Eton, Harrow, Winchester, or Westminster?

[MECC]

So our son is in prep school, and it's around the time that we begin considering which schools he should apply for.
His marks are very good and he enjoys reading. He is apathetic to sport, so we think an unashamedly academic school may be good for him. That's why we initally thought Eton and Harrow were probably not good choices, although we don't want to completely rule them out.
The issue with Westminster is that os only boards during weekends. It is also partially coeducational, and we want our son to have an all-male education.

Yep, and there are thousands of them around!

All called Boris Johnson.

". . .so we think an unashamedly academic school may be good for him. That's why we initally thought Eton and Harrow were probably not good choices. . ."

Taking into consideration all your criteria, OP, although I must say your research into all the four schools seem a bit faulty, there seems to me one obvious choice for your son: ETON!

In reverse order:

Winchester - It being academic is fast becoming a myth in the modern era. Don't take my word for it, just grab yourself any ole' League Tables from the modern day and judge for yourself. Therefore, X.

Westminster - Not wholly single-sex and certainly not full boarding. And I agree the opposite sex can somehow ruin your academic concentration - it certainly did me - especially in the latter years of secondary education. Therefore, X.

Harrow - This is a joke! Say no more. Therefore, X.

Eton - Like said above, the obvious choice. Yes, even more academic than WinColl! Therefore, YES!
But getting in is another matter.

What if he is gay? The distraction of all those frivolous young men.

He'll have the time of his life !

What exactly is wrong with Harrow?
Are you saying Eton is no longer full of hooray Henries? Is it outperforming Winchester in the league tables?

The site is also full of parents seeking advice on private schools, such as Eton, Winchester, et cetera.
Why would I try to impress a bunch of strangers online? Given that quite a few people replied, some people here actually do care.

Oh god, it’s Pete - he’s the guy who pretends he’s PG Wodehouse on glue.

OP how long has your son been at his prep school and which year is he in? You do seem somewhat under-informed regarding the relevant public schools ...

Westminster has girls at A level. Visit the schools and see which one he likes. They are different in culture and the wrong type of school can make for an unhappy kid.

oh and ask the current school what 'type' of boy he is. They should be able to steer you to the 'right' school for him.

St Pauls boards too.

If you want to be PG Wodehouse then add Dulwich to your list.

But not many boarders until the Sixth Form.

Big school, so plenty of scope to find ones niche; excellent music, drama very good, don't have to do team sports after year 7 (except year 9 joiners who have to do a few weeks try out, but can then choose something else). Top sets do extremely well (indistinguishable from the schools 'known' academically).

Some (but not many) activities shared with JAGS (mainly drama, music and some co-curricular)

Might not suit if you want predominantly boarding, but worth a look, even if only as point of comparison

If you want Berties old school then it has to be Eton..,you might be rather disappointed by the lack of hooray Henries though...

I meant PG Wodehouse OA. Not a fictional character!

OP my DS went to Winchester it suited him, his friends from prep went to Eton Harrow Tonbridge (not a good choice if you’re after full boarding). I know people who went to Westminster SPS (going coed in the 6th form). On the surface we all seem fairly similar but most of us on the advise of our prep school head visited at least three of the above and choose 1 we liked over the others. The right choice for you is the one that you and your DS like and feel most comfortable at. Draw up a list of things that are important to you SS it is matters to you, full boarding or weekly, ridiculous outdated uniform or more relaxed, a specific sport or activity liberal or lots of rules? Then go and look at them carefully, observe them critically don’t be taken in by reputation clever marketing or gossip on the side of the pitch, ask specific questions (if it matters to you ask) if possible watch the boys and the staff going about their everyday life do you like what you see? Do you feel comfortable there? Again if possible talk to the boys/girls not the chosen ones wheeled out to meet prospective parents again when their going about their every day lives. Do you like see/hear can you se your DS fitting in? If yes register him. All you’ve mentioned are over subscribed you may be lucky and get a place (nothing is guaranteed) or you may not in which case you’ll have to broaden you’re options good luck.

"What exactly is wrong with Harrow?"

I swear, I randomly just googled 'League Tables' this morning and this one from The Telegraph somehow first caught my eye as appropriate. So, when you see figures like 5 - 9 - 27 and 54, then you'll see for yourself what's wrong with Harrow and why I said it was a joke in relation to your search for an unashamedly academic school.

"Are you saying Eton is no longer full of hooray Henries? Is it outperforming Winchester in the league tables?"

I think the first part of this question has already been answered by another poster (and why I initially said your research was a bit flawed). As for Eton outperforming Winchester, I refer you back to the table above - this is not a recent phenomenon; it has been the case for at least the last dozen or so years. Not intending to rub any salt, even obscure schools from heaven knows where are outperforming Winchester! Thus, the modern myth of WinColl being very academic .

