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Eton College
Aerial view of Eton College from the north
Location
Eton, Berkshire, England , SL4 6DW
Coordinates	51°29′31″N 0°36′29″W / 51.492°N 0.608°W / 51.492; -0.608
Information
Type	Public school Independent boarding school
Motto	Latin: Floreat Etona (May Eton Flourish)
Religious affiliation(s)	Church of England
Established	1440; 584 years ago (1440)
Founder	Henry VI
Local authority	Windsor and Maidenhead
Department for Education URN	110158 Tables
Provost	Sir Nicholas Coleridge
Head Master	Simon Henderson
Gender	Boys
Age range	13–18
Enrolment	1,341 (2024)[1]
Capacity	1,390[1]
Student to teacher ratio	8:1
Area	1600 acres (647 hectares)
Houses	25
Colour(s)	Eton blue
Song	Carmen Etonense
Publication	The Chronicle
School fees	£52,749 per year[2] US$66,730 per year
Affiliations	G30 Schools Holyport College London Academy of Excellence Mayo College Roxbury Latin School The Doon School
Alumni	Old Etonians
Website	www.etoncollege.com
"Eton College, registered charity no. 1139086". Charity Commission for England and Wales.

Eton College (/ˈiːtən/ ^ⓘ)^[3] is a public school (fee-charging and boarding for secondary school age boys) in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore,^[4][5] making it the 18th-oldest school in the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC). Originally intended as a sister institution to King's College, Cambridge, Eton is known for its history, wealth, and notable alumni, known as Old Etonians.^[6]

Eton is one of four public schools, along with Harrow (1572), Sherborne (705) and Radley (1847), to have retained the boys-only, boarding-only tradition, which means that its boys live at the school seven days a week during term time. The remainder of them, including Charterhouse in 1971, Westminster in 1973,^[7] Rugby in 1976, Shrewsbury in 2015, and Winchester in 2022,^[8] have since become co-educational. Eton has educated prime ministers, world leaders, Nobel laureates, Academy Award and BAFTA award-winning actors, and generations of the aristocracy, having been referred to as "the nurse of England's statesmen".^[9]

The school is the largest boarding school in England ahead of Millfield and Oundle.^[10] Eton charges up to £49,998 per year (£16,666 per term, with three terms per academic year, for 2023/24).^[11] Eton was noted as being the sixth most expensive HMC boarding school in the UK in 2013–14.^[12]

The school is included in The Schools Index as one of the 150 best private schools in the world and among top 30 senior schools in the UK.^[13]

History

Eton College was founded by Henry VI as a charity school to provide free education to 70 poor boys who would then go on to King's College, Cambridge, founded by the same king in 1441. Henry used Winchester College as a model, visiting at least six times (in 1441, 1444, 1446, 1447, 1448, 1449, 1451, 1452) and having its statutes transcribed. Henry appointed Winchester's headmaster, William Waynflete, as Eton's Provost, and transferred some of Winchester's 70 scholars to start his new school. There is a rumour that he also had carts of earth from Winchester transported to Eton.^{[citation needed]}

When Henry VI founded the school, he granted it a large number of endowments, including much valuable land. The group of feoffees appointed by the king to receive forfeited lands of the Alien Priories for the endowment of Eton were as follows:^[14]

• Henry Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1443)
• Thomas Spofford, Bishop of Hereford (d. 1456)
• John Low, Bishop of Rochester (d. 1467)
• William Ayscough, Bishop of Salisbury (d. 1450)
• William de la Pole, 1st Marquess of Suffolk (1396–1450) (later Duke of Suffolk)
• John Somerset (d. 1454), Chancellor of the Exchequer and the king's doctor
• Thomas Beckington (c. 1390–1465), Archdeacon of Buckingham, the king's secretary and later Keeper of the Privy Seal
• Richard Andrew (d. 1477), first Warden of All Souls College, Oxford, later the king's secretary
• Adam Moleyns (d. 1450), Clerk of the Council
• John Hampton (d. 1472) of Kinver, Staffordshire, an Esquire of the Body^[15]
• James Fiennes, another member of the Royal Household
• William Tresham, another member of the Royal Household

It was intended to have formidable buildings; Henry intended the nave of the College Chapel to be the longest in Europe, and several religious relics, supposedly including a part of the True Cross and the Crown of Thorns.^[16] He persuaded the then Pope, Eugene IV, to grant him a privilege unparalleled anywhere in England: the right to grant indulgences to penitents on the Feast of the Assumption. The college also came into possession of one of England's Apocalypse manuscripts.

However, when Henry was deposed by King Edward IV in 1461, the new King annulled all grants to the school and removed most of its assets and treasures to St George's Chapel, Windsor, on the other side of the River Thames. Legend has it that Edward's mistress, Jane Shore, intervened on the school's behalf. She was able to save a good part of the school,^[17] although the royal bequest and the number of staff were much reduced.

