Eton College

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King's College of Our Lady of Eton
Image:Eton shield.gif
Motto	Floreat Etona (May Eton Flourish)
Established	1440
Type	Independent school
Headmaster	Anthony R M Little
Founder	Henry VI
Students	1300 (approx.)
Location	Eton, Berkshire England
Provost	Sir Eric Anderson KT
Website	www.etoncollege.com

The King's College of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor, commonly known as Eton College or just Eton, is a public school (privately funded and independent) for male students, founded in 1440 by Henry VI.

It is located in Eton, Berkshire, near Windsor in England, situated north of Windsor Castle, and is one of the original nine English public schools as defined by the Public Schools Act 1868.

The school's Head Master, Anthony R M Little MA, 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. It has a significant number of distinguished former pupils, including 18 former British Prime Ministers. Traditionally, Eton has been referred to as "the chief nurse of England's statesmen", and has been described as one of the most famous public schools in the world. [2] [3].

Contents 1 Overview 2 School Terms 3 Boys' Houses 3.1 King's Scholars 3.2 Oppidans 3.3 House structure 4 School Uniform 5 Tutors and Teaching 6 History 7 Fees & Charitable Status 8 School Prefects 9 Work Incentives and Sanctions 10 Other forms of Punishment 11 Sport 12 School Magazines 13 Old Etonians 14 See also 15 Partner schools 16 In Popular Culture 17 External links 18 References

Overview

Eton College boards approximately 1,305 boys (15% from overseas) between the ages of 13 and 18 (roughly 250 in each year) at a cost of about £25,895 a year.

The school is headed by a Provost and Board of Governors, who appoint the Headmaster. It contains 25 boys' houses, each headed by a housemaster, selected for the among the more senior members of the teaching staff, who number approximately 130.

School Terms

There are three annual school terms, collectively known as Halves (a historical throwback to when there were only two terms).

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

Boys' Houses

King's Scholars

One boarding house, College is reserved for 70 King's Scholars, who attend Eton on scholarships provided for by the original bequest and awarded by examination each year; they pay up to 90 per cent of full fees, depending on their means. Of the other pupils, up to a third receive some kind of bursary or scholarship. The name "King's Scholars" derives from the fact that the school was founded by King Henry VI in 1440 and was, therefore, granted royal favour. The original school consisted of only 70 students, half of whom had previously been educated at Winchester College, and all of these boys were educated at the king'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, for which they are sometimes referred to as tugs (Latin: togati, wearers of gowns), and occasionally a surplice in Chapel.

Oppidans

As the school grew, more students were allowed to attend provided that they paid their own fees and lived outside the college's original buildings in the town. These students were known as Oppidans, from the Latin word oppidum, meaning town: i.e. those who lived in the town as opposed to the college. The Houses developed over time as a means of organising the Oppidans in a more congenial manner, and typically contain about 50 boys. Most boys spend a large proportion of their time outside classes in their House. Each House has a formal name, mainly used for post and people outside the Eton community, but is generally known by the boys as the initials or surname of the House Master, the teacher who lives in the house and manages the pupils in it.

Not all boys who pass the King's Scholars' examination choose to become King's Scholars. If they choose to belong to one of the 24 Oppidan Houses, they are known as Oppidan Scholars. Oppidan Scholarships may also be awarded for consistently performing with distinction in school and external examinations. An Oppidan Scholar is entitled to use the letters OS after his name.

House structure

In addition to the housemaster, each house contains a House Captain and Games Captain. House prefects were traditionally elected from the oldest year; this no longer occurs but the official term, Library, survives in the room set aside for their use, which often contains a kitchen. The situation is similar with the former junior prefects of the year below, who were once known as Debate.

There are entire house gatherings every evening, usually at 8.15pm. These are known as Prayers, due to their original nature. The housemaster has an opportunity to make announcements, as do boys, and there is sometimes light entertainment performed by boys.

In older times, junior boys were required to act as servants to older boys. Duties included room service, meal cooking and running errands. A library member was, at any time and without notice, entitled to yell "boy-up"; all first year boys had to respond to this call, and the last boy to arrive got allocated the task. These practices, known collectively as fagging, were phased out of most houses in the 1970's and completely abolished in the 1980's, although first year boys are still allocated tasks by their housemasters.

