Eton College

Curriculum Framework

Eton follows the English national qualifications framework, with boys sitting:

• GCSE / IGCSE examinations at the end of Year 11 (age 16), typically in 9–11 subjects
• GCE A-Level examinations at the end of Year 13 (age 18), typically in 3–4 subjects

There is no IB Diploma Programme. The school's curriculum is deliberately broad at GCSE level to maintain a wide knowledge base, before specialisation at A-Level.

Subject Breadth at A-Level

Eton offers an unusually wide range of A-Level subjects for a single-school setting, confirmed by the government's school performance data. These include:

• Sciences: Chemistry, Physics
• Humanities: Ancient History, History, History of Art, Government & Politics, Religious Studies, Geography
• Languages: French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Latin, Classical Greek
• Arts: Fine Art, Drama & Theatre Studies, Music, Music Technology
• Mathematics: Mathematics, Further Mathematics
• Applied: Computing, Design & Technology (Product Design), Economics

This breadth is unusual and reflects Eton's commitment to the full spectrum of human knowledge.

Academic Support Structures

Beyond formal teaching, boys benefit from:

• Private tutor ('div master') system — each boy has a personal academic tutor who monitors progress across all subjects
• Housemaster oversight — pastoral and academic progress reviewed weekly
• Learning Support Centre — accredited SEN support for boys with learning differences such as dyslexia, operating under ISI-inspected procedures
• Over 200 academic and co-curricular societies — from the Philosophy Society and Economics Society to Engineering & Design, providing intellectual enrichment beyond the syllabus

University Destinations

Eton's university placement record is exceptional by any measure:

• Approximately 60–100 students per year gain places at Oxford or Cambridge, representing roughly 5–7% of the entire UK Oxbridge intake from a single school
• Around 50 students per year (combined) gain places at Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Yale or Columbia
• Destinations span Trinity College Dublin, Bocconi University (Milan), the University of Hong Kong, and leading Russell Group institutions
• Approximately one-third of leavers take a Gap Year before university entry

A-Level Performance

Reported A-Level outcomes place Eton in the top tier nationally, with over 80% of grades at A*/A in recent cohorts (third-party data, 2020). The school does not publish its own annual results dashboard, but ISI inspection reports consistently affirm the quality of academic provision.

The Role of Societies

Eton's Societies Programme is integral to academic culture. 'Traditional' academically-focused societies — Philosophy, Classics, History, Mathematics — meet regularly to hear external speakers and debate ideas at a level comparable to undergraduate seminars. Newer societies reflect contemporary intellectual interests: Social Impact, Environment, Shackleton (exploration), Entrepreneurship and Journalism. Boys are encouraged to found their own societies, embedding intellectual initiative as a school norm.

Origins: A Royal Act of Charity

Eton College was founded on 11 October 1440 by the teenage King Henry VI, who was just 18 years old at the time. The institution was formally named The King's College of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor and was conceived as a charitable grammar school with a core mission: to provide free education to 70 poor scholars, known as King's Scholars.

The foundation charter did three interconnected things that shaped Eton's identity for centuries:

• Converted the existing Eton parish church into a collegiate church and school
• Endowed it with lands and revenues sufficient to fund free education
• Established an enduring link with King's College Cambridge, which Henry founded in 1441 to receive the most distinguished Eton scholars

This connection between Eton and King's College Cambridge survives to this day. The 70 King's Scholars still live in 'College' — the oldest continuous residential building on the school grounds.

Growth Through the Centuries

From its original charitable purpose, Eton evolved gradually but dramatically:

• 17th–18th centuries: Fee-paying 'Oppidans' (town boys, from Latin oppidum) began to supplement the scholars, and the school's reputation attracted the English aristocracy and gentry.
• 19th century: The boarding house system crystallised. Today there are 24 houses plus College, each supervised by a Housemaster. Distinctive Eton sports — the Field Game (1815) and the Wall Game — were codified during this era.
• 20th century: The curriculum evolved from classical subjects to encompass sciences, modern languages and the arts. Eton adopted the national GCSE and A-Level frameworks while maintaining its broad co-curricular tradition.
• 2021: The new Sports and Aquatics Centre opened, a landmark by Hopkins Architects featuring a 25-metre pool and a four-court sports hall — a RIBA Regional Award winner.
• 2024: The Orwell Award was launched, offering fully-funded Sixth Form places to up to 12 outstanding state-school pupils each year, named after the school's most famous literary critic and Old Etonian, George Orwell.