Construction of the chapel, originally intended to be slightly over twice as long,^[18] with 18, or possibly 17, bays (there are eight today) was stopped when Henry VI was deposed. Only the Quire of the intended building was completed. Eton's first Head Master, William Waynflete, founder of Magdalen College, Oxford and previously headmaster of Winchester College,^[19] built the ante-chapel that completed the chapel. The important wall paintings in the chapel and the brick north range of the present School Yard also date from the 1480s; the lower storeys of the cloister, including College Hall, were built between 1441 and 1460.^[20]

As the school suffered reduced income while still under construction, the completion and further development of the school have since depended to some extent on wealthy benefactors. Building resumed when Roger Lupton was Provost, around 1517. His name is borne by the big gatehouse in the west range of the cloisters, fronting School Yard, perhaps the most famous image of the school. This range includes the important interiors of the Parlour, Election Hall, and Election Chamber, where most of the 18th century "leaving portraits" are kept.

"After Lupton's time, nothing important was built until about 1670, when Provost Allestree gave a range to close the west side of School Yard between Lower School and Chapel".^[21] This was remodelled later and completed in 1694 by Matthew Bankes, Master Carpenter of the Royal Works. The last important addition to the central college buildings was the College Library, in the south range of the cloister, 1725–29, by Thomas Rowland. It has a very important collection of books and manuscripts.

19th century onwards

The Duke of Wellington is often incorrectly quoted as saying that "The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing-fields of Eton."^[22] Wellington was at Eton from 1781 to 1784 and was to send his sons there. According to Nevill (citing the historian Sir Edward Creasy), what Wellington said, while passing an Eton cricket match many decades later, was, "There grows the stuff that won Waterloo",^[23] a remark Nevill construes as a reference to "the manly character induced by games and sport" among English youth generally, not a comment about Eton specifically. In 1889, Sir William Fraser conflated this uncorroborated remark with the one attributed to him by Count Charles de Montalembert's C'est ici qu'a été gagnée la bataille de Waterloo ("It is here that the Battle of Waterloo was won").

The architect John Shaw Jr (1803–1870) became a surveyor to Eton. He designed New Buildings (1844–46),^[24] Provost Francis Hodgson's addition to provide better accommodation for collegers, who until then had mostly lived in Long Chamber, a long first-floor room where conditions were inhumane.^[25]

Following complaints about the finances, buildings and management of Eton, the Clarendon Commission was set up in 1861 as a royal commission to investigate the state of nine schools in England, including Eton.^[26] Questioned by the commission in 1862, Head Master Edward Balston came under attack for his view that in the classroom little time could be spared for subjects other than classical studies.^[27]

As with other public schools,^[28] a scheme was devised towards the end of the 19th century to familiarise privileged schoolboys with social conditions in deprived areas.^[29] The project of establishing an "Eton Mission" in the crowded district of Hackney Wick in east London was started at the beginning of 1880, and it lasted until 1971 when it was decided that a more local project (at Dorney) would be more realistic. However over the years much money was raised for the Eton Mission, a fine church by G. F. Bodley was erected; many Etonians visited and stimulated among other things the Eton Manor Boys' Club, a notable rowing club which has survived the Mission itself, and the 59 Club for motorcyclists.

The large and ornate School Hall and School Library (by L. K. Hall) were erected in 1906–08 across the road from Upper School as the school's memorial to the Etonians who had died in the Boer War. Many tablets in the cloisters and chapel commemorate the large number of dead Etonians of the First World War. A bomb destroyed part of Upper School in World War II and blew out many windows in the chapel. The college commissioned replacements by Evie Hone (1949–52) and by John Piper and Patrick Reyntiens (1959 onward).

Among Head Masters of the late 19th and 20th centuries were Cyril Alington, Robert Birley and Anthony Chenevix-Trench. M. R. James was a Provost.

Between the years 1926 and 1939, Eton students were included as part of a group of around 20 or 30 selected public school boys who travelled yearly to various British Empire countries as part of the Public School Boys Empire Tour. The first tour travelled to Australia; the last went to Canada. The purpose of the tours was to encourage Empire settlement, with the boys possibly becoming district officers in India or imperial governors of the Dominions.^{[30][31][32][33]}

In 1959, the college constructed a nuclear bunker to house the college's Provost and fellows. The facility is now used for storage.^[34]

In 1969, Dillibe Onyeama became the first black person to obtain his school-leaving certificate^{[clarification needed]} from Eton. Three years later Onyeama was banned from visiting Eton after he published a book which described the racism that he experienced during his time at the school.^[35] Simon Henderson, current Head Master of Eton, apologised to Onyeama for the treatment he endured during his time at the school, although Onyeama did not think the apology was necessary.^[36]

In 2005, the school was one of fifty of the country's leading independent schools found to have breached the Competition Act 1998 (see Eton College controversies).

