View source for Organization:Eton College

{{Short description|Public school in Eton, Berkshire, England}}
{{Infobox school
 | name                    = Eton College
 | logo                    = Etoncollegearms.svg
 | logo_size               = 120px
 | logo_alt                = Arms of Eton College: Sable, three lily-flowers argent on a chief per pale azure and gules in the dexter a fleur-de-lys in the sinister a lion passant guardant.
 | image                   = Eton College.jpg
 | image_size              = 250px
 | alt                     = 
 | caption                 = Aerial view of Eton College from the north
 | motto                   = {{Lang-la|Floreat Etona}}
 | motto_translation       = May Eton Flourish
 | address                 = 
 | town                    = Eton, Berkshire, England
 | postcode                = SL4 6DW
 | coordinates             = {{Coord|51.492|-0.608|type:edu_region:GB-WNM_dim:100|format=dec|display=inline,title}}
 | other_name              = <!-- or | other_names = -->
 | former_name             = <!-- or | former_names = -->
 | type                    = Public school<br />Independent boarding school
 | religious_affiliation   = Church of England
 | established             = {{Start date and age|df=yes|1440}}
 | founder                 = Henry VI
 | closed                  = 
 | local_authority         = Windsor and Maidenhead
 | oversight               = <!-- use | oversight_label = to override the default label -->
 | urn                     = 110158
 | ofsted                  = 
 | chair                   = William Waldegrave, Baron Waldegrave of North Hill
 | chair_label             = Provost
 | head                    = Simon Henderson
 | head_label              = Head Master
 | staff                   = 
 | gender                  = Boys
 | age_range               = 13–18
 | enrolment               = 1,311 (2020)<ref name="GOV.UK">{{cite web |title=Eton College |url=https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/110158|website=Get information about schools |publisher=GOV.UK |access-date=15 April 2020 }}</ref>
 | capacity                = 1,390<ref name="GOV.UK" />
 | ratio                   = 8:1
 | campus_size             = 
 | area                    = 1600 acres (647 hectares)
 | campus_type             = 
 | houses                  = 25
 | colours                 = [[Eton blue]] {{Color box|#A0D1CA|border=darkgray}}
 | song                    = Carmen Etonense
 | accreditation           = <!-- or | accreditations = -->
 | publication             = ''The Chronicle''
 | newspaper               = 
 | yearbook                = 
 | fees                    = [[Finance:Pound sterling|£]]46,296 per year<ref>{{cite web |title=Current Fees |url= https://www.etoncollege.com/CurrentFees.aspx |publisher=Eton College |access-date=5 November 2018 }}</ref><br><small>US$55,875 per year</small>
 | affiliations            = {{Unbulleted list|G30 Schools|Holyport College|London Academy of Excellence|Mayo College|Roxbury Latin School|The Doon School}}
 | alumni                  = Old Etonians
 | website                 = {{URL|www.etoncollege.com}}
 | footnotes               = {{EW charity |num=1139086 |name=Eton College}}
}}


Eton is one of three public schools, along with Harrow (1572) and Radley (1847), to have retained the boys-only, boarding-only tradition, which means that its boys live at the school seven days a week during term time. The remainder of them, including Charterhouse in 1971, [[Organization:Westminster School|Westminster]] in 1973,<ref>{{cite news |last=Rae |first=John |url=http://www.spectator.co.uk/books/3539666/tales-out-of-school.thtml |title=The Old Boys' Network |work=The Spectator |location=London |date=18 April 2009 |access-date=30 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110605082432/http://www.spectator.co.uk/books/3539666/tales-out-of-school.thtml |archive-date=5 June 2011}}</ref> Rugby in 1976, Shrewsbury in 2015, and [[Organization:Winchester College|Winchester]] in 2022,<ref>{{cite web |title=Winchester College in the 21st Century |url=https://www.winchestercollege.org/newsletters/the-winchester-vision |access-date=9 February 2021 |publisher=Winchester College}}</ref> have since become co-educational. Eton has educated prime ministers, world leaders, Nobel laureates, Academy Award and BAFTA award-winning actors, and generations of the [[Social:Aristocracy|aristocracy]], having been referred to as "the nurse of England's statesmen".<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/162402.stm |work=BBC News |title=Eton – the establishment's choice |date=2 September 1998 |access-date=4 July 2015}}</ref>

The school is the largest boarding school in England ahead of Millfield and Oundle.<ref name=3rd>{{cite web |url=http://guides.tatler.co.uk/WCS/Schools/2009/Details.aspx?Type=Public&Area=&ID=2308&List=BySchoolSize |archive-url= https://archive.today/20120715100708/http://guides.tatler.co.uk/WCS/Schools/2009/Details.aspx?Type=Public&Area=&ID=2308&List=BySchoolSize |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 July 2012 |title=Schools Guide 2011 – Tatler |publisher=Guides.tatler.co.uk |access-date=7 August 2011}}</ref> Eton charges up to £46,296 per year (£15,432 per term, with three terms per academic year, for 2022/23).<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.etoncollege.com/CurrentFees.aspx |title=Current Fees |publisher= Eton College}}</ref> Eton was noted as being the sixth most expensive HMC boarding school in the UK in 2013–14.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.privateschoolfees.co.uk/ |title=Private school fees |access-date=4 July 2015 |archive-date=10 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161010123134/http://www.privateschoolfees.co.uk/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Hereford cathedral 033.JPG|thumb|The Stanberry Window, made in 1923, at Hereford Cathedral, showing Bishop John Stanberry advising King Henry VI on the founding of Eton College]]
[[File:MK17834 Eton College.jpg|thumb|A statue of Henry VI, the college's founder, in the school yard and Lupton's Tower (background)]]
[[File:Eton College by Loggan 1690 - R - slpl ste02048 merge.jpeg|thumb|A 1690 engraving of Eton College by David Loggan]]
Eton College was founded by Henry VI as a charity school to provide free education to 70 poor boys who would then go on to [[Organization:King's College, Cambridge|King's College, Cambridge]], founded by the same king in 1441. Henry used [[Organization:Winchester College|Winchester College]] as a model, visiting at least 6 times (in 1441, 1444, 1446, 1447, 1448, 1449, 1451, 1452) and having its statutes transcribed. Henry appointed Winchester's headmaster, William Waynflete, as Eton's Provost, and transferred some of Winchester's 70 scholars to start his new school. There is a rumour that he also had carts of earth from Winchester transported to Eton.{{cn|date=July 2023}}

When Henry VI founded the school, he granted it a large number of endowments, including much valuable land. The group of feoffees appointed by the king to receive forfeited lands of the Alien Priories for the endowment of Eton were as follows:<ref>Watts, John, ''Henry VI and the Politics of Kingship'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=qTP4CF_boeoC&pg=PA169 pp. 169–70], quoting Calendar of Patent Rolls 1436–41, pp. 454, 471.</ref>
* Henry Chichele, [[Religion:Archbishop of Canterbury|Archbishop of Canterbury]] (d. 1443)
* Thomas Spofford, Bishop of Hereford (d. 1456)
* John Low, Bishop of Rochester (d. 1467)
* William Ayscough, Bishop of Salisbury (d. 1450) 
* William de la Pole, 1st Marquess of Suffolk (1396–1450) (later Duke of Suffolk)
* John Somerset (d. 1454), Chancellor of the Exchequer and the king's doctor
* Thomas Beckington (c. 1390–1465), Archdeacon of Buckingham, the king's secretary and later Keeper of the Privy Seal
* Richard Andrew (d. 1477), first Warden of [[Organization:All Souls College, Oxford|All Souls College, Oxford]], later the king's secretary
* Adam Moleyns (d. 1450), Clerk of the Council
* John Hampton (d. 1472) of Kinver, Staffordshire, an Esquire of the Body<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kingswinford.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/com/kinver/kinverchurch.htm |title=Kinver Church – kingswinford.org |access-date=4 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225020702/http://www.kingswinford.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/com/kinver/kinverchurch.htm |archive-date=25 February 2015}}</ref>
* James Fiennes, another member of the Royal Household
* William Tresham, another member of the Royal Household

It was intended to have 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 [[Religion:True Cross|True Cross]] and the Crown of Thorns.<ref name=lrb>{{cite news|last=Hope|first=Charles|title=At Eton|url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/v35/n05/charles-hope/at-eton|access-date=28 February 2013 |newspaper=London Review of Books|date=7 March 2013}}</ref> He persuaded the then [[Religion:Pope|Pope]], Eugene IV, to grant him a privilege unparalleled anywhere in England: the right to grant [[Religion:Indulgence|indulgence]]s to penitents on the Feast of the Assumption. The college also came into possession of one of England's Apocalypse manuscripts.

However, when Henry was deposed by King 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. She was able to save a good part of the school,<ref>Nevill. p. 5.</ref> 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,<ref>Nevill, p. 5.</ref> with 18, or possibly 17, bays (there are eight today) was stopped when Henry VI was deposed. Only the Quire of the intended building was completed. Eton's first Head Master, William Waynflete, founder of Magdalen College, Oxford and previously headmaster of [[Organization:Winchester College|Winchester College]],<ref>Nevill, p. 4.</ref> built the ante-chapel that completed the chapel. The important wall paintings in the chapel and the brick north range of the present School Yard also date from the 1480s; the lower storeys of the cloister, including College Hall, were built between 1441 and 1460.<ref>Nikolaus Pevsner, Buildings of England – Buckinghamshire</ref>

As the school suffered reduced income while still under construction, the completion and further development of the school have since depended to some extent on wealthy benefactors. Building resumed when Roger Lupton was [[Social:Provost (education)|Provost]], around 1517. His name is borne by the big gatehouse in the west range of the cloisters, fronting School Yard, perhaps the most famous image of the school. This range includes the important interiors of the Parlour, Election Hall, and Election Chamber, where most of the 18th century "leaving portraits" are kept.