There are many inter-house competitions, mostly in the field of sport.

School Uniform

The school is famous for the traditions it maintains, including a uniform of black tailcoat (or morning coat) and waistcoat, false-collar and pinstriped trousers. All students wear a white tie that is effectively a strip of cloth folded over into the collar. There are some variations in the school dress worn by boys in authority, see School Prefects and King's scholars sections.

The long-standing tradition that the present uniform was first worn as mourning for the death of George III is unfounded, as "Eton dress" has undergone significant changes since its standardisation in the 19th century. Originally (along with a top-hat and walking-cane) merely Etonian dress for formal occasions, it is still worn today for classes, which are referred to as "schools". Members of the teaching staff (known as Beaks) are also required to wear a form of school dress when teaching.

Tutors and Teaching

The boy to teacher ratio is 10:1, which is low by general school standards. Class sizes seldom reach 30 and are often much smaller.

The traditional emphasis was on Classical studies, which tended to be dominated by Latin and Ancient History, and, for boys with sufficient ability, Classical Greek. But in recent times this has radically changed; boys are now more likely to be studying Microsoft Access and Chinese. In the 1970's there was just one school computer, in a small room attached to the science buildings, which used rolls of paper with punch-holes to store programs. Today, all boys have computers with internet access.

The primary responsibility for a boy's studies lies with his housemaster, but he is often assisted by an additional director of studies, known as a tutor. Classes, which are colloquially known as "divs" (divisions), are organised on a school basis; the classrooms are separate from the houses. New school buildings have been erected in recent times, but despite the introduction of modern technology, the external appearance and locations of many of the classrooms has remained unchanged for a long time.

Every evening, about an hour, known as Quiet Hour, is set aside, during which boys are expected to study or prepare work for their teachers if not otherwise engaged.

History

Eton College was founded in 1440 by Henry VI as a charity school to provide free education to seventy poor students who would then go on to King's College, Cambridge, a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, which he also founded in 1441. Henry VI took half the scholars and the headmaster from William of Wykeham's Winchester College (founded 1382). Eton is modelled on Winchester College, and became popular in the 17th century.

When Henry VI founded the school he granted it a huge number of endowments, including much valuable land, a plan for formidable buildings (Henry intended the nave of the College Chapel to be the longest nave in Europe) and several religious relics, supposedly including a part of the Holy Cross and the Crown of Thorns. He even persuaded the then Pope to grant a privilege unparalleled anywhere in England: the right to grant Indulgences to penitents on the Feast of the Assumption.

However, when Henry was deposed by Edward IV in 1461 the successor 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 and was able to save much of the school, 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, with eighteen - or possibly seventeen - bays (there are eight today) was stopped when Henry VI was deposed, with only the Quire of the intended building ever completed. Provost William Waynflete, previously Head Master of Winchester College, built the ante-chapel that finishes the Chapel today.

As the school suffered a reduced income at a stage when much of it was still under construction, the completion and further development of the school has ever since depended on the generosity of wealthy benefactors. Many of these benefactors are honoured with school buildings in their name, such as the Bishop William Waynflete or Roger Lupton, whose name is borne by the central tower which is perhaps the most famous image of the school.

In the 19th century the architect John Shaw Jr (1803–70) became surveyor to Eton and designed new parts of the college which helped provide better pupil accommodation. [4]

It is often suggested that the Duke of Wellington claimed that "the Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing-fields of Eton". Some believe the authenticity of this dictum to be dubious: Wellington briefly attended Eton – for which he had no great love – in the late 18th century, when the school had no playing fields or organised team sports, and the phrase was first recorded three years after the Duke's death. The Duke was, however, wildly popular at Eton, visiting many times later in his life.