In 2011, plans to attack Eton College were found on the body of a senior al-Qaeda leader shot dead in Somalia.^[37]

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of Eton College was granted in 1449 by the founder King Henry VI, as recorded as follows on the original charter, attested by the Great Seal of England and preserved in the College archives:^[38]

On a field sable three lily-flowers argent, intending that Our newly founded College, lasting for ages to come, whose perpetuity We wish to be signified by the stability of the sable colour, shall bring forth the brightest flowers redolent of every kind of knowledge; to which also, that We may impart something of royal nobility which may declare the work truly royal and illustrious, We have resolved that that portion of the arms which by royal right belong to Us in the Kingdoms of France and England be placed on the chief of the shield, per pale azure with a flower of the French, and gules with a leopard passant or.

Thus the blazon is: Sable, three lily-flowers argent on a chief per pale azure and gules in the dexter a fleur-de-lys in the sinister a lion passant guardant or. The three lilies are also evident on the coat-of-arms of Eton provost Roger Lupton.^[39] Although the charter specifies that the lily flowers relate to the founder's hope for a flourishing of knowledge, that flower is also a symbol for the Virgin Mary, in whose honour the college was founded, with the number of three having significance to the Blessed Trinity. The motto of the college is Floreat Etona ("may Eton flourish"). The grant of arms to King's College, Cambridge, is worded identically, but with roses instead of lily-flowers.^[38]

Overview

The school is headed by a Provost, a vice-provost and a board of governors (known as Fellows) who appoint the Head Master.

Governance and management

As of 2022^[update] the school governors^[40] include:

• William Waldegrave, Baron Waldegrave of North Hill (Provost)
• Peter Mckee (Vice Provost)
• Professor Michael Proctor
• Princess Antonia, Duchess of Wellington
• Lady Moore of Etchingham
• Mark Esiri
• George Leggatt, Lord Leggatt
• Sir Mark Lyall Grant
• Helena Morrissey, Baroness Morrissey
• Simon Vivian
• Professor Francis Brown (mathematician) (2022)
• Professor Ewan Birney

Statute VII of the College provides that the board shall be populated as follows (in addition to the Provost and Vice-Provost):^[40]

• The Provost of King's College, Cambridge
• One Fellow to be elected by the Provost & Fellows, who is or has been a member of a faculty of, or a fellow of a college at the University of Oxford
• One Fellow to be elected by the Provost & Fellows, who is or has been a member of a faculty of, or a fellow of a college at the University of Cambridge
• One Fellow to be nominated by the Council of the Royal Society following identification by the Provost & Fellows or a suitable candidate from amongst the Fellowship of the Royal Society
• One Fellow to be nominated by the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
• One Fellow to be elected by the Head Master, Lower Master, and Assistant Masters
• Four Fellows to be elected by the Provost and Fellows themselves

The current Provost, William Waldegrave, Baron Waldegrave of North Hill, has made public that he will be stepping down as Provost after the 2024 Summer Half (summer term).

The school contains 25 boys' houses, each headed by a housemaster, selected from the more senior members of the teaching staff, which numbers some 155.^[41] Almost all of the school's pupils go on to universities, about a third of them to the University of Oxford or University of Cambridge.^[42][43]

The Head Master is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the school is a member of the Eton Group of independent schools in the United Kingdom. The school appointed its first female Lower Master (deputy head), Susan Wijeratna, in 2017.^[44] She was succeeded by Paul Williams in 2023 as she took on the role of headmistress at Latymer Upper School.

Eton has a long list of distinguished former pupils. In 2019, Boris Johnson became the 20th British prime minister to have attended the school,^[45] and the fifth since the end of the Second World War.^[46] Previous Conservative leader David Cameron was the 19th British prime minister to have attended the school,^[47][48] and recommended that Eton set up a school in the state sector to help drive up standards.^[49]

Fame

Eton has been described as the most famous public school in the world,^[50] and has been referred to as "the chief nurse of England's statesmen".^[51]

Eton has educated generations of British and foreign aristocracy, and for the first time, members of the British royal family in direct line of succession: the Prince of Wales and his brother the Duke of Sussex, in contrast to the royal tradition of male education at either naval college or Gordonstoun, or by tutors.

The Good Schools Guide called the school "the number one boys' public school", adding that "The teaching and facilities are second to none."^[52] The school is a member of the G30 Schools Group.