My brother went to Winchester - he was down for Harrow at birth but by the age of 10 it was clear he was no sportsman. He would have hated Harrow which, amongst other things, makes all its students run a half or full marathon every year.

Winchester was fantastic, not just for his studies but also in helping him to find the one sport that he did enjoy and it changed his life. He was very overweight and lousy at football, rugby, cricket, etc, so aged 13 his housemaster suggested he try rowing instead, just for one term to see if he liked it. He went on to row at Henley 5 times, then competitively for his university, and he now rows socially for a London crew at the weekends.

The other benefit to Winchester is it doesn't carry the same stigma in later life that Eton or Harrow would do. No fussy tailcoats or boater hats for a start, it's much more low key.

Lastly, ignore the idiot PPs berating single sex education. He isn't necessarily going to turn out gay or socially inept. Both my brother and I went to single sex schools. Both happily married, very normal people.

One thing I would say is that it’s really worth checking out the schools in person and going with the one that feels right. If you look at the league tables, the top top schools will get 95%+ of A-A at GCSE. So 19/20 grades will be A+. The ‘joke’ of a school, Harrow, still attains 85% A-A so 17/20 grades will be A+. Hardly a disaster, isn’t it? I’m sure that if your son is capable of straight A*, he’ll be appropriately taught to achieve his full potential anyway.

The Telegraph rankings have always been a bit odd, and I assume they must apply different filters to the basic info

(Odd in the sense that some very academic schools are some years very low the list or drop off it completely, and rprisingnschools are in the top 10)

Try to find out from the school the range of grades for the top sets (indeed how they arrange sets), plus similar their middle and lower performers.

Even if you accept The Telegraph version, you need to aim off for how selective the school is at 11/13. You may well conclude that exam results are most closely linked to selectivity, and that academic boys do just as well in school A as school B.

Where your DS can 'see' himself is a key factor, especially for boarding.

To be fair the table selected above is from the Best School site and is for GCSEs. This is the A level table from the same site which places as follows:

Westminster 2
Winchester 4
Eton 18
Harrow 52

www.best-schools.co.uk/uk-school-league-tables/list-of-league-tables/top-100-schools-by-a-level/

OP you do need to be careful interpreting league table results. DS1's old school drops from 7 in the GCSEs to 19 on the A level table mainly because the super keen and super smart sit IB the results from which are shown elsewhere. Similarly I think that some of the tables particularly the government ones sometime exclude Pre-Us which are popular with some schools for the sciences. I mistrust any table which doesn't have SPGS and Westminster in the top 10.

Indeed ...

All this information should be readily available to the OP via her prep school. It would be highly unusual for anyone paying fees at a school that regularly sends pupils to the public schools listed not to have this sort of knowledge at their fingertips. It is what you pay for.

OP, let me say only a fool will take the league tables, any league table, to be the absolute Gospel Truth. Personally, I don't lose any sleep as to who are the top 10, or the top 50 or top 100, etc. League tables are there to give a guide to a complete stranger who's just landed on Planet Earth. It will be useful to see, for example, who are the top 25 and who occupy the bottom 25 of the four or five thousand (or more) secondary schools in the UK. I look at league tables and ask me 5 minutes later to name the top 5 again and I promise you I'd struggle to remember. This however, may be due to old age or a complete disregard for the rankings - or both!

The truth is that you won't be far wrong in getting into ANY of the four schools named here. Most people would give an arm and a leg, close their eyes, and throw a dice with the four named schools on it and be happy to send their child there.

And you should offer a sacrificial lamb to the Gods if your child is successful in getting into one of them. So good luck!

What I do pay a lot of attention to in a school - certainly not league table rankings - is the ultimate product that is manufactured at the end of the production line. By that, I mean what has become of that child who's left that school twenty, thirty or forty years later?

The answer to the above question seems to point towards one and the only school that consistently delivers the goods not only for now but for the past decades and centuries! Be it the Nobel Prize, the Oscars, Oxbridge, etc. - you name it - this School seems to produce EXCELLENCE in abundance. I mean, come on, which school on Planet Earth do you know that produces half-a-dozen or a dozen Presidents or Prime Ministers? Well, this one School I referred to above is about to deliver to the UK its 20th Prime Minister! To say nothing of top leaderships in the other professions such as Law, Education, Commerce & Business, the Armed Forces, Performing Arts, Exploration, well, the list is unending. . .

And every single one of the Prime Ministers they have produced has been a self serving, incompetent twat of the highest order.

Name me one PM or leader who hasn’t been!