Tradition as Living Practice

Unlike many schools where tradition is ceremonial, at Eton it shapes daily life. The iconic school dress — black tailcoat, waistcoat, striped trousers and white collar — has been worn continuously since the 19th century. The school's own sports (Field Game, Wall Game, Eton Fives, Rackets) are still played competitively. The Chapel remains central to school life. In this sense, Eton's history is not a museum exhibit but a lived curriculum.

Governance: A Charitable Foundation

Eton is governed by a Council of Governors and operates as a registered charity. It receives no state funding. This governance model means that surpluses are reinvested in education and bursaries rather than distributed to shareholders — a crucial distinction that allows the school to award means-tested financial aid to approximately 18% of pupils, with an average fee reduction of 71%.

The House System as the Spine of School Life

At Eton, the boarding house is not simply a place to sleep — it is the primary community to which every boy belongs. With approximately 50–55 boys in each of the 24 houses (plus the historic 'College' for King's Scholars), the house provides an intimate, family-like environment within a large school of 1,350.

Each house is led by a Housemaster, who is simultaneously a subject teacher and the boy's primary pastoral guardian. The Housemaster:

• Oversees academic progress and communicates with parents
• Manages house routines including meals, study periods ('Chambers') and evening roll-call
• Coordinates with the school's learning support and counselling teams when needed
• Lives with their family in the house, creating a genuinely domestic environment

A Dame (house matron) supports daily welfare, health concerns and the domestic running of each house.

A 24-Hour Community

Because Eton is fully boarding — there are no day pupils — pastoral care operates around the clock. Boys do not go home at 3:30 pm; the school is their home for 35+ weeks per year. This creates a depth of community that day schools cannot replicate:

• Shared meals in the house
• Evening activities and study in the house library
• Saturday sport and Sunday free time structured around house life
• House competitions in sport, music, drama and academic quizzes fostering loyalty and identity

Wellbeing Infrastructure

Beyond the house, Eton provides a layered wellbeing infrastructure:

• School counselling service — professional counsellors available to all boys
• Medical centre with qualified nursing staff on duty
• Chaplaincy — the College Chapel is central to community life with daily services
• Learning Support Centre — accredited support for SEN/SEMH needs, ISI-inspected
• EAL support available for international boys transitioning to full English-medium instruction

The King's Scholars: College House

The 70 King's Scholars, selected by competitive academic examination each year, live in 'College' — the oldest residential building on the site, dating to the original 1440 foundation. College boys ('Collegers') form a distinct intellectual community within the broader school, historically associated with the most academically distinguished pupils.

Traditions Binding the Community

House traditions, inter-house competitions, and the shared experience of iconic Eton traditions — wearing tailcoats, participating in the Wall Game on St Andrew's Day, rowing on the Thames — create a powerful sense of shared identity. The school's pastoral philosophy holds that character is formed not just in the classroom but in the dining room, the boathouse and the playing fields.

Sports Invented at Eton

Eton College holds the distinction of having invented multiple sports that are still played today:

The Field Game

Codeified at Eton in 1815, the Field Game is a form of football unique to the school. Played on a narrow pitch with rules that prioritise coordinated team movement over individual brilliance, it is compulsory for younger boys and forms the heart of inter-house competition in the Michaelmas Term. No other school in the world plays the Field Game competitively.

The Wall Game

The Eton Wall Game is played along a curved brick wall built in 1717 on the Eton High Street. The wall separates two teams in a contest of extraordinary physical endurance and tactical complexity. Goals (called 'shies' and 'goals') are almost never scored — the most famous match of the year, played on St Andrew's Day (30 November), often ends 0–0. The Wall Game is arguably the most niche competitive sport practised by any school in the world, and its annual St Andrew's Day match is a major social occasion.