Eton today is a larger school than it has been for much of its history. In 1678, there were 207 boys. In the late 18th century, there were about 300, while today, the total has risen to over 1,300.^[53][54]

Financial support

About 20% of pupils at Eton receive financial support, through a range of bursaries and scholarships.^[55] A recent Head Master, Tony Little, said that Eton was developing plans to allow any boy to attend the school whatever his parents' income and, in 2011, said that around 250 boys received "significant" financial help from the school.^[56] In early 2014, this figure had risen to 263 pupils receiving the equivalent of around 60% of school fee assistance, whilst a further 63 received their education free of charge. Little said that, in the short term, he wanted to ensure that around 320 pupils per year receive bursaries and that 70 were educated free of charge, with the intention that the number of pupils receiving financial assistance would continue to increase.^[57] The Orwell Award is a sixth form scholarship awarded to boys in UK state schools whose academic performance may have been held back by personal circumstance. Boys who earn this award attend the school on a 100% bursary.

Changes to the school

Registration at birth, corporal punishment, and fagging are no longer practised at Eton.^[58][59][60] Academic standards were raised, and by the mid-1990s Eton ranked among Britain's top three schools in getting its pupils into Oxford and Cambridge.^[61]

The proportion of boys at the school who were sons of Old Etonians fell from 60% in 1960 to 20% in 2016. This has been attributed to a number of factors, including: the dissolution of the house lists, which allowed Old Etonians to register their sons at birth, in 1990; harder entrance examinations as the emphasis on academic attainment increased; a sharp rise in school fees increasingly beyond the means of many UK families; and increased applications from international, often very wealthy, families.^[62]

School terms

There are three academic terms^[63] (known as halves)^[64] in the year:

• The Michaelmas Half, from early September to mid-December. New boys are now admitted only at the start of the Michaelmas Half, unless in exceptional circumstances.
• The Lent Half, from mid-January to late March.
• The Summer Half, from late April to late June or early July.

They are called halves because the school year was once split into two halves, between which the boys went home.

Boys' houses

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King's Scholars

One boarding house, College, is reserved for 70 King's Scholars,^[65] who attend Eton on scholarships provided by the original foundation and awarded by examination each year; King's Scholars used to pay up to 90 per cent of full fees, depending on their means. This financial incentive has been phased out. Still, up to a third receive some kind of bursary or scholarship. The name 'King's Scholars' refers to the foundation of the school by King Henry VI in 1440. The original school consisted of the 70 Scholars (together with some Commensals) and the Scholars were educated and boarded at the foundation's expense.

King's Scholars are entitled to use the letters 'KS' after their name and they can be identified by a black gown worn over the top of their tailcoats, giving them the nickname 'tugs' (Latin: togati, wearers of gowns); and occasionally by a surplice in Chapel. The house is looked after by the Master in College. Having succeeded in the examination, they include many of the most academically gifted boys in the school.

Oppidans

As the school grew, more students were allowed to attend provided that they paid their own fees and lived in boarding-houses within the town of Eton, outside the college's original buildings. These students became known as Oppidans, from the Latin word oppidum, meaning "town".^[66] The houses developed over time as a means of providing residence for the Oppidans in a more congenial manner, and during the 18th and 19th centuries the housemasters started to rely more for administrative purposes on a senior female member of staff, known as a "dame", who became responsible for the physical welfare of the boys. (Some houses had previously been run by dames without a housemaster.) Each house typically contains about 50 boys. Although classes are organised on a school basis, most boys spend a large proportion of their time in their house.

Not all boys who pass the college election examination choose to become King's Scholars, which involves living in "College" with its own ancient traditions, wearing a gown, and therefore a degree of separation from the other boys. If they choose instead to belong to one of the 24 Oppidan houses, they are simply regarded as Oppidans. However, they may still earn a non-financial award that recognises their academic capabilities. This is known as an Oppidan Scholarship. The title of Oppidan Scholar is awarded for consistently performing with distinction in school and external examinations ("Trials"): to earn the title, a boy must obtain either three distinctions in a row or four throughout his school career.^[67] Within the school, an Oppidan Scholar is entitled to use the post-nominal letters OS.

Each Oppidan house is usually referred to by the initials (forenames and surname) of its current housemaster, a senior teacher ("beak"), or more formally by his surname alone, not by the name of the building in which it is situated. Houses occasionally swap buildings according to the seniority of the housemaster and the physical desirability of the building. The names of buildings occupied by houses are used for few purposes other than a correspondence address. They are: Godolphin House, Jourdelay's (both built as such c. 1720),^[68] Hawtrey House, Durnford House (the first two built as such by the Provost and Fellows, 1845,^[68] when the school was increasing in numbers and needed more centralised control), The Hopgarden, South Lawn, Waynflete, Evans's, Keate House, Warre House, Villiers House, Common Lane House, Penn House, Walpole House, Cotton Hall, Wotton House, Holland House, Mustians, Angelo's, Manor House, Farrer House, Baldwin's Bec, The Timbralls, and Westbury.

House structure

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