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Winchester College Entrance Exams in Y8

10 replies

Cocole1973 · 12/05/2023 17:46

Congratulations to those whose son got a place at Winchester College starting in September 2025! We are excited that our DS has been offered a place at Fearons. Question: now a bit worried re Winchester Entrance exam… is it more of a formality or should it be treated as another hurdle? 🙏

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WilsonGick · 12/05/2023 18:14

Congratulations to your DS, @Cocole1973.

As to whether the Y8 exams are a formality or not - I'll let you know at the end of the month when DS's results are in! He has been prepped for the exam at school, including mock exams using Winchester past papers (the format differs from CE for several subjects). He did decent (but not outrageous) amounts of revision over the Easter break, with a bit of parental feedback on practice papers for some subjects, but hasn't been formally tutored.

However, we were sent all the information about the New Pupils' Day and asked to confirm our attendance earlier this week, long before the exam results are in, so I think the assumption is that it's pretty unusual for a boy with an offer not to pass the entrance exams.

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Cocole1973 · 12/05/2023 21:50

Oh thank you so much for your input. Really appreciated and wishing your DS much luck 🍀

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Cocole1973 · 12/05/2023 21:54

Which boarding school will your DS be joining?

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WilsonGick · 13/05/2023 12:19

Cocole1973 · 12/05/2023 21:50

Oh thank you so much for your input. Really appreciated and wishing your DS much luck 🍀

Thanks, @Cocole1973 . These were the Winchester Y8 exams.

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Cocole1973 · 13/05/2023 12:22

Sorry meant which boarding house (not school;-)

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WilsonGick · 24/05/2023 12:46

@Cocole1973 to come back to your thread, Winchester entrances exam results were out this week and based on our experience, I would say that the exams are not a formality, but also not a huge hurdle requiring tiger-parent levels of preparation.

DS achieved excellent results in most subjects with fairly low-stress "normal" preparation. He attends a reasonably academic but not hot-house prep school, which put on a handful of extra after-school teaching sessions in Year 8 for pupils aiming at scholarships or very academic schools. He did a maximum of 30 minutes' homework on weekdays (and none at weekends) due to non-negotiable constraints on his time, revised for a few hours a day over the Easter break, and had no tutoring beyond a bit of parent feedback on some practice papers in the lead-up to exams. He is very bright but not phenomenally so (we didn't consider entering him for Election, for example), and if he managed to do well in the entrance exams with that sort of preparation, I imagine most boys with a conditional 13+ Winchester place who are in an on-the-ball prep school could do the same.

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Cocole1973 · 24/05/2023 14:00

Thank you @WilsonGick . Congratulations to your DS! Great news and well deserved. I wonder whether any children get unconditional offers at Winchester... I thought not.

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Doolittle1 · 13/05/2024 13:24

I was wondering if anybody from this year has any comments or experience on the exam process ? Also if the school is being good in communication about how they will manage VAT if there is a change in government. Also is the sport actually any good? Thank you.

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Cocole1973 · 13/05/2024 17:20

Would also be keen to get some feedback on all points 🙏

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Dragonfly70 · 08/07/2024 10:38

Hello- our son has just finished his first year at Wincoll. We didn’t push him to do election and glad we didn’t. He is happier in a family house as college is quite austere he says. He has just had a raft of very good end of year results with no discernible difference between college boys results and the general cohort. Many incredibly bright boys choose not to do Election for this reason as if you pass election you will automatically go in the huge dorm room that is college…They are all placed in sets for lessons anyway so academically it makes no odds. It’s just prestige wearing the gown but that means little if you find yourself struggling in a low set later.
I would say the crucial part of admission is choosing the Hm very carefully and starting early on the rounds to choose. This can make or break an experience. We have an excellent one but a very musical house when my son is sporty but there is little way of knowing this ahead! They say they like a mix in a house but this is not always what happens like in any year group anywhere.

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