Eton Fives

Eton Fives is a handball game played in a three-sided court whose design derives from the buttresses and steps of Eton College Chapel, where boys first played the game informally. The sport spread from Eton to other schools and has an active international association, but Eton remains its spiritual home.

Rackets

Eton has historic Rackets courts — a precursor to squash — and competes at national level in this rare sport.

The Uniform: An Icon of English Education

Eton's school dress is among the most recognisable school uniforms in the world:

• Black wool tailcoat
• Black waistcoat
• Black-and-grey striped trousers
• White stiff collar (the 'Eton collar')
• White shirt and white bow tie

This uniform, worn every day including Sundays, has remained essentially unchanged since the 19th century. It was the subject of the school's own commemorative exhibition marking 80 years of School Dress. The uniform signals tradition but also creates a remarkable visual equality among boys of very different backgrounds.

Co-curricular Depth

Beyond sport and uniform, Eton's uniqueness lies in the sheer density of available activities:

• Over 200 clubs and societies
• Combined Cadet Force (Army and RAF sections), tracing its origins to the Eton Volunteer Corps
• A flourishing community engagement and volunteering programme
• Rock and pop bands performing live concerts outside school (e.g. Bootliquor, The Jades)
• A Natural History Museum on campus housing 17,000 specimens including rare bird collections, open since 1875

This breadth — from Eton Fives to feminist society, from symphony orchestra to entrepreneurship — makes Eton unusual even among elite boarding schools.

Two Entry Points

Eton offers entry at two stages:

1. Year 9 (age 13) — the main entry point, accounting for the vast majority of places
2. Sixth Form (Year 12, age 16) — a smaller number of external places for exceptional candidates

The 13+ Entry Process

The timeline for 13+ entry is notably long and illustrates just how competitive places are:

• Year 5 (age 9–10): Families register their son's interest. A registration fee of £480 is payable.
• Year 7 (age 11–12): Boys sit pre-tests (cognitive ability and English/Mathematics assessments). Provisional offers are made to around 250 boys who are then 'pre-selected'.
• Year 8 (age 12–13): Pre-selected boys sit either the Common Entrance examination or the Eton-specific entrance examination. An interview with the Housemaster is also conducted.
• Waiting list: Applicants not immediately offered a place may be held on a waiting list.

Upon receiving an offer, an Acceptance Fee of £3,840 is payable to confirm the place (£500 is refundable upon graduation).

16+ Entry (Sixth Form)

External candidates applying for Sixth Form entry sit assessments in their chosen A-Level subjects, attend interviews, and submit school references. This pathway is open to both UK and international students.

Annual Fees (2025–2026)

Eton is a full boarding school — tuition, boarding, meals, laundry and most activities are bundled into a single fee:

• £17,583 per term (excl. VAT) → £52,749 per year
• From January 2025, the UK government applied 20% VAT to independent school fees, raising the annual cost to approximately £63,300
• Overseas boarding deposit: Students resident outside the UK must pay one full term's fees in advance as a deposit

Scholarships and Awards

Eton distinguishes between Scholarships (academic/specialist recognition) and Bursaries (means-tested financial support). Scholarships do not automatically carry fee remission — they are honours. Bursaries provide the actual financial assistance.

Key awards include:

• King's Scholarship — awarded to the top 14 boys in the annual examination; Scholars live in College
• Rokos Scholarship — up to 4 awards per year covering up to 100% of fees for outstanding boys from state primary schools who need financial support
• Music Awards (13+) — specialist recognition for outstanding instrumentalists or vocalists
• Orwell Award (16+) — up to 12 fully-funded Sixth Form places per year for state-school pupils from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, named after Old Etonian George Orwell
• Sixth Form Music Award and MCM Drama Award — specialist full-funding awards at 16+

Bursary Programme

Eton's bursary programme is among the most generous in UK independent education:

• Approximately 18% of boys receive means-tested bursary support
• Average fee reduction of 71%
• Bursaries are assessed annually based on household income and assets
• The school has committed to expanding access, with the Orwell Award representing the most recent major initiative