"After Lupton's time, nothing important was built until about 1670, when Provost Allestree gave a range to close the west side of School Yard between Lower School and Chapel".<ref>Nikolaus Pevsner, op. cit. p. 119.</ref> This was remodelled later and completed in 1694 by Matthew Bankes, Master Carpenter of the Royal Works. The last important addition to the central college buildings was the College Library, in the south range of the cloister, 1725–29, by Thomas Rowland. It has a very important collection of books and manuscripts.

=== 19th century onwards ===
[[File:"View of classroom at Eton College, England, showing plainess of the furniture and names carved thereon by the... - NARA - 298013.tif|thumb|An Eton College classroom in the 19th century]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-13350, England, Rudermannschaft.jpg|thumb|Eton College students dressed as members of various rowing crews taking part in the "Procession of Boats" on the River Thames during Fourth of June celebrations in 1932]]
The Duke of Wellington is often incorrectly quoted as saying that "The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing-fields of Eton."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,762878,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308061735/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,762878,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 March 2008 |title=Ploughing Fields of Eton |magazine=Time |location=New York |date=27 November 1939}}</ref> Wellington was at Eton from 1781 to 1784 and was to send his sons there. According to Nevill (citing the historian Sir Edward Creasy), what Wellington said, while passing an Eton cricket match many decades later, was, "There grows the stuff that won Waterloo",<ref>Nevill, p. 125.</ref> a remark Nevill construes as a reference to "the manly character induced by games and sport" among English youth generally, not a comment about Eton specifically. In 1889, Sir William Fraser conflated this uncorroborated remark with the one attributed to him by Count Charles de Montalembert's ''C'est ici qu'a été gagnée la bataille de Waterloo'' ("It is here that the Battle of Waterloo was won").

The architect John Shaw Jr (1803–1870) became a surveyor to Eton. He designed New Buildings (1844–46),<ref>Nikolaus Pevsner, op. cit.</ref> Provost Francis Hodgson's addition to provide better accommodation for collegers, who until then had mostly lived in Long Chamber, a long first-floor room where conditions were inhumane.<ref>Extracts from c. 20 of ''A History of Eton College'' by Maxwell Lyte:<br />These rooms contained little besides wooden bedsteads and bureaus. Chairs and tables [were] for the privileged few, and the wind whistled through the gaping casements. Candlesticks were made by folding the cover of a school book and cutting a hole to receive the candle. A servant was supposed to sweep the rooms, make beds and light fires, but this was all. The lower boys had to fetch water from the pump for [the seniors]. They themselves had neither washstands nor basins...New boys were tossed in blankets until about 1832. In 1834, "the inmates of a workhouse are better fed than the scholars of Eton ... Boys who could not pay for a private room [in the town] are said to have undergone privations that would be thought inhuman if inflicted on a galley slave."</ref>

Following complaints about the finances, buildings and management of Eton, the Clarendon Commission was set up in 1861 as a royal commission to investigate the state of nine schools in England, including Eton.<ref>J. Stuart Maclure, ''Educational Documents: England and Wales, 1816 to present day'' (Methuen Young Books, 1973, {{ISBN|978-0-416-78290-5}}), p. 83</ref>
Questioned by the commission in 1862, Head Master Edward Balston came under attack for his view that in the classroom little time could be spared for subjects other than classical studies.<ref>''Report of Her Majesty's Commissioners appointed to inquire into the Revenues and Management of certain Colleges and Schools, and the Studies pursued and Instruction given therein; with an Appendix and Evidence'', vol. III (evidence) (Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1864), [https://books.google.com/books?id=IIRLAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA114] pp. 114–116</ref>

As with other public schools,<ref>''The Boy's Own Paper'' November 1915 to September 1919</ref> a scheme was devised towards the end of the 19th century to familiarise privileged schoolboys with social conditions in deprived areas.<ref>Arthur C. Benson, Hugh, Memoirs of a Brother, chapter eight</ref> The project of establishing an "Eton Mission" in the crowded district of Hackney Wick in east London was started at the beginning of 1880, and it lasted until 1971 when it was decided that a more local project (at Dorney) would be more realistic. However over the years much money was raised for the Eton Mission, a fine church by G. F. Bodley was erected; many Etonians visited and stimulated among other things the Eton Manor Boys' Club, a notable rowing club which has survived the Mission itself, and the 59 Club for motorcyclists.

The large and ornate School Hall and School Library (by L. K. Hall) were erected in 1906–08 across the road from Upper School as the school's memorial to the Etonians who had died in the Boer War. Many tablets in the cloisters and chapel commemorate the large number of dead Etonians of the First World War. A bomb destroyed part of Upper School in [[Social:World War II|World War II]] and blew out many windows in the chapel. The college commissioned replacements by Evie Hone (1949–52) and by John Piper and Patrick Reyntiens (1959 onward).

Among Head Masters of the late 19th and 20th centuries were Cyril Alington, Robert Birley and Anthony Chenevix-Trench. M. R. James was a Provost.

Between the years 1926 and 1939, Eton students were included as part of a group of around 20 or 30 selected Public school boys who travelled yearly to various [[Place:British Empire|British Empire]] countries as part of the Public School Boys Empire Tour. The first tour travelled to Australia; the last went to Canada. The purpose of the tours was to encourage Empire settlement, with the boys possibly becoming district officers in India or imperial governors of the Dominions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Clarendon Archive: The School Empire-Tour |date=2021 |url= http://blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/archivesandmanuscripts/2021/01/04/school-empire-tour/ |access-date=6 August 2023 |quote=Between 1926 and 1939, the School Empire-Tour Committee, an offshoot of the Church of England Council of Empire Settlement, organised a series of Empire tours for British public school boys that started with a trip to Australia in 1926}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Griffiths |first1=J. |title=Public School Boys Empire Tour |date=1931 |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9781351024822-13 |s2cid=239230496 |url= https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781351024822-13/public-school-boys-empire-tour-times-educational-supplement-18th-august-1931-321-john-griffiths |access-date=6 August 2023 |quote=This document, relating to the connection between the public schools and Empire, records the tour of public school boys to Australia in the early 1930s. Between 1926 and 1939 the School Empire Tour Committee, an offshoot of the Church of England Council of Settlement, organised a series of Empire tours for British public-school boys. The first tour travelled to Australia; the last went to Canada.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=British Public School Boys Visiting Adelaide |url= https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/54872123 |access-date=6 August 2023 |work=The Register |location= Adelaide |date=20 September 1926 |page=10}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Harper |first1=M. |title=Personal contact is worth a ton of text-books': educational tours of the empire, 1926–39 |journal=The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History |date=2023 |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=48–76 |publisher=Informa UK Limited |doi=10.1080/0308653042000279669 |s2cid=162217400 |url= https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0308653042000279669 |access-date=6 August 2023 |quote=...[student from] Eton ...[student from] Clifton}}</ref>

In 1959, the college constructed a nuclear bunker to house the college's Provost and fellows. The facility is now used for storage.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/sites/e/eton_college/index.html |title=Eton College Site Visit Report |publisher=Subbrit.org.uk |date=28 October 2000 |access-date=3 September 2011}}</ref>

In 1969 Dillibe Onyeama became the first black person to obtain his school-leaving certificate{{clarify|date=September 2023}} from Eton. Three years later Onyeama was banned from visiting Eton after he published a book which described the racism that he experienced during his time at the school.<ref>{{Cite news |date=23 June 2020 |title=The racist questions I was asked at Eton |work=BBC News |url= https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53062502 |access-date=23 June 2020}}</ref> Simon Henderson, current Head Master of Eton, apologised to Onyeama for the treatment he endured during his time at the school, although Onyeama did not think the apology was necessary.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/world-africa-53139325 |work=BBC News |title=Eton apologises to Nigerian ex-student Onyeama for racism |date=22 June 2020}}</ref>

In 2005, the school was one of fifty of the country's leading independent schools found to have breached the Competition Act 1998 (see [[Organization:Eton College controversies|Eton College controversies]]).

In 2011, plans to attack Eton College were found on the body of a senior [[Religion:Al-Qaeda|al-Qaeda]] leader shot dead in Somalia.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/8578710/Eton-and-The-Ritz-on-al-Qaeda-hit-list.html |archive-url= https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/8578710/Eton-and-The-Ritz-on-al-Qaeda-hit-list.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Eton and The Ritz on al-Qaeda hit list |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |date=16 June 2011 |last=Farmer |first=Ben |access-date=18 June 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

== Coat of arms ==
[[File:Eton College Coat of Arms.jpg|thumb|Arms of Eton College: ''Sable, three lily-flowers argent on a chief per pale azure and gules in the [[Dexter and sinister|dexter]] a fleur-de-lys in the [[Dexter and sinister|sinister]] a lion passant guardant or'']]
The coat of arms of Eton College was granted in 1449 by the founder King Henry VI, as recorded as follows on the original charter, attested by the Great Seal of England and preserved in the College archives:<ref name="etoncollege.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.etoncollege.com/ArmsMotto.aspx|title=The Arms and Motto |publisher=Eton College |access-date=27 August 2019}}</ref>
:''On a field sable three lily-flowers argent, intending that Our newly founded College, lasting for ages to come, whose perpetuity We wish to be signified by the stability of the sable colour, shall bring forth the brightest flowers redolent of every kind of knowledge; to which also, that We may impart something of royal nobility which may declare the work truly royal and illustrious, We have resolved that that portion of the arms which by royal right belong to Us in the Kingdoms of France and England be placed on the chief of the shield, per pale azure with a flower of the French, and gules with a leopard passant or''.

Thus the blazon is: ''Sable, three lily-flowers argent on a chief per pale azure and gules in the [[Dexter and sinister|dexter]] a fleur-de-lys in the [[Dexter and sinister|sinister]] a lion passant guardant or''. The three lilies are also evident on the coat-of-arms of Eton provost Roger Lupton.<ref>{{cite news |title=Princess Kate's surprising family connection to Eton College revealed |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/princess-kates-surprising-family-connection-to-eton-college-revealed/RK3SXSOJZFH4VG46VKBPX45C6A/ |access-date=21 July 2023 |publisher=NZ Herald |date=10 July 2023 |quote=Dr Lupton's coat of arms, given to him by Henry VII, is made up of three wolves' heads (Lupus is the Latin word for wolf) and three lilies, which also appear on the Eton College coat of arms.}}</ref>  Although the charter specifies that the lily flowers relate to the founder's hope for a flourishing of knowledge, that flower is also a symbol for the Virgin Mary, in whose honour the college was founded, with the number of three having significance to the Blessed Trinity. The motto of the college is ''Floreat Etona'' ("may Eton flourish"). The grant of arms to King's College, Cambridge, is worded identically, but with roses instead of lily-flowers.<ref name="etoncollege.com" />

== Overview ==
[[File:. Widok z ulicy - Eton College - panoramio (5).jpg|thumb|Eton College]]
The school is headed by a Provost, a vice-provost and a [[Social:School governor|board of governors]] (known as Fellows) who appoint the Head Master.

===Governance and management===
{{As of|2022}} the [[Social:School governor|school governor]]s<ref name=governors>{{cite web |url= https://www.etoncollege.com/about-us/our-governing-body |publisher=Eton College |year=2022 |title=Our Governing Body |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221013121106/https://www.etoncollege.com/about-us/our-governing-body/ |archive-date=13 October 2022}}</ref> include:

* William Waldegrave, Baron Waldegrave of North Hill (Provost)
* Peter Mckee (Vice Provost)
* Professor Michael Proctor  
* Princess Antonia, Duchess of Wellington 
* Lady Moore of Etchingham 
* Mark Esiri 
* George Leggatt, Lord Leggatt 
* Sir Mark Lyall Grant 
* Helena Morrissey, Baroness Morrissey 
* Simon Vivian 
* Professor Francis Brown (mathematician) (2022) 
* Professor [[Biography:Ewan Birney|Ewan Birney]] 

Statute VII of the College provides that the board shall be populated as follows (in addition to the Provost and Vice-Provost):<ref name=governors/>

* The [[Social:Provost (education)|Provost]] of [[Organization:King's College, Cambridge|King's College, Cambridge]]
* One [[Social:Fellow|Fellow]] to be elected by the Provost & Fellows, who is or has been a member of a faculty of, or a fellow of a college at the [[Organization:University of Oxford|University of Oxford]]
* One Fellow to be elected by the Provost & Fellows, who is or has been a member of a faculty of, or a fellow of a college at the [[Organization:University of Cambridge|University of Cambridge]]
* One Fellow to be nominated by the Council of the Royal Society following identification by the Provost & Fellows or a suitable candidate from amongst the Fellowship of the Royal Society 
* One Fellow to be nominated by the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
* One Fellow to be elected by the Head Master, Lower Master, and Assistant Masters 
* Four Fellows to be elected by the Provost and Fellows themselves
The current Provost, William Waldegrave, Baron Waldegrave of North Hill, has made public that he will be stepping down as Provost after the 2024 Summer Half (summer term).

The school contains 25 boys' [[Social:House system|houses]], each headed by a [[Social:Housemaster|housemaster]], selected from the more senior members of the teaching staff, which numbers some 155.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.etoncollege.com/TheEtonCurriculum-TheStaff.aspx |title=College staff |publisher=Eton College |access-date=7 December 2016}}</ref> Almost all of the school's pupils go on to universities, about a third of them to the [[Organization:University of Oxford|University of Oxford]] or [[Organization:University of Cambridge|University of Cambridge]].<ref name=engines>{{Cite book |title=Engines of privilege : Britain's private school problem |last1=Green |first1= Francis |last2=Kynaston| first2= David |isbn=978-1-5266-0127-8 |year=2019 |location=London |publisher=Bloomsbury |oclc=1108696740}}</ref><ref name="bbc">{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4634031.stm |title=What is it like at Eton College? |work=BBC News |date=4 July 2005 |access-date=3 September 2011}}</ref>

The Head Master 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.
The school appointed its first female Lower Master (deputy head), Susan Wijeratna, in 2017.<ref>{{cite news |title=Eton appoints Su Wijeratna as first female deputy head |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-38135984 |access-date=10 January 2023 |work=BBC News |date=28 November 2016}}</ref>

Eton has a long list of distinguished former pupils. In 2019, Boris Johnson became the 20th British prime minister to have attended the school,<ref>{{cite news|title=As Boris Johnson – Another Prime Minister Who Went to Eton – Enters Office, its time to end private school privilege |newspaper=The Huffington Post |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/eton-private-school-boris-johnson_uk_5d36d153e4b020cd99490ca6 |date=23 July 2019 |access-date=23 July 2019}}</ref> and the fifth since the end of the Second World War.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/17788812.boris-johnson-will-fifth-eton-educated-pm-since-1945/ |newspaper=The Herald |location= Glasgow |title=Boris Johnson will be the fifth Eton educated PM since 1945 |date=23 July 2019 |access-date=23 July 2019}}</ref> Previous Conservative leader David Cameron was the 19th British prime minister to have attended the school,<ref name="bbcnews">{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8622933.stm |title=Why has Eton produced so many prime ministers? |last=Moss |first=Paul |date=12 May 2010 |work=BBC News |access-date=10 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=MacDonald |first=Alistair |url= https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703950804575242431958967118 |title=After Labour, Posh is Back in Britain |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |location=New York |date=14 May 2010}}</ref> and recommended that Eton set up a school in the state sector to help drive up standards.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-14859876 |title=David Cameron urges Eton to set up state school |work=BBC News |date=9 September 2011 |access-date=16 July 2012}}</ref>

=== Fame ===
Eton has been described as the most famous public school in the world,<ref>{{cite news |last=Doward |first=Jamie |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jun/26/monarchy.publicschools |title=Eton waits for verdict in Harry 'cheating' case |newspaper=The Observer |location=London |date=26 June 2005}}</ref> and has been referred to as "the chief nurse of England's statesmen".<ref>{{cite news| url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/162402.stm |title=Eton—the establishment's choice |work=BBC News |date=2 September 1998 |access-date=3 September 2011}}</ref>

Eton has educated generations of British and foreign aristocracy, and for the first time, members of the British royal family in direct line of succession: the Prince of Wales and his brother the Duke of Sussex, in contrast to the royal tradition of male education at either naval college or Gordonstoun, or by tutors.

The ''Good Schools Guide'' called the school "the number one boys' public school", adding that "The teaching and facilities are second to none."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/school/eton-college.html |title=Eton College |publisher=The Good Schools Guide |access-date=3 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110505211237/http://www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/school/eton-college.html |archive-date=5 May 2011}}</ref> The school is a member of the G30 Schools Group.

Eton today is a larger school than it has been for much of its history. In 1678, there were 207 boys. In the late 18th century, there were about 300, while today, the total has risen to over 1,300.<ref>Nevill, pp. 15, 23.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.etoncollege.com/registration.aspx|title=Registration|publisher=Eton College|access-date=2 April 2013}}</ref>

{{Panorama
|image   = File:MK17835-38 Ethon College.jpg
|height  = 240
|alt     = Eton College, Provost's Garden
|caption = Eton College, Provost's Garden
}}

=== Financial support ===
About 20% of pupils at Eton receive financial support, through a range of bursaries and scholarships.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tatler.com/guides/schools-guide/2012/public/eton-college |title=Tatler Schools Guide 2012 – Eton College |work=The Tatler |year=2012 |access-date=12 June 2013 |archive-date=23 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623140810/http://www.tatler.com/guides/schools-guide/2012/public/eton-college |url-status=dead }}</ref> A recent Head Master, Tony Little, said that Eton was developing plans to allow any boy to attend the school whatever his parents' income and, in 2011, said that around 250 boys received "significant" financial help from the school.<ref name="Telegraph2">{{cite news |date=4 August 2011 |title=Society is 'ashamed' of elitism, says Eton headmaster |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8681702/Society-is-ashamed-of-elitism-says-Eton-headmaster.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=29 January 2017 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8681702/Society-is-ashamed-of-elitism-says-Eton-headmaster.html |archive-date=10 January 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In early 2014, this figure had risen to 263 pupils receiving the equivalent of around 60% of school fee assistance, whilst a further 63 received their education free of charge. Little said that, in the short term, he wanted to ensure that around 320 pupils per year receive bursaries and that 70 were educated free of charge, with the intention that the number of pupils receiving financial assistance would continue to increase.<ref name="Telegraph1">{{cite news |last=Patton |first=Graeme |date=5 February 2014 |title=Eton College to admit pupils irrespective of family income |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10620461/Eton-College-to-admit-pupils-irrespective-of-family-income.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=29 January 2017 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10620461/Eton-College-to-admit-pupils-irrespective-of-family-income.html |archive-date=10 January 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

=== Changes to the school ===
Registration at birth, corporal punishment, and fagging are no longer practised at Eton.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/05/weekinreview/the-world-a-proper-british-upbringing-oh-thank-you-that-hurt.html |title=A Proper British Upbringing; Oh, Thank You. That Hurt. |last=Lyall |first=Sarah |date=5 March 2000 |work=The New York Times |access-date=1 December 2021 |quote=In 1999... [corporal punishment] was finally outlawed in [all] schools.}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url= http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,951513,00.html |title=Eton Bids Farewell to Fagging |date=26 May 1980 |magazine=Time |location=New York |access-date=1 December 2021 |quote=Eton has decided to drop fagging. The practice will be banned as of July [1980]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.thetutoress.com/how-to-get-into-eton-college |title=How to Get into Eton College  |date=2021 |website=The Tutoress |access-date=1 December 2021 |quote=...until only a few decades ago, entrance was determined by being entered on house lists upon birth.}}</ref> Academic standards were raised, and by the mid-1990s Eton ranked among Britain's top three schools in getting its pupils into [[Organization:University of Oxford|Oxford]] and [[Organization:University of Cambridge|Cambridge]].<ref>{{cite news |url= http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1995-09-03/news/9509030253_1_eton-college-etonians-prince-william/2 |title=Young Prince William Takes 1st Step Toward Becoming 'Old Etonian' |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=3 September 1995 |access-date=12 June 2013}}</ref>

The proportion of boys at the school who were sons of Old Etonians fell from 60% in 1960 to 20% in 2016. This has been attributed to a number of factors, including: the dissolution of the house lists, which allowed Old Etonians to register their sons at birth, in 1990; harder entrance examinations as the emphasis on academic attainment increased; a sharp rise in school fees increasingly beyond the means of many UK families; and increased applications from international, often very wealthy, families.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=de Bellaigue, Christopher|url=https://www.1843magazine.com/features/eton-and-the-making-of-a-modern-elite|title=Eton and the making of a modern elite|magazine=1843 Magazine|date=August–September 2016|access-date=27 November 2017}}</ref>

== School terms ==
<!--Half (Eton) redirects here-->
There are three academic terms<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.etoncollege.com/Michaelmas.aspx |title=The Michaelmas Half |publisher=Eton College |year=2008}}</ref> (known as halves)<ref>McConnell, p. 30</ref> in the year:
* The ''Michaelmas Half'', from early September to mid-December. New boys are now admitted only at the start of the Michaelmas Half, unless in exceptional circumstances.
* The ''[[Religion:Lent|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 once split into two halves, between which the boys went home.

== Boys' houses ==
=== King's Scholars ===
One boarding house, ''College'', is reserved for 70 King's Scholars,<ref>{{Cite web |title=King's Scholarship Awards (13+) |url=https://www.etoncollege.com/admissions/scholarships-and-awards/kings-scholarships/ |access-date=26 April 2022 |website=Eton College |language=en-GB}}</ref> who attend Eton on scholarships provided by the original foundation and awarded by examination each year; King's Scholars used to pay up to 90 per cent of full fees, depending on their means. This financial incentive has been phased out. Still, up to a third receive some kind of bursary or scholarship. The name 'King's Scholars' refers to the foundation of the school by King Henry VI in 1440. The original school consisted of the 70 Scholars (together with some Commensals) and the Scholars were educated and boarded at the foundation'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, giving them the nickname 'tugs' (Latin: ''togati'', wearers of gowns); and occasionally by a surplice in Chapel. The house is looked after by the Master in College. Having succeeded in the examination, they include many of the most academically gifted boys in the school.

=== Oppidans ===
As the school grew, more students were allowed to attend provided that they paid their own fees and lived in boarding-houses within the town of Eton, outside the college's original buildings. These students became known as Oppidans, from the [[Social:Latin|Latin]] word ''[[History:Oppidum|oppidum]]'', meaning "town".<ref>McConnell, pp. 19–20</ref> The houses developed over time as a means of providing residence for the Oppidans in a more congenial manner, and during the 18th and 19th centuries the housemasters started to rely more for administrative purposes on a senior female member of staff, known as a "dame", who became responsible for the physical welfare of the boys. (Some houses had previously been run by dames without a housemaster.) Each house typically contains about 50 boys. Although classes are organised on a school basis, most boys spend a large proportion of their time in their house.

Not all boys who pass the college election examination choose to become King's Scholars, which involves living in "College" with its own ancient traditions, wearing a gown, and therefore a degree of separation from the other boys. If they choose instead to belong to one of the 24 Oppidan houses, they are known as Oppidan Scholars.<ref>McConnell, p. 177</ref> The title of Oppidan Scholar may also be awarded for consistently performing with distinction in school and external examinations: to earn the title, a boy must obtain either three distinctions in a row or four throughout his school career. Within the school, an Oppidan Scholar is entitled to use the post-nominal letters ''OS''.

Each Oppidan house is usually referred to by the initials (forenames and surname) of its current housemaster, a senior teacher ("beak"), or more formally by his surname alone, not by the name of the building in which it is situated. Houses occasionally swap buildings according to the seniority of the housemaster and the physical desirability of the building. The names of buildings occupied by houses are used for few purposes other than a correspondence address. They are: Godolphin House, Jourdelay's (both built as such c. 1720),<ref name=autogenerated1>Pevsner op. cit.</ref> Hawtrey House, Durnford House (the first two built as such by the Provost and Fellows, 1845,<ref name=autogenerated1 /> when the school was increasing in numbers and needed more centralised control), The Hopgarden, South Lawn, Waynflete, Evans's, Keate House, Warre House, Villiers House, Common Lane House, Penn House, Walpole House, Cotton Hall, Wotton House, Holland House, Mustians, Angelo's, Manor House, Farrer House, Baldwin's Bec, The Timbralls, and Westbury.

=== House structure ===
[[File:MK17840 Eton College.jpg|thumb|Front of Eton College]]
In addition to the house master, each house has a house captain, a house captain of games and a house captain of arts. All house positions are entitled to stick-ups. Some houses have 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 oldest year's use, where boys have their own kitchen. Similarly, boys in their penultimate year have a room known as "Debate".

There are entire house gatherings every evening, usually around 8:05–8:30&nbsp;p.m. These are known as "Prayers", due to their original nature. The house master and boys have an opportunity to make announcements, and sometimes the boys provide light entertainment.

For much of Eton's history, junior boys had to act as "fags", or servants, to older boys. Their duties included cleaning, cooking, and running errands. A Library member was entitled to yell at any time and without notice, "Boy, Up!" or "Boy, Queue!", and all first-year boys had to come running. The last boy to arrive was given the task. These practices, known as fagging, were partially phased out of most houses in the 1970s. Captains of house and games still sometimes give tasks to first-year boys, such as collecting the mail from the school office.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Education: Eton Bids Farewell to Fagging |url=http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,951513,00.html |access-date=24 February 2022 |magazine=Time |date=26 May 1980 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201182756/http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,951513,00.html |archive-date=1 December 2021}}</ref>

There are many inter-house competitions, mostly in sports but also in academics, drama and music (esp. House Shout).

== Head Masters: 1442–present ==
== Uniform ==
[[File:Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester 4909925573 1cfc8ea5c0 o.jpg|thumb|Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester in a 1914 dress of a junior Eton pupil, wearing a top hat, neck-tie and "bum-freezer", none of which are now worn]]
[[File:17th Duke of Alba at Eton.jpg|thumb|The 17th Duke of Alba in late 19th century Eton dress, including a mess jacket]]
The School is known for its traditions, including a uniform of black tailcoat (or morning coat) and black waistcoat, a starched stiff collar and black pinstriped trousers. Most pupils wear a white "tie" which is a narrow strip of cloth folded over the joint of the collar to hide the collar stud, but some senior boys are entitled to wear a white bow tie and winged collar ("Stick-Ups"). There are some variations in the school dress worn by boys in authority, see School Prefects and King's Scholars sections.

The long-standing belief that the present uniform was first worn as mourning for the death of King George III in 1820<ref>Nevill, p. 33.</ref> is unfounded. In 1862, Edward Balston, Head Master, noted little in the way of uniform in an interview with the Clarendon Commission.

<blockquote>Lord Clarendon: One more question, which bears in some degree upon other schools, namely with regard to the dress. The boys do not wear any particular dress at Eton?
Edward Balston: No, with the exception that they are obliged to wear a white neckcloth.

Lord Clarendon: Is the colour of their clothes much restricted?

Edward Balston: We would not let them wear for instance a yellow coat or any other colour very much out of the way.

Lord Clarendon: If they do not adopt anything very extravagant either with respect to colour or cut you allow them to follow their own taste with respect to the choice of their clothes?

Edward Balston: Yes.

Lord Lyttelton: They must wear the common round hat?

Edward Balston: Yes.<ref>(1864). ''Report of Her Majesty's Commissioners Appointed to Inquire into the Revenues and Management of Certain Colleges and Schools and the Studies Pursued and Instruction Given Therein; with an Appendix and Evidence, Vol. III. Evidence Part 1.'' London: Printed by George Edward Eyre and William Spottiswoode. p. 116.</ref></blockquote>

The uniform worn today was gradually adopted and standardised towards the end of the nineteenth century.<ref>McConnell, J. D. R (1967). ''Eton – How it Works''. London: Faber and Faber. p. 162.</ref> Until 1967, boys under the height of {{cvt|5|ft|4|in|cm}} wore a cropped jacket (known as an Eton jacket, mess jacket, or "bum-freezer") instead of a tailcoat.<ref>[http://www.joyceimages.com/media/ji/thumbnails/small_Eton%20suit.JPG The Eton Suit] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713121708/http://www.joyceimages.com/media/ji/thumbnails/small_Eton%20suit.JPG |date=13 July 2011 }} at ''British Schoolboy Uniforms''.</ref>

== Tutors and teaching ==
Teachers are known unofficially as "beaks". The pupil to teacher ratio is 8:1,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.etoncollege.com/Facilities.aspx |title=Facilities |publisher =Eton College |year=2011}}</ref> which is extremely low by typical UK school standards. Class sizes start at around twenty to twenty-five in the first year and are often below ten by the final year.

The original curriculum concentrated on prayers, Latin and devotion, and "as late as 1530 no Greek was taught".<ref>Nevill, p. 6.</ref>

Later the emphasis was on classical studies, dominated by [[Social:Latin|Latin]] and Ancient History, and, for boys with sufficient ability, Classical Greek. From the latter part of the 19th century this curriculum has changed and broadened:<ref>See e.g. B. J. W. Hill, ''A Portrait of Eton, 1958, and Tim Card, Eton Renewed: A History of Eton College from 1860 to the Present Day'', 1994</ref> for example, there are now more than 100 students of Chinese, which is a non-curriculum course.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.etoncollege.com/departmentsqualifications.aspx#|title=Departments and Available Qualifications |publisher=Eton College |year=2008}}</ref> In the 1970s, there was just one school computer, in a small room attached to the science buildings. It used [[Punched tape|punched tape]] to store programs. Today, all boys must have laptop computers, and the school fibre-optic network connects all classrooms and all boys' bedrooms to the internet.<ref name=time>{{cite magazine |last=McAllister |first=J. F. O. |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901060626-1205329-1,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070207131206/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901060626-1205329-1,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 February 2007 |title=A New Kind of Elite |magazine=Time |location=New York |date=18 June 2006}}</ref>

The primary responsibility for a boy's studies lies with his House Master, but he is assisted by an additional director of studies, known as a tutor.<ref>McConnell, pp. 70–76</ref> Classes, formally known as "divisions" ("divs"), are organised on a School basis; the classrooms are separate from the houses. New blocks of classrooms have appeared every decade or so since New Schools, designed by Henry Woodyer and built 1861–63.<ref>''The Buildings of England – Buckinghamshire'', Nikolaus Pevsner, 1960</ref> Despite the introduction of modern technology, the external appearance and locations of many of the classrooms have remained unchanged for a long time. The oldest classroom still in use, "Lower School", dates from the 15th century.

Every evening, about an hour and a quarter, known as Quiet Hour, is set aside, during which boys are expected to study or prepare work for their teachers if not otherwise engaged.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.etoncollege.com/Work.aspx |title=work |publisher=Eton College |year=2008}}</ref> Some Houses, at the discretion of the House Master, may observe a second Quiet Hour after prayers in the evening. This is less formal, with boys being allowed to visit each other's rooms to socialise if neither boy has work outstanding.

The Independent Schools Inspectorate's report for 2016 says, "The achievement of pupils is exceptional. Progress and abilities of all pupils are at a high level. Pupils are highly successful in public examinations, and the record of entrance to universities with demanding entry requirements in the United Kingdom and overseas is strong."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.etoncollege.com/InspectionReports.aspx|title=Inspection Reports |publisher=Eton College |year=2016}}</ref>

In 2017, a [[Engineering:Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics|science, technology, engineering, and mathematics]] (STEM) schools skills ranking table, designed to show employability, showed the school performed disproportionally badly, falling to 109th place and behind many state schools. Edwina Dunn, the chairwoman of the company producing the report, called for schools to be reassessed based on how suitable pupils are for businesses in the post-Brexit world.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/eton-state-school-science-gsce-results-public-boarding-league-table-ranking-your-life-a7826696.html |title=State schools outshine Eton in science A-levels |newspaper=The Independent |location= London |first=Rachel |last=Pells |date=6 July 2017 |access-date=21 August 2021}}</ref>

== School magazines ==
''The Chronicle'' is the official school magazine, having been founded in 1863.<ref name="Nevill, p.25">Nevill, p. 25</ref> It is edited by boys at the school. Although liable to censorship, it has a tradition of satirising and attacking school policies, as well as documenting recent events. ''The Oppidan'', founded in 1828,<ref name="Nevill, p.25" /> was published once a half; it covered all sport in Eton and some professional events as well, but no longer existed until a recent revival in 2023. ''The Junior Chronicle'' is the official school magazine of Lower Boys (pupils in their first two years at Eton) and it is written, edited and designed solely by them.

Other school magazines, including ''The Academic Yearbook'', ''The Arts Review'', and ''The Eton Zeitgeist'' have been published, as well as publications produced by individual departments such as ''The 1440 Review''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://1440review.com/|title=1440 Review|website=1440review.com|access-date=3 February 2023}}</ref> (history), ''The Agathon'' (philosophy), ''The Axiom'' (mathematics), ''Scientific Etonian'' (science), ''The Ampersand'' (English), ''Biopsy'' (medicine), ''The Lexicon'' (modern languages) and ''The Etonal'' (music). Online publications also include ''EtonSTEM'' (STEM subjects) and ''The Florentina'' (environmental).

== Societies ==
At Eton, there are many organisations known as 'societies', in many of which pupils come together to discuss a particular topic or to listen to a lecture, presided over by a senior pupil, and often including a guest speaker.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.etoncollege.com/Societies.aspx |title=Societies |publisher=Eton College |year=2008 |access-date=16 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327095521/http://www.etoncollege.com/Societies.aspx |archive-date=27 March 2009 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> At any one time there are about fifty societies and clubs in existence, catering for a wide range of interests and largely run by boys.

Societies tend to come and go, depending on the special enthusiasms of the masters and boys in the school at the time, but some have been in existence for many years. Those in existence in recent times include: 1620 (American), Aeronautical, African and Caribbean, Alexander Cozens (Art), Architectural, Astronomy, Balfour (Jewish), Caledonian (reeling), Chatham, Cheese, Classical, Comedy, Debating, Design, East Asian, Entrepreneurship, Environmental, Francophone, Geographical, Henry Fielding (short-story writing), Hispanic, History, Infusions (Tea), Keynes (economics), Law, Literary, Mathematical, Medical, Middle Eastern, Model United Nations, Modern Languages, Originals (general talks<!--Needs clarification as to specific focus, this one is hard to describe-->), Simeon (Christian), Parry (music), Photographic, Political, Praed (poetry), Rock (music), Rous (equestrian), Salisbury (formerly diplomatic, now colonial history), Savile (rare books and manuscripts), Scientific, Sports, Theatre, Wellington (military), Wine and Wotton's (philosophy).

Among past guest speakers are Rowan Atkinson,{{Citation needed|date=October 2018}} Jeremy Burge,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.etoncollege.com/newsarticle/emoji-expert-jeremy-burge-talks-to-the-computer-science-society|title=Emoji Expert Jeremy Burge Talks to the Computer Science Society {{!}} Eton College|last=Long|first=Edouard|date=10 October 2018 |publisher=Eton College |access-date=25 October 2018}}</ref> Ralph Fiennes, [[Biography:Nigel Farage|Nigel Farage]], [[Biography:Jane Goodall|Jane Goodall]], King Constantine II of Greece, Kit Hesketh-Harvey,<ref>[http://www.hiltoncollege.com/exchange/2008duxbury.htm Archived copy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724103819/http://www.hiltoncollege.com/exchange/2008duxbury.htm|date=24 July 2008}}</ref> Anthony Horowitz,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etoncollege.com/newsarticle?id=940|title=Anthony Horowitz at Eton Literary Society|last=Hall|first=Will|date=16 May 2014|publisher=Eton College|access-date=16 November 2019}}</ref> John Major,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.etoncollege.com/newsarticle/sir-john-major-inspires-new-generation-of-political-thinkers|title=Sir John Major inspires new generation of political thinkers {{!}} Eton College |last=Li |first=Vernon |publisher=Eton College |access-date=25 October 2018}}</ref> Boris Johnson, Ian McKellen,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mckellen.com/writings/stage/080229londontheatre.htm|title=Ian McKellen's Website – Notes on the Eton visit |author=Keith Stern/CompuWeb|date=29 February 2008|publisher=Mckellen.com|access-date=3 September 2011}}</ref> J. K. Rowling, Katie Price, Hans Niemann, Nicolas Sarkozy, [[Biography:Kevin Warwick|Kevin Warwick]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kevinwarwick.com/events.asp?Date=15%2F9%2F2009|title=Professor Kevin Warwick's page|date=15 September 2009 |publisher=Kevinwarwick.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606054450/https://www.kevinwarwick.com/events.asp?Date=15%2F9%2F2009 |archive-date=6 June 2011 |url-status=dead |access-date=3 September 2011}}</ref> Andrew Lloyd Webber,<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.etoncollege.com/LloydWebberMusicScholarship.aspx |title=Lloyd Webber Foundation Music Scholarship {{!}} Eton College |website=www.etoncollege.com |access-date=25 October 2018}}</ref> Vivienne Westwood,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.etoncollege.com/files/SocS08Wk6-10.pdf |title=Eton College Society roundup|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927052658/http://www.etoncollege.com/files/SocS08Wk6-10.pdf |archive-date=27 September 2011 |url-status=dead |access-date=3 September 2011}}</ref> Terry Wogan<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.etoncollege.com/newsarticle?id=458 |title=Macmillan Society |last=Brodermann |first=Max |date=23 May 2011 |publisher=Eton College |access-date=25 October 2018}}</ref> and Alan Yau.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.etoncollege.com/newsarticle/alan-yau-talks-to-the-entrepreneurship-society |title=Alan Yau talks to the Entrepreneurship Society {{!}} Eton College |date=24 September 2018 |publisher=Eton College |access-date=25 October 2018}}</ref>

== Grants and prizes ==
Prizes are awarded on the results of trials (internal exams), GCSE and AS-levels. In addition, many subjects and activities have specially endowed prizes, several of which are awarded by visiting experts. The most prestigious of these are the Newcastle Scholarship and the Keynes Prize. The Newcastle Scholarship is awarded on the strength of an examination, consisting of two papers in philosophical theology, moral theory and applied ethics. The Keynes Prize is awarded on an examination of a particular topic within the branch of Economics. The third most prestigious is the Rosebery Prize for History – this is awarded on the same day as the Newcastle Scholarship, and follows a similar format of a 3-hour exam during the Lent Half (although the Newcastle Scholarship is awarded on the basis of two such examinations). Also of note is the Gladstone Memorial Prize and the Coutts Prize, awarded on the results of trials and AS-level examinations in C block (Year 12); and the Huxley Prize, awarded for a project on a scientific subject. Other specialist prizes include the Newcastle Classical Prize, which was formerly the same prize as the Newcastle Scholarship, but the two were separated as a decreasing number of philosophers were fluent in Latin and Classical Greek;  the Queen's Prizes for French and German; the Duke of Newcastle's Russian Prize; the Beddington Spanish Prize; the Strafford and Bowman Shakespeare Prizes; the Tomline and Russell Prizes in Mathematics; the Sotheby Prize for History of Art; the Waddington Prize for Theology and Philosophy; the Birley Prize for History; the Rorie Mackenzie Prize for Modern Languages; the Robert Boyle Prize for Physics. The Lower Boy Rosebery Prize; the Wilder Prize for Theology and The Hervey Verse Prize for poetry in senior years. Prizes are awarded too for excellence in such activities as painting, sculpture, ceramics, playing musical instruments, musical composition, declamation, silverwork, and design.

Various benefactions make it possible to give grants each year to boys who wish, for educational or cultural reasons, to work or travel abroad. These include the Busk Fund, which supports individual ventures that show particular initiative; the C. M. Wells Memorial Trust Fund, for the promotion of visits to classical lands; the Sadler Fund, which supports, among others, those intending to enter the Foreign Service; and the Marsden Fund, for travel in countries where the principal language is not English.

== Incentives and sanctions ==
Eton has a well-established system for encouraging boys to produce high-standard work. An excellent piece of work may be rewarded with a "Show Up", to be shown to the boy's tutors as evidence of progress.<ref name="McConnell, p.84">McConnell, p. 84</ref> If, in any particular term, a pupil makes a particularly good effort in any subject, he may be "Commended for Good Effort" to the Head Master (or Lower Master).

If any boy produces an outstanding piece of work, it may be "Sent Up For Good",<ref name="McConnell, p.84" /> storing the effort in the College Archives for posterity. This award has been around since the 18th century. As Sending Up For Good is fairly infrequent, the process is rather mysterious to many of Eton's boys. First, the master wishing to Send Up For Good must gain the permission of the relevant Head of Department. Upon receiving approval from the Head of Department, the piece of work will be marked with Sent Up For Good and the student will receive a card to be signed by House Master, tutor and division master.

The opposite of a Show Up is a "Rip".<ref>McConnell, pp. 82–83</ref> This is for sub-standard work, which is sometimes torn at the top of the page/sheet and must be submitted to the boy's housemaster for signature. Boys who accumulate rips are liable to be given a "White Ticket", a form of a progress report which must be signed at intervals by all his teachers and may be accompanied by other punishments, usually involving doing domestic chores or writing lines. In recent times,{{when|date=April 2012}} a milder form of the rip, 'sign for information', colloquially known as an "info", has been introduced, which must also be signed by the boy's housemaster and tutor.

Internal examinations are held at the end of the Michaelmas half (i.e. autumn term) for all pupils except those in the last year, and in the Summer half for those in the first, second and fourth years (i.e. those not taking a full set of public examinations). These internal examinations are called "Trials".<ref>McConnell, pp. 85–89</ref>

A boy who is late for any division or other appointments may be required to sign "Tardy Book", a register kept in the School Office, between 7:35 am and 7:45 am, every morning for the duration of his sentence (typically three days).<ref>McConnell, p. 42</ref> Tardy Book may also be issued for late work. For more serious misdeeds, a boy is placed "on the Bill", which involves him being summoned by the sudden entry of a prefect (Sixth Form Select) into one of his divisions, who announces in a loud and formal tone that at a given time a certain pupil must attend the office of the Head Master, or Lower Master if the boy is in the lower two years, to talk personally about his misdeeds.<ref name="McConnell, pp.83-84">McConnell, pp. 83–84</ref> The most serious misdeeds may result in expulsion, or rustication (suspension) or in former times, beating. Conversely, should a master be more than 15 minutes late for a class, traditionally the pupils may claim it as a "run" and absent themselves for the rest of its duration, provided they report their intention so to do at the School Office.

A traditional punishment took the form of being made to copy, by hand, Latin hexameters. Offenders were frequently set 100 hexameters by Library members, or, for more serious offences, Georgics (more than 500 hexameters) by their House Masters or the Head Master.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6351331.stm |title=Cameron defiant over drug claims |work=BBC News |date=11 February 2007 |access-date=3 September 2011}}</ref> The giving of a Georgic is now extremely rare, but still occasionally occurs.

=== Corporal punishment ===
Eton used to be renowned for its use of corporal punishment, generally known as "beating". In the 16th century, Friday was set aside as "flogging day".<ref name="Nevill, p.9">Nevill, p. 9.</ref> A special wooden birching block was used for the purpose, with the boy being directed to fetch it and then kneel over it.

John Keate, Head Master from 1809 to 1834, took over at a time when discipline was poor. Until 1964, offending boys could be summoned to the Head Master or the Lower Master, as appropriate, to receive a [[Engineering:Birching|birching]] on the bare posterior, in a semi-public ceremony held in the Library{{dubious|date=September 2023}}, where there was a special wooden birching block over which the offender was held.  Anthony Chenevix-Trench, Head Master from 1964 to 1970, abolished the birch and replaced it with caning, also applied to the bare buttocks, which he administered privately in his office.<ref>Onyeama, Dillibe (1972). ''Nigger at Eton''. London: Leslie Frewin. p. 100. {{ISBN|978-0-85632-003-3}}</ref> Chenevix-Trench also abolished corporal punishment administered by senior boys. Previously, House Captains were permitted to cane offenders over the seat of the trousers. This was a routine occurrence, carried out privately with the boy bending over with his head under the edge of a table. Less common but more severe were the canings administered by Pop (see Eton Society below) in the form of a "Pop-Tanning", in which a large number of hard strokes were inflicted by the President of Pop in the presence of all Pop members (or, in earlier times, each member of Pop took it in turns to inflict a stroke). The culprit was summoned to appear in a pair of old trousers, as the caning would cut the cloth to shreds. This was the most severe form of physical punishment at Eton.<ref>Cheetham, Anthony; Parfit, Derek (1964). ''Eton Microcosm''. London: Sidgwick & Jackson. {{OCLC|7396426}}</ref>

Chenevix-Trench's successor from 1970, Michael McCrum, retained private corporal punishment by masters but ended the practice of requiring boys to take their trousers and underpants down when bending over to be caned by the Head Master. By the mid-1970s, the only people allowed to administer caning were the Head Master and the Lower Master.<ref>{{cite book |author=Dixon, Mark |title=An Eton Schoolboy's Album |year=1985 |publisher=Debrett's |location=London |page=95 |isbn=978-0-905649-78-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/etonschoolboysal0000dixo |url-access=registration }}</ref>

Corporal punishment was phased out in the 1980s. The film director Sebastian Doggart claims to have been the last boy caned at Eton, in 1984.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/expateducation/8530207/Schools-in-Sweden-cant-be-beaten-corporal-punishment-around-the-world.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/expateducation/8530207/Schools-in-Sweden-cant-be-beaten-corporal-punishment-around-the-world.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |date=26 May 2011 |title=Schools in Sweden can't be beaten: corporal punishment around the world |author=Doggart, Sebastian}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

== 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.
* <span id="Eton Society">'''Pop:'''</span> officially known as 'Eton Society',<ref>McConnell, pp. 57–58</ref> a society comprising the most popular, well-regarded, confident and able senior boys. It is a driving ambition of many capable Eton schoolboys to be elected to Pop, and many high-performers who are refused entry to this society consider their careers at Eton a failure. Boris Johnson was a member of Pop, whilst David Cameron (unlike his elder brother Alexander) failed to be elected, which possibly fed their later political rivalry.<ref>{{Cite news |url= http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/the-best-of-enemies-david-cameron-vs-boris-johnson-2335578.html |title=The best of enemies: David Cameron vs Boris Johnson |date=11 August 2011 |website=The Independent |location= London |access-date=27 August 2019}}</ref> Over the years its power and privileges have grown. Pop is the oldest self-electing society at Eton, created in 1811 by Charles Fox Townshend. The rules were altered in 1987 and again in 2005 so that the new intake are not elected solely by the existing year and a committee of masters. Members of Pop wear a braided tailcoat, white and black houndstooth-checked trousers, a starched stick-up collar and a white bow-tie, and are entitled to wear flamboyant waistcoats, often of their own design. Historically, only members of Pop were entitled to furl their umbrellas<ref>Nevill, p. 35.</ref> or sit on the wall on the Long Walk, in front of the main building. However, these traditions have died out. They perform roles at many of the routine events of the school year, including school plays, parents' evenings and other official events, and generally maintain order. Notable ex-members of Pop include the Prince of Wales (unlike his younger brother the Duke of Sussex, who failed to be elected<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecut.com/2018/05/what-was-it-like-to-go-to-school-with-prince-harry.html|title=What Was It Like to Go to School With Prince Harry?|date=18 May 2018}}</ref>), Eddie Redmayne, Arthur Hallam, William Ewart Gladstone, Stafford Northcote, Lord Rosebery and Tom Hiddleston.
* <span id="SixthFormSelect">'''Sixth Form Select:'''</span> an academically selected prefectorial group consisting, by custom, of the 10 senior King's Scholars and the 10 senior Oppidan Scholars.<ref>McConnell, pp. 57, 129–137</ref> Members of Sixth Form Select are entitled to wear silver buttons on their waistcoats. They also act as Praepostors: they enter classrooms in mid-lesson without knocking and ask in a loud and formal tone, "Is (family name) in this division?" followed by "He is to see the Head Master at (time) on the bill" (the ''Bill'', see above).<ref name="McConnell, pp.83-84" /> Members of Sixth Form Select also perform "Speeches", a formal event held five times a year, most notably on Fourth of June. The names of members of Sixth Form Select are engraved in the Head Master’s Schoolroom. 
* <span id="House Captains">'''House Captains:'''</span> The captains of each of the 25 boys' houses (see above). There are usually either one or two per house. They have little responsibility at a school level, but within their house are more senior than Pop or Sixth Form Select members. House Captains are entitled to wear a mottled-grey waistcoat with their house colours at the back.

It is possible to belong to ''Pop'', ''Sixth Form Select'' and be a House Captain at the same time. It is less common for a House Captain to belong to Pop but it still happens fairly often.

In the era of Queen Elizabeth I, there were two praepostors in every form, who noted down the names of absentees. Until the late 19th century, there was a praepostor for every division of the school.<ref name="Nevill, p.9" />

== Sport ==
Sport is a feature of Eton; which has nearly 200 acres of playing fields and amenity land.<ref>Patrick Bond and Peter Brown, ''Rating Valuation: Principles and Practice'' (3rd edition, 2014 Routledge, London and New York), at [https://books.google.com/books?id=cD_XAwAAQBAJ&dq=land+acres+%22eton+college%22+%22playing+fields%22&pg=PA271 page 271]</ref> The names of the playing fields 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 football (called ''Association'') and rugby union, with some rowing for a smaller number of boys.
* During the Lent Half it is dominated by the field game, a code of football, but this is unique to Eton and cannot be played against other schools. However, using strategies from the field game, the Eton football team (Old Etonians F.C.) reached the finals of the FA Cup 6 times, winning twice in 1879 and 1882. During this half, Collegers also play the Eton wall game; this game received national publicity when it was taken up by Prince Harry.  Aided by AstroTurf facilities on Masters' field, field hockey has become a major Lent Half sport along with Rugby 7's.  Elite rowers prepare for the Schools' Head of the River Race in late March.
* During the Summer Half, sporting boys divide into ''dry bobs'', who play cricket, tennis or athletics, and ''wet bobs'', who row on the River Thames and the rowing lake in preparation for The National Schools Regatta and the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta.

The rowing lake at Dorney was developed and is owned by the college.   It was the venue for the rowing and canoeing events at the 2012 Summer Olympics and the World Junior Rowing Championships.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dorneylake.com/ |title=Welcome to Dorney Lake |publisher=Dorneylake.com |access-date=3 September 2011}}</ref>

The annual cricket match against Harrow at Lord's Cricket Ground is the oldest fixture of the cricketing calendar, having been played there since 1805. A staple of the London society calendar since the 1800s,<ref name="world and its people">{{cite book |last=Dunton |first=Larkin |location=Boston, MA |title=The World and Its People |url=https://archive.org/details/worldanditspeop05duntgoog |publisher=Silver, Burdett|oclc=4352850 |year=1896 |page=[https://archive.org/details/worldanditspeop05duntgoog/page/n49 41]}}</ref> in 1914, its importance was such that over 38,000 people attended the two days' play, and in 1910 the match made national headlines<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://content-www.cricinfo.com/columns/content/story/143944.html 
|title=Fowler's match, 1910 
|publisher=ESPN Cricinfo
|access-date=3 September 2011
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1910S/1910/ENG_LOCAL/OTHER/ETON_HARROW_08-09JUL1910.html |title=Eton & Harrow match scorecard 1910 |publisher=Cricinfo.com |access-date=3 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080810223339/http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1910S/1910/ENG_LOCAL/OTHER/ETON_HARROW_08-09JUL1910.html |archive-date=10 August 2008 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> but interest has since declined considerably, and the match is now a one-day limited overs contest.

In 1815, Eton College documented its football rules, the first football code to be written down anywhere in the world.<ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of British Football|author=Cox, Richard W. |author2=Russell, Dave |author3=Vamplew, Wray|publisher=Routledge |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-7146-5249-8|page=243|location=London}}</ref>

Eton Match was the annual cricket match between Eton and [[Organization:Winchester College|Winchester]] held at each school alternately. First played in 1826, it was originally just the cricket match, held over two days, with a dinner or concert or dance on one of the evenings. Eton Match, as such, ceased to exist by 2001.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Forster |first1=S. |title=The Evolution of Winchester Match |url=https://www.winchestercollege.org/stories/the-evolution-of-winchester-match |access-date=9 July 2023 |quote=Eton Match was the annual cricket match between Eton and Winchester held at each school alternately. It was originally just the cricket match, held over two days, with a dinner or concert or dance on one of the evenings...The first cricket match between Eton and Winchester was played in 1826. Matches were played over two days and hosted alternately by Winchester ...In 2001, the name changed - Eton Match became Winchester Day. Wykeham Day started in 1996 and was held in September as an open day for OWs.}}</ref>

There is a running track at the Thames Valley Athletics Centre and an annual steeplechase. The running track was controversial as it was purchased with a £3m National Lottery grant with the school getting full daytime use of the facilities in exchange for £200k and {{Convert|4.5|acre|hectare}} of land.  The bursar claimed that Windsor, Slough and Eton Athletic club was "deprived" because it did not have a world-class running track and facilities for training and the Sports Council agreed, saying the whole community would benefit. However Steve Osborn, director of the Safe Neighbourhoods Unit, described the decision as "staggering" given substantial reduction in youth services by councils across the country.<ref name=indy>{{cite news |url= http://www.independent.co.uk/news/pounds-3m-lottery-cash-for-eton-sports-centre-1595502.html |title=£3m lottery cash for Eton sports centre: Top school gets exclusive deal |work=The Independent |location= London |first=Danny |last=Penman |date=10 August 1995 |access-date=2 August 2010}}</ref>  The facility which became the Thames Valley Athletics Centre opened in April 1999.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.runtrackdir.com/details.asp?track=eton |title= Eton: Thames Valley Athletics Centre |access-date=18 July 2020}}</ref>

Eton's Shooting VIII competed in the Ashburton Shield for many decades against the other major public schools. In July 1935, the "Public School Rivalry" was reported thus: "Charterhouse, Harrow, [[Organization:Winchester College|Winchester]], Eton, Rugby and Clifton, all previous winners, were determined to add to their laurels" in the competition. Eton reportedly drew with  Charterhouse and beat Clifton in the July 1939 competition held at Bisley.<ref>{{cite news |title=Public School Rivalry |url= https://www.genesreunited.com.au/searchbna/results?memberlastsubclass=none&searchhistorykey=0&keywords=eton%20%20%20clifton%20ashburton&from=1933&to=1940 |access-date=20 August 2023 |work=Shields Daily Gazette |location=South Shields |date=11 July 1935 |quote= famous schools in Great Britain competed at Bisley today for the Ashburton shield — the blue ribbon of the shooting world for schoolboys. Charterhouse, Harrow, Winchester, Eton, Rugby and Clifton, all previous winners, were determined to add to their laurels...}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Ashburton Trophy |url= https://www.genesreunited.com.au/searchbna/results?memberlastsubclass=none&searchhistorykey=0&keywords=eton%20%20%20clifton%20ashburton&from=1937&to=1940 |access-date=20 August 2023 |work=Birmingham Daily Post |date=14 July 1939 |quote= Half-way through the 500 yards shoot Winchester were two points up on King's, but they tailed off badly in the second half. The next best were: Tonbridge, 473; Winchester, 472; Eton and Charterhouse, 469; Glasgow Academy, 468; City of London, 467; Highgate and Leys, 463; Sherborne, 462; Edinburgh Academy, Clifton [College] and Imperial Service College, 460; Harrow, 458;}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |work=Lincolnshire Echo |location= Lincoln |date=13 July 1939 |title= SCHOOLBOYS AT BISLEY |quote=Public schoolboys invaded the ranges at Bisley to-day to compete for the Ashburton Day Shield.}}</ref> As with the other schools, Eton's cadet corps sent a team of eight men  - the Shooting VIII -  to compete annually at Bisley.<ref>{{cite news |title=News In A Nutshell - Short Summary: The English public schools rifle competition - Description: Bisley, Surrey |url=https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/42406/ |access-date=21 August 2023 |publisher=British Pathe |date=15 July 1935}}</ref>

Among the other sports played at Eton is Eton Fives.<ref>{{cite web |title=Eton Fives - Oxford University Sport |url=https://www.sport.ox.ac.uk/eton-fives |publisher=University of Oxford |access-date=21 August 2023}}</ref>

=== Olympic rowing ===
In 2006,<ref name=DorneyLake>{{cite web|url=http://www.dorneylake.co.uk/2012-dorneylake.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527180749/http://www.dorneylake.co.uk/2012-dorneylake.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 May 2013|title=Dorney Lake – London 2012|work=Dorney Lake.co.uk|access-date=31 January 2017}}</ref> six years before the 2012 London Summer Olympics and London 2012 Summer Paralympic Games, Eton completed the construction of Dorney Lake, a permanent, eight-lane, 2,200 metre course (about 1.4 miles) in a 400-acre park. Eton financed the construction from its own funds. Officially known throughout the Games as ''Eton Dorney'', Dorney Lake provided training facilities for Olympic and Paralympic competitors, and during the Games, hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Rowing competitions as well as the Olympic Canoe Sprint event.<ref name=DorneyLake /> It attracted over 400,000 visitors during the Games period (around 30,000 per day), and was voted the best 2012 Olympic venue by spectators.<ref name=DorneyLake /> Thirty medal events were held on Dorney Lake, during which Team GB won a total of 12 medals, making the lake one of the most successful venues for Team GB. The FISA President, Denis Oswald, described it as "the best-ever Olympic rowing venue".<ref name=DorneyLake /> In June 2013, it hosted the World Rowing Cup. Access to the parkland around the Lake is provided to members of the public, free of charge, almost all the year round.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dorneylake.co.uk/visiting.html |title=Dorney Lake – Leisure |work=Dorney Lake.co.uk |year=2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622140947/http://www.dorneylake.co.uk/visiting.html |archive-date=22 June 2013}}</ref>

== Music and drama ==

=== Music ===
The current "Precentor" (Head of Music) is Tim Johnson, and the School has eight organs and an entire building for music (performance spaces include the School Hall, the Farrer Theatre and two halls dedicated to music, the Parry Hall and the Concert Hall). Many instruments are taught, including obscure ones such as the didgeridoo. The School participates in many national competitions; many pupils are part of the National Youth Orchestra, and the School gives scholarships for dedicated and talented musicians. A former Precentor of the college, Ralph Allwood set up and organised Eton Choral Courses, which run at the School every summer.

In 2009, the School's musical protégés came to wider notice when featured in a TV documentary ''A Boy Called Alex''. The film followed an Etonian, Alex Stobbs, a musician with [[Medicine:Cystic fibrosis|cystic fibrosis]], as he worked toward conducting the difficult ''Magnificat'' by Johann Sebastian Bach.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1177981/|title="Cutting Edge" A Boy Called Alex (TV Episode 2008)|publisher=IMDb|access-date=4 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/C/cutting_edge/alex/ |title=''Cutting Edge'' |publisher=Channel4.com |date=26 May 2009 |access-date=3 September 2011}}</ref>

=== Drama ===
[[File:Farrer Theatre.JPG|thumb|The exterior of Eton's main theatre, the Farrer]]
Numerous plays are put on every year at Eton College; there is one main theatre, called the Farrer (seating 400) and 2 Studio theatres, called the Caccia Studio and Empty Space (seating 90 and 80 respectively). There are about 8 or 9 house productions each year, around 3 or 4 "independent" plays (not confined solely to one house, produced, directed and funded by Etonians) and three school plays, one specifically for boys in the first two years, and two open to all years. The school plays have such good reputations that they are normally fully booked every night.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}} Productions also take place in varying locations around the School, varying from the sports fields to more historic buildings such as Upper School and College Chapel.

In recent years, the School has put on a musical version of ''The Bacchae'' (October 2009) as well as productions of ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' (May 2010), ''The Cherry Orchard'' (February 2011), ''Joseph K'' (October 2011), ''Cyrano de Bergerac'' (May 2012), ''Macbeth'' (October 2012), ''London Assurance'' (May 2013), ''Jerusalem'' (October 2013), ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (May 2014), ''Antigone'' (October 2015), ''The Government Inspector'' (May 2016) and ''Romeo and Juliet'' (May 2017). On top of this, every three years, the School holds a fringe-style School Play Festival, where students and teachers write, direct and act in their own plays, hosted over the period of a week. The most recent one was held in October 2016, which hosted a wide variety of plays, from a double bill of two half an hour plays, to a serialised radio drama, written by a boy in F block (the youngest year.)

Often girls from surrounding schools, such as St George's, Ascot, St Mary's School Ascot, Windsor Girls' School and Heathfield St Mary's School, are cast in female roles. Boys from the School are also responsible for the lighting, sound and stage management of all the productions, under the guidance of several professional full-time theatre staff.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ft.etononline.net/home/ |title=Summer 2013 |work=The Farrer Theatre Online |publisher=Eton College |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120822133115/http://ft.etononline.net/home/ |archive-date=22 August 2012}}</ref>

Every year, Eton employs a 'Director-in-Residence', an external professional director on a one-year contract who normally directs one house play and the Lower Boy play (a school play open solely to the first two-year groups), as well as teaching Drama and Theatre Studies to most year groups.

The drama department is headed by Scott Handy (taking over from Hailz Osbourne in 2015) and several other teachers; Simon Dormandy was on the staff until late 2012. The School offers GCSE drama as well as A-level "English with Theatre Studies".

== Celebrations ==
Eton's best-known holiday takes place on the so-called "Fourth of June", a celebration of the birthday of George III, Eton's greatest patron.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,741919-4,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080214131658/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,741919-4,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 February 2008 |title=Beside Windsor |magazine=Time |location=New York |date=29 June 1931}}</ref> This day is celebrated with the Procession of Boats, in which the top rowing crews from the top four years row past in vintage wooden rowing boats. Similar to the Queen's Official Birthday, the "Fourth of June" is no longer celebrated on 4 June, but on the Wednesday before the first weekend of June. Eton also observes St. Andrew's Day, on which the Eton wall game is played.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Craigie |first=Emily |date=2021-04-25 |title=The unusual sport Prince Harry played at Eton that's 'impossible' to score in |url=https://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/wall-game-unusual-sport-prince-20432285 |access-date=2023-07-07 |website=BerkshireLive |language=en}}</ref>

== Charitable status and fees ==
Until 18 December 2010, Eton College was an ''exempt charity'' under English law (Charities Act 1993, Schedule 2). Under the provisions of the Charities Act 2006, it is now an ''excepted charity'', and fully registered with the Charities Commission,<ref>[https://archive.today/20120724195545/http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/Showcharity/RegisterOfCharities/CharityFramework.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=1139086&SubsidiaryNumber=0 Eton College Registration with Charity Commission]. 18 December 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2011.</ref> and is now one of the 100 largest charities in the UK.<ref>Ranked by total annual income averaged over three years. {{cite journal|title=Charity 100 Index|journal=Charity Finance|date=April 2008|issn=0963-0295}}</ref> As a charity, it benefits from substantial [[Finance:Tax break|tax break]]s. It was calculated by David Jewell, former Master of Haileybury, that in 1992 such tax breaks saved the school about £1,945 per pupil per year, although he had