science department which left her begging me to get her a Crested Gecko, of all things), she's performed at the theatre. I don't know how normal this is for other schools but generally they seem very relaxed about letting the community use their facilities which as I say gives me a good impression of the place generally.

And they do seem to have an excellent sporting reputation so if your son is really keen on sport sounds like a good environment for him?

@Globalizer - just was confused as to your stats. You list St Paul's Oxbridge stats as 68/400. Where does the 400 come from as the year group at Upper Eighth is much smaller than 400? Just confused.

In terms of SPS rowing achievements - absolutely this year was a phenomenal year, but i also think it just might be a once in a generation one as their numbers were mind-blowing. The real stats are more impressive - 3 are going to Harvard, 2 to Princeton, one to Cal Berkeley, and one to Oxford (this number includes their excellent coxswain). 2 have one more year left. 2 are World champion rowers with one having the indoor 2K erg record. No bad for a group of schoolboys!

More seriously, US top unis are increasingly the destination for these boys (and girls)- not just at SPS, making Oxbridge results interesting, but not everything.

@Momonatrix The figures I have given for the sixth form are for the whole sixth form (upper and lower VI) for each school. They were not broken down in the Good Schools Guide. The number leaving is for a single year only. It still allows a like for like comparison to be made.

What a depressing thread in places.

DS will be starting WinColl. Yes, he has ASD. Yes, he is dyslexic. Yes, he had ‘quirks’.

But don’t worry - it’s not catching.

@Idadown,

If you'd read the thread (and my apology), you'd realise there was absolutely no malice intended and that I simply did not understand what the word 'quirky' meant. I (and no doubt others) had been confused by the term for some time and were simply trying to establish exactly what was meant by it - simple as that.

Many congratulations to your DS on being offered a place that you've decided to accept. Our DS has an offer there but we're undecided and are trying to find out more about the school (and the other schools that have offered him places).

In the process of unravelling what the word 'quirky' meant, I described a friends son, who OP's have described as being ASD.

Subsequently, the posts have moved on to compare the facilities at the various schools, rather than the boys characters, which is really helpful to anyone trying to decipher which school to send their DS to.

Nonetheless, I'm really not going to apologise for trying to find out what OP's were inaccurately describing as 'quirky', when had they simply been more honest and stated ASD, Dyslexic e.t.c, there would have been no need to ask what 'quirky' boys at Wincoll meant.

The ‘flavour’ of some of this thread is unappetising. That ‘quirky’ (different) for whatever it’s reason, is somehow undesirable.

I find it interesting that parents of non-SEND children are interested in the numbers of (diagnosed) SEND admissions/kids receiving support. Unless of course it’s because you’re looking for a diverse, supportive environment.

I’d like to believe that some schools are a little more enlightened to the admission hurdles that SEND children face, and understand the difference between low ability v low attainment of SEND kids.

You’re being incredibly disingenuous worn.

You went well beyond “trying to find out what ‘quirky’ meant”.