Eton College

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Coordinates: 0°36′34″W / 51.49167, -0.60944

The King's College of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor

Motto Floreat Etona
(May Eton Flourish)
Established 1440
Type Independent School
Religious affiliation Anglican
Head Master Anthony Little MA
Provost Sir Eric Anderson KT (William Waldegrave from February 2009)
Founder Henry VI
Location Eton
Windsor
Berkshire
England
Staff 135 (approx.)
Students 1309
Ages 13 to 18
Houses 25
School colours Eton blue     
Publication The Chronicle, The Spectrum, The Arts Review
Former pupils Old Etonians
Website www.etoncollege.com

Eton College, also known simply as Eton, is a world-famous British independent school for boys, founded in 1440 by King Henry VI. It was founded as the King's College of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor.

It is located in Eton, near Windsor in England, 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 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 very long list of distinguished former pupils, including eighteen former British Prime Ministers. Traditionally, Eton has been referred to as "the chief nurse of England's statesmen",[1] and is often described as the most famous public school in the world.[2]

Overview

The school is headed by a Provost and Fellows (Board of Governors), who appoint the Head Master. It contains 25 boys' houses, each headed by a housemaster, selected from the more senior members among the teaching staff, who number approximately 160.

Almost all of the school's graduates go on to universities, about a third to Oxford or Cambridge.[3]

The Good Schools Guide called the school "the number one boys' public school," adding, "The teaching and facilities are second to none."[4]

History

Eton College was founded in 1440 by Henry VI as a charity school to provide free education to seventy poor boys who would then go on to King's College, Cambridge, a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, which he also founded in 1441. This was a copy of William of Wykeham's link between Winchester College and New College, Oxford. Henry VI took half the scholars and the headmaster from William of Wykeham's Winchester College (founded 1382). Eton was 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 in Europe) and several religious relics, supposedly including a part of the True Cross and the Crown of Thorns. He even persuaded the then Pope, Eugene IV, 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 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 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 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 wealthy benefactors. Many of these benefactors are honoured with school buildings in their name. They include Bishop William Waynflete and 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.[5]

The Duke of Wellington is often quoted as saying that "The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing-fields of Eton",^{[cite this quote]} but this has been challenged. Wellington briefly attended Eton – for which he had no great love – in the late 18th century, when the school had no playing fields and no organised team sports, and the statement was first recorded three years after his death. The Duke was, however, wildly popular at Eton, visiting many times in his later life.

A nuclear bunker was constructed under the college in 1959 to house the College's Provost and Fellows, and is now used for storage.[6]

In 2005 the school was one of fifty of the country's leading private schools which were found guilty of running an illegal price-fixing cartel, exposed by The Times, which had allowed them to drive up fees for thousands of parents.[7] Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling £3,000,000 into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared.[8]

School terms

There are three academic terms (known as halves) in the year,

• The Michaelmas Half, from early September to mid December. New boys are now only admitted at the start of the Michaelmas Half, unless there are exceptional mitigating factors.
• 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 split into two halves, between which the boys went home.

Boys' houses

King's Scholars

One boarding house, College, is reserved for seventy King's Scholars, who attend Eton on scholarships provided for by the original foundation and awarded by examination each year; they pay up to 90% 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 seventy scholars, 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 used to be referred to as tugs (Latin: togati, wearers of gowns); and occasionally by a surplice in Chapel.

Oppidans

As the school grew, more students were allowed to attend provided that they paid their own fees and lived in the town, outside the college's original buildings. These students became known as Oppidans, from the Latin word oppidum, meaning town. The Houses developed over time as a means of organising the Oppidans in a more congenial manner, and typically contain about fifty boys. Although classes are organised on a school basis, most boys spend a large proportion of their time 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 by 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 College election examination choose to become King's Scholars. If they choose instead 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. To gain an Oppidan Scholarship, a boy must have either three distinctions in a row or four throughout his career. An Oppidan Scholar is entitled to use the letters OS after his name.

The Oppidan Houses are named South Lawn, Waynflete, Evans', Keate, The Hopgarden, Warre, Villiers, Godolphin, Common Lane, Penn, Walpole, Hawtrey, Cotton Hall, Wotton, Holland, Mustians, Jourdelay's, Angelo's, Manor, Durnford, Farrer, Baldwin's Bec, The Timbralls and Westbury. But they are much more commonly referred to by the initials of their occupying housemaster, such as ASR.

House structure

In addition to the housemaster, each house has a House Captain and a Games Captain. Some Houses choose to elect more than one. House prefects were once elected from the oldest year, but this no longer happens. The old term, Library, survives in the name of the room set aside for the house prefects' use, and they often have a kitchen. The situation is similar with the junior prefects of the year below, once known as Debate.

There are entire house gatherings every evening, usually around 8:10-8:30 p.m. These are known as Prayers, due to their original nature. The housemaster and boys have an opportunity to make announcements, and sometimes light entertainment is provided by boys. There are many inter-house competitions, mostly in the field of sport.