Fees & Charitable Status

Like all English public schools, Eton's excellent facilities come at the price of substantial fees, though a number of scholarships are available. The fee for the academic year 2006-7 is £24,990 excluding extras. Like most public schools, Eton is recognised as a charity, and as such receives substantial tax breaks. It was calculated by David Jewell, master of Haileybury, that in 1992 these savings represent an investment from general taxation of about £1,945 per pupil per year - some £200 a year more than the state invested in the education of a child at primary school [5]. This subsidy has declined after the 2001 abolition of State-funded scholarships (formerly known as "assisted places") to public school by the Labour government. However, no child attended Eton on this scheme, meaning that the actual level of state assistance to the school has always been lower. Eton's headmaster, Tony Little, has claimed that the benefits that Eton provides to the local community free of charge (use of its facilities etc.) have a higher value than the tax breaks it receives as a result of its charitable status. It is estimated that the UK's 1,300 [6] independent schools continue to benefit from their tax free charitable status to the tune of £100M.

In September 2005, Eton was one of the leading British schools which were considered by the Office of Fair Trading to be operating a fee-fixing cartel in breach of the Competition Act 1998. All of the schools were ordered to abandon this practice.^[1]

Eton runs a number of courses to students from the maintained sector, the majority of which occur during the longer summer holidays which run from July through to the end of August. The Universities Summer School was first established in 1982 and is an intensive residential course which is open to boys and girls who attend maintained schools throughout the UK and who are at the end of their first year in the Sixth Form and about to begin their final year of schooling. The Brent-Eton Summer School, which started in 1994, offers 40–50 young people from Brent a one-week programme, free of charge, designed to bridge the gap between GCSE and A-level. The school also runs a number of choral courses during the summer months.

School Prefects

In addition to the masters, the following three categories of senior boys are entitled to exercise school discipline. Boys who belong to any of these categories, in addition to a limited number of other boy office holders, are entitled to wear winged collars with bow ties.

• Pop:, also known as the Eton Society. In the 18th century Pop began as a debating society who met to argue in a lolly-pop shop on the Eton High Street. Over the years their power and privileges have grown. Pop is the oldest self-electing society at Eton, although the rules were altered in 1987 and modified again in 2005 so that the new intake are not now elected solely by the existing year. Members of Pop are entitled to wear checked spongebag trousers, and a waistcoat of their own choosing or design. Historically, only members of Pop are entitled to furl their umbrellas or sit on a special wall. They also perform roles at many of the routine events of the school year including School Plays, Parents' evenings and other official events. Notable ex-Poppers include Prince William of Wales.

• Sixth Form Select: an academically selected prefectorial group consisting, by custom, of the 10 senior King's Scholars and the 10 senior Oppidan Scholars. Members of Sixth Form Select are entitled to wear silver buttons on their waistcoats. They are responsible for Praeposting, or ceremonially summoning boys to the traditional punitive Bill for misdeeds, by bursting into classes in progress to summon the miscreant. Members of Sixth Form Select also maintain dress codes, and perform "Speeches" a formal event which is held twice a year.

• House Captains:. The captains of each of the 26 boys houses (see below) also have disciplinary powers at school level. House Captains are entitled to wear a mottled grey waistcoat.

Work Incentives and Sanctions

Eton has a well established system for encouraging boys to produce a high standard of work. An excellent piece of work may be rewarded with a ShowUp, to be shown to the boy's tutors as evidence of progress. If, in any particular term, a pupil makes a particularly good effort in any subject, he may be Commended for Good Effort to the headmaster. The very best pupils in any subject may be Sent Up for Good; a sample of their outstanding work, after being passed by the Head of Department, is signed by the Head Master and permanently lodged in College Library.

The opposite of a ShowUp is a Rip. This is for sub-standard work, which is torn over and must be submitted to the boy's housemaster for signature. Boys who accumulate rips are liable to be given a White Ticket, which must be signed by all his teachers and may be accompanied by other punishments, usually involving withdrawal of exeat permission. In recent times, a milder form of the rip, known as the info, which must also be signed, has been introduced.

Internal examinations are held at the end of the Michaelmas (Autumn) term for all pupils, and in the Summer term for those in the first year, who have no public exams, and those in the second year, who take two or three GCSEs early and then take the exams in all other subjects they are studying. These internal examinations are called Trials.

Other forms of Punishment

A boy who is late for any division or other appointment may be required to sign the Tardy Book, a register kept in the School Office, between 7.35am and 7.45am.

For more serious misdeeds, a boy is summoned from his lessons to talk to the Head Master personally about his misdeeds. This is known as the Bill.

The most serious misdeeds may result in expulsion, but suspension is a more common. The term used by boys for this is rustication, from the Latin word 'rus', countryside, to indicate that a boy has been sent back to his family in the country.

A traditional form of punishment took the form of being made to copy, by hand, Latin hexameters. Miscreants were frequently set 100 hexameters by a library members, or, for more serious offences, Georgics (more than 500 hexamaters) by their housemasters or the headmaster^[2]. These are no longer in common use.

Sport

Sport is a major feature of life at Eton. There is an expansive network of playing fields. Names given to these include Agar's Plough, Dutchman's, Upper Club, Lower Club, Sixpenny/The Field, and Mesopotamia (situated between two streams and often shortened to "Mespots").

• During the Michaelmas Half, the sport curriculum is dominated by soccer and rugby.
• During the Lent Half it is dominated by the Field Game, but this is unique to Eton and cannot be played against other schools. Aided by astroturf facilities on Masters' field, Field Hockey has become a major Lent Half sport. Elite rowing also exists.
• During the Summer Half, there is a division between wet bobs, who row on the River Thames, and dry bobs, who play cricket.

The annual cricket mach against Harrow at Lord's is the oldest fixture of the cricketing calendar, having been played there since 1805. In 1914 its importance was such that over 38,000 people attended the two days' play, and in 1910 Fowler's match made national headlines. But interest has since declined considerably and it is now a one day limited overs contest.

Tennis and athletics are also popular.

There is a high quality running track; there is also an annual steeplechase.

The Eton Wall Game is still played, and was given national publicity when it was taken up by Prince Harry of Wales.

Notable among the many other sports played at Eton is Eton Fives.

School Magazines

The Chronicle is the official school magazine, and is also the longest running school publication.^{[citation needed]} It is edited by boys at the school and thus, although liable to censorship, has a tradition of satirising and even attacking school policies, as well as documenting recent events.

Other school magazines include The Ephemeral and The Arts Review, which are geared more towards the boys and are less constrained by official interference.

Old Etonians

Past students of Eton College are referred to as Old Etonians. The school is popular with the British Royal Family – although Princes William and Harry of Wales are the only children of a future British monarch ever to have attended – and has also produced nineteen British Prime Ministers. There are many Old Etonians in the Special Air Service (SAS) and several who went on to become famous scientists, writers or sportsmen. A rising number of students also come to Eton from overseas, including members of royal families from Africa and Asia, some of whom have been sending their sons to Eton for generations. Numerous fictional characters have been described as Old Etonians. These include Ronald Eustace Psmith from the books by P. G. Wodehouse, the pirate who used the pseudonym Captain Hook, Lord Peter Wimsey, the secret agent James Bond, and Sebastian Flyte in Brideshead Revisited. Also, in Anthony Horowitz's book Point Blanc, the teenage spy Alex Rider pretends to have been expelled from Eton in order to gain access to the Point Blanc Academy.

The following are more complete lists of well-known Old Etonians:

• List of famous Old Etonians born before the 18th century
• List of famous Old Etonians born in the 18th century
• List of famous Old Etonians born in the 19th century
• List of famous Old Etonians born in the 20th century

See also Category:Old Etonians.

See also

• List of headmasters at Eton College
• List of Provosts of Eton College
• Carmen Etoniense/Carmen Etonense - the school song
• Dorney Lake - Eton's rowing facility, which will host the rowing events at the 2012 Summer Olympics
• Eton Blue
• The Eton Boating Song - the most famous Eton school song
• Eton Fives - a handball game
• Eton Field Game - a a code of football devised and played at Eton
• The Eton Group of Public Schools
• Eton Wall Game - a code of football devised and played at Eton
• Henry VI of England - founder of Eton College
• Eton College Chapel, Eton - the college chapel
• Eton Racing Boats
• King's Scholar
• Eton Mess
• Ralph Allwood
• Montague Rhodes James - ghost story writer and Provost Of Eton

Partner schools

• Aloisiuskolleg, a Jesuit boarding school in Bonn-Bad Godesberg, Germany

In Popular Culture

In the Harry Potter series, Justin Finch-Fletchley was going to go to Eton College. However, he was assigned to go to Hogwarts after his family found out he was a wizard.

Wikipedia information about Eton College This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Eton College". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.