Eton College
Floreat Etona
Founded in 1440 by King Henry VI, Eton College is among the most recognised names in British education, and one of a small number of schools that admit boys only on a full boarding basis. Its traditions, from the unique terminology that governs daily life to the Wall Game played each November, run unusually deep, and the school has shaped the lives of twenty British Prime Ministers across nearly six centuries.
Key Facts
Location : Eton, Windsor, Berkshire
Type : All-boys, full boarding
Age Range : 13 to 18
Pupil Numbers : Approx. 1,340 boys
Founded : 1440
Motto : Floreat Etona ("May Eton Flourish")
Academic Profile
Boys at Eton follow an exceptionally broad curriculum, including nine modern and classical languages, before taking their GCSEs. In the Sixth Form they study A Levels, and Old Etonians proceed to Oxford and Cambridge, alongside a longstanding record of entry to Imperial College London, UCL, and the Ivy League.
Co-Curricular Life
Music is exceptionally strong, with more than fifty instrumental ensembles and seven choirs, from a two-hundred-strong chorus to small close-harmony groups, and a symphony orchestra that tours internationally. Drama is served by the Farrer Theatre, a professionally staffed auditorium seating around four hundred, alongside two flexible studio theatres, with boys taking on lighting, sound, and stage management as well as performing. Sport runs to more than twenty-five disciplines, including the school's own Wall Game and Field Game and rowing at Dorney Lake, the venue used for the 2012 Olympics, and boys have founded more than eighty societies covering almost every interest.
Admissions Essentials
Boys join Eton College in Year 9, at age thirteen, with a small number of places available in the Sixth Form. Registration for Year 9 entry closes at the end of Year 5, several years ahead of entry. Boys sit the ISEB Common Pre-Test in the autumn term of Year 6, alongside a head teacher's report and an individual assessment at Eton, with a place confirmed through Common Entrance, the Eton Entrance examination, or the King's Scholarship examination in Year 8. Sixth Form applications open in Year 11, on a shorter timeline than Year 9 entry. At Year 9 entry, Eton offers two scholarships, the King's Scholarship for academic distinction and a separate award for music.
In Essence
For a boy who will flourish as part of something much larger than himself, Eton pairs a breadth of opportunity in music, sport, and the arts that few schools anywhere can match with a house system that keeps a school of well over a thousand boys close and personal.