Admissions

Our aim is to maintain full boarding with a few day pupils. Admission is based on the combined criteria of academic strength and the ability to contribute in other ways to the cultural, sporting and social life of the School. It remains our ambition, consistent with our Foundation charter and charitable purpose, to broaden our intake to include pupils less able to afford our fees.

We value highly our international links and wish to develop them through our admissions process. We understand that applicants from outside Britain require individual assessment and care, and we encourage overseas applicants, wherever they live, to feel confident that we will take a serious view of their academic credentials.

Admission Procedure (Please see Making an application)

The admission of boys to Winchester at age thirteen is largely in the hands of Housemasters. When a boy is eight years old his name can be registered for entry into the School as a prospective member of a particular boarding House. His parents should apply either directly to a Housemaster, (see Boarding at Winchester) or to the Registrar who will discuss the application and, if they need guidance, suggest Housemasters whom they may wish to contact. Applicants who are interested in academic awards should contact the Master in College who organizes the scholarship exams, called Election, which take place at the beginning of May each year. Those who wish to apply for a Music Award should contact the Master of Music

   
When the boy reaches the age of eleven, the Housemaster of a Commoner House will interview every boy whose name has been registered with him. At this stage, when the Housemaster has met the boy and his parents, he will make offers to fill the vacancies in his House in two years' time.  These offers are made on the basis of the Housemaster's interview, which includes a written test, and school reports. Offers are conditional on passing the Entrance Examination taken in May of the year of entry.
   
Winchester sets its own Entrance Examination, which is similar in form and identical in syllabus to Common Entrance. Boys take the examination at their own schools in the term before they are due to come to Winchester. Boys who are registered after the year group selection is complete will be interviewed by the Registrar and may be placed on a reserve list. There is a fair chance of gaining a place in a House from this list. The Headmaster reserves the right to allocate some places in Commoner Houses by what is known as a 'Headmaster's Nomination'. Candidates for Nomination are usually expected to sit the Scholarship examination.

The Prospectus, and the annually updated Supplement, can be downloaded by clicking on the links. Alternatively, further information, including a hard copy of the Prospectus, can be obtained either from The Deputy Registrar, Winchester College, College Street, Winchester, SO23 9NA (Tel: 01962 621247; fax: 01962 621106), by clicking here to email your request, by completing the online form on screen or printing it and posting/faxing it to us.