Julia Shimf

Professor Denise Comer

Duke University
English Composition I: Achieving Expertise
4 June 2014

How to get a boy into Winston Churchill Alma mater

Today admission process to the UKs top schools, like Harrow, Eton and Winchester, is a particular area
of expertise: introductory tours, deadlines, tests, interviews, essays, school reports. The picture above helps
define some vital aspects about school counseling: what kind of kids can get to one of the most selective schools
in the world and what it takes to be accepted?
The image depicts boys in school uniform walking up the hill. The four guys in the focus are wearing
white shirts, black ties, light grey trousers, black shoes, dark blue jackets and hats. The jacket also known as a
bluer and a straw hat with a dark blue band are the notable features of the uniform at Harrow School, one of
the most prestigious private schools in the UK. Harrow is the setting of the picture and the four boys in the
foreground are the pupils. They are carrying books and having a casual conversation. There is another couple of
Harrovians walking across the road and a man, presumably a teacher, wearing an academic gown and a cap. The
whole scene takes place on Harrow Hill.

The picture is provided by Herry Lawford, London-based blogger and photographer. It looks modern and
amateurish. If we look closer, we can see an artist signature in the right bottom corner. It is hard to get
deciphered, but we can assume that the artist could have been an Old Harrovian or taught arts at Harrow. The
Good Schools Guide, the most independent and unbiased overview of the UKs top schools, claims: Art,
music and drama [at Harrow School] all very strong. Art is everywhere space here for masses of painted,
sculpted, crafted and welded pieces. (GSG, p. 434) Harrow graduates are known for being well-rounded, like
one of its most illustrious alumni Winston Churchill, who, by the way, was an accomplished artist and really
enjoyed painting.
The image of boys walking up the hill reflects old traditions in British school education. The four boys
are dressed the way they were hundreds of years ago and likely to be wearing this uniform in the future. All the
people in the picture are males and it is not a coincidence, because Harrow School is an all-boys boarding
school. But the fact that they are all white and could also be all British shows, why international counseling is
necessary area of expertise. According to The Good Schools Guides review of Harrow pupils: 17% are
scions of Old Harrovians, 22% from overseas, the largest number from Hong Kong Rest mostly from the
Middle East, Malaysia and Thailand. (GSG, p. 435) The statistics provokes the questions: why British and
overseas families have their sights set on sending children to Harrow and how Harrow School maintains this
reputation of one of the greatest historic establishments? The answer to this is an extremely rigorous admission
process to select the smartest and the most gifted kids.
Applying to Harrow School requires a lot of determination from children and their parents, and
professional counselors can support families all the way thorough to the dream school. Around 600 apply for
the 160 places at 13, ideally by the time the boy is 11. (GSG, p. 435) Although counselors cant guarantee that
ones son will be accepted, they can make sure he is duly prepared. One of the most challenging aspects of
counseling is to discover a students strengths and to find out, how this kid can contribute to the school life.
International counselors take care of foreign students academic and social suitability for a British boarding
school.
According to Harrow School Admission Prospectus: It will help your sons application if there is some
activity in which he excels. It may be excellence in sport, proficiency in a musical instrument, a gift for
writing, or any other special interest in which a child can demonstrate talent. Such interests are best encouraged
from an early age to build up the skills. That might require another type of expert a personal education

planner. The market for these services has been dramatically growing, since British private schools got popular
among overseas families. The factor of exclusiveness also weighs. Tatler has been issuing its own Schools
Guide for ten years, making it an indispensible tool in a hunt for the perfect school. Whats extraordinary about
Harrow, says a mother, is the number of future world leaders it educates its a vastly underrated invincible
export (Tatler, p. 13) British top universities, namely Oxford and Cambridge, are recognized all over the world.
And parents are deeply concerned that their children stand a good chance of getting into a brilliant school to
give them the best possible start in life.

Works cited (Various):

Tatler Schools Guide 2014. 10th Edition. Wyndeham Roche Ltd. London, 2014. Print.
The Good Schools Guide. 18th Edition. Galope Park Publishing Ltd. Tenterden, 2013. Print.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/herry/295901248/in/photostream/
http://www.harrowschool.org.uk/1842/admissions/scholarships-and-bursaries/john-lyon%27s-charity-bursaries/