Winchester College

Focus

Celebrating the individual

Day fees

$45,900

Boarding fees

$62,500

Pupils

754

Ages

13–18

Academics

88.1 per cent of IGCSE results are 7–9 grades.

77.9 per cent of A-Level results are A* or A grades.

Spear’s Review

Winchester College, founded by William of Wykeham in 1382, describes itself as one of the world’s most famous and distinguished schools. Head Elizabeth Stone points out that its motto, ‘Manners Makyth Man’, although hundreds of years old, is ‘a surprisingly meritocratic sentiment’ for its time and continues to guide the school today through its values of curiosity, character, conversation, foresight and leadership. Academic results are excellent: in 2023, 40.7 per cent of A-Level results were A*.

Head teacher

Elizabeth Stone was appointed headmaster in 2023 after enjoying notable successes in her nine years as principal of Queenwood School, Sydney, a leading independent girls’ school. She brings a wide range of previous experience from both co-educational and single-sex, day and boarding schools in Australia and the UK. Her previous roles included vice principal of Cheltenham Ladies’ College and three years at Winchester, as a maths teacher and under master. 

She was educated at Ascham School, and studied maths, German and law at the University of New South Wales before completing a master’s degree as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. She worked at the Supreme Court of New South Wales and held an academic appointment at one of Australia’s leading law schools, specialising in commercial contract law, before commencing her teaching career.

Admissions

According to the school:

Winchester is a school for pupils who are happy in themselves, demonstrate a natural intelligence and a curiosity about the ways in which the world has developed, and who are willing to participate in the wide variety of extracurricular pursuits that an education at Winchester College offers.

The school recommends that prospective students visit in Year 5 via an open day or registrar’s tour. Both can be booked online and include a tour of the school and a boarding house with a current pupil; a range of activities to sample; a Q&A with senior members of the school; and an opportunity to hear current pupils’ views. A registration form can then be submitted, and applicants can explore their choice of boarding house with a further ‘Housemaster at Home’ visit.

All applicants to Winchester are asked to take the ISEB common pre-test in Year 6 at their school or at an approved centre; this should be complemented by an additional report commissioned from the candidate’s school. Successful candidates will then be invited for a 45-minute interview comprising a discussion on a variety of topics and a short maths test. 

Following this interview, successful candidates will be offered one of three places: a place in the boarding house of the housemaster who interviewed the candidate; the offer of a place at the school with the house to be finalised later, but with the housemaster who interviewed the candidate if numbers allow; or a reserve list place. Boys can be promoted from the reserve list by the registrar at any time, depending on the number of vacancies.

The place is finally confirmed after scholarship (election) or entrance exams are completed in May of Year 8.

University and college places

14 per cent advance to Oxford or Cambridge.

3 per cent advance to Ivy League schools.

Accessibility

Heathrow; 1 hour

Location

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