Eton College

The King's College of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor, commonly known as Eton College or just Eton, is a prestigious and internationally known independent school for boys, which is often described as the most famous school in the world. It is located in Eton, Berkshire, near Windsor in England, situated about a mile north of Windsor Castle. The school's Headmaster, Tony 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 well known alumni, including 19 former British Prime Ministers.

Overview

Eton College boards approximately 1,290 boys (15% from overseas) between the ages of 13 and 18 (roughly 250 in each year) at a cost of about £23,688 a year. A small number of the pupils – approximately 14 in each year – attend Eton on scholarships provided for by the original bequest and awarded by examination each year; they are known as King's Scholars and live in the College itself, paying up to 75 per cent of full fees. 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 only of the 14 Scholars in each year, totalling only 70 students, and all of these boys were educated at the king's expense.

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. Most pupils spend a large proportion of their time outside classes in their House. Each House is named after the initials or surname of the House Master, the teacher who lives in the house and manages the pupils in it.

The school is famous for its alumni (known as Old Etonians) and 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, apart from those appointed to positions of responsibility, who wear a white bow tie and a wing collar. Their positions are also often indicated by variations in the colour of waistcoat, trousers or waistcoat buttons. Those in Sixth Form Select, who are the most academic students at the top of the school, have silver waistcoat buttons, while those in the Eton Society (known as Pop) are allowed to wear waistcoats of whatever colour or design they wish, with grey "spongebag" trousers. King's Scholars are also required to wear a black gown over the top of their tailcoats.

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 "divisions" or "divs". Members of the teaching staff (known as Beaks) are also required to wear a form of school dress when teaching. Other idiosyncrasies include the Eton Field Game, the Eton Wall Game, and the remnants of a unique Eton slang for almost everything involved with the school.

History

File:EtonQuad20040214CopyrightKaihsuTai.png

School Yard, Eton College

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 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.

As a result of the reduced income suffered at a stage when much of the school was still under construction, much of the completion and further development of the school ever since has 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 Junior (1803–70) became surveyor to Eton and designed new parts of the college which helped provide better accommodation for the pupils. [1]

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.

There is a long history of japes and pranks being committed on the eve (or day) of the Fourth of June, a ceremony marking the start of an exeat for Etonians, at which parents are frequently in attendance. Included in this list are such endeavours as filling the river with inflatable ducks or crocodiles as the Eton boats process down stream, hiding in the water wearing SCUBA gear, and turning the boats over as they pass. In 2002, an ornamental water feature, constructed at great expense, was painted pink, which broke the fountain's spray system and it required a lengthy, and costly, repair - and the fountain still does not work to full functionality. More recently in 2004, a daring night-time ascent of the college tower, in which a cut-out phallus was attached to a hand of the school clock. However, in the last two years, beaks (teachers) have been forced to patrol the school in the small hours to hamper the endeavours of pranksters.

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. 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 that 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 [2]. 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 [3] public schools continue to benefit from over £100M in State tax breaks.

Terminology and slang

Much of Eton slang is the same as other public school slang (for example, calling the elder brother Major and the younger brother Minor). However, there are numerous Eton-specific phrases, including:

Absence: a roll call
Beak: a schoolmaster (teacher). This term is not, in fact, specific to the school and is used elsewhere,especially Worksop College,Harrow School and at the famous Charterhouse School although perhaps not as commonly as it is at Eton.
Block: A school year-group, 'F' Block being the first year and 'B' block the last year. There used to be an 'A' Block for those who were going on to Oxford or Cambridge universities - when their admissions process began after Christmas - however this system is now obsolete as Oxbridge admissions are now through the UCAS system in pupils' second year of sixth form.
Capping / to Cap: to raise a finger as a sign of respect, derived from tipping of a hat. All boys used to have to cap beaks when passing them in the street, and beaks were supposed to reciprocate. This was a school rule until 2000, as a tradition of respect, rather than a rule, but has now almost been completely phased out.
Debate: members of the lower sixth form in a house (C Block), or a special room set aside for their use (sometimes with a kitchen). Formerly Junior Prefects within each House, who were elected when in C Block (the lower sixth form) by members of Library, and remained in Debate until elected by their peers into Library when in B Block themselves.
Div: (Short for Division) 1. A set (as in a class of pupils) 2. A lesson (equivalent to US English period)
Eton Blue: appeared no later than the early 19th century to identify Eton sportsmen on the river and the cricket field. The colour was also adopted by the University of Cambridge for the Boat Race against Oxford in 1836, and they have kept it ever since. The traditional colour remained in use at Eton for a hundred years, but various pressures – financial and military – broke the link with the past, and now a pale blue is often used by Eton sportsmen and others. There are moves afoot to re-adopt a distinctive colour, although these will take time to complete.
Fixtures: a termly publication which is sent to all pupils and teachers outlining the main diary items each half
Floreat Etona: Eton's official motto; Latin for "May Eton Flourish."
Half: one of the three terms that make up the school year (Michaelmas, Lent, and Summer). Called half because in the 15th Century boys would only (briefly) return home twice a year, thus there were two 'halves' of the year during which they were at school.
Library: members of a house's B Block (upper sixth form), or a special room set aside for their use (often with a kitchen). Formerly House Prefects in B block within each house. After the appointment of the House Captain and Captain of Games by the House Master, the membership of Library followed self-electing principles similar to those of Pop. See also: Debate
Mespots: "Mesopotamia", one of many school playing fields. Others include Sixpenny/The Field, Lower Sixpenny, Dutchman's, Agar's Plough, Upper Club and Lower Club. The Masters' playing field now provides astroturf facilities for Field Hockey which has become a major sport in the Lent Half.
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 and today members of Pop are, alongside Sixth Form Select, the school prefects. It 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, wing collars ("stick-ups") with bow ties 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. Pop is responsible for maintaining order amongst boys at assemblies and meetings, and enforcing dress codes. They are empowered with limited disciplinary powers. They also perform roles at many of the routine events of the school year including School Plays, Parents' evenings and other official events.
Popper: a member of Pop
Rip: when work is torn as a mark that it is substandard and has to be submitted for the inspection and signatures of the House Master and the boy's tutor. The opposite of a show up
Rowlands: The school's 'tuck shop', adjoining Tap, supplies a range of hot food and beverages.
Sent up for good: an outstanding piece of work from a boy judged by a beak to be of a standard that justifies being lodged permanently in College Library
Show up: the opposite of a rip – work that is commended and to be shown to the student's tutors as evidence of progress
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 stick-ups and silver buttons on their waistcoats. They are responsible for Praeposting, or ceremonially summoning boys to the traditional punitive Bill for misdeeds, and also for maintaining dress codes. Members of Sixth Form Select also perform "speeches" a formal event which is held twice a year.
to Soc (v. tr.): refers to giving someone some of your food, and the term is the origin of a celebration at the end of Michaelmas term called today "Soc supper", where the house gives a lavish meal. The word is now completely obsolete.
Stick-ups: the winged collars awarded, and worn as part of school uniform, for senior boys who holds distinguished offices, e.g. Member of Pop. Recently some boys have devalued the honour of stick-ups by claiming them for offices such as 'Keeper of Wakeboarding.' Such practices and the guilty parties were recently named and shamed in the 'Ephemeral' - one of the many school publications.
Tap: the school's bar, open to students over the age of 16 in their final two years. Until November 2005, students could buy up to two pints of Beer or cider without having to buy food, but then legislation introduced by the Labour Government came into force which made all boys drinking alcohol to need to buy a meal alongside. However, the system of electronic fingerprinting to enforce this rule (which requires parents to send cheques to the bursar to top up their sons' electronic accounts), as well as the inferior quality of the food, have been criticised by both boys and staff.
Trials: internal examinations, held in the Michaelmas (Winter) 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 Trials in all other subjects they are studying.
Tug: a King's Scholar (KS) – from the Latin togati, meaning "wearers of gowns". Almost never used today by Oppidans as a pejorative term when referring to Collegers or Kings Scholars.

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, and the secret agent James Bond. Also, in Anthony Horowitz's book Point Blanc, Alex Rider, the teenage spy, pretends to have been expelled from Eton in order to gain access to the eponymous Point Blanc academy.

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

External links

Eton College online - Official school website
Eton College by Mike Blanche
School overview - The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead
Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College by Thomas Gray
Short description - European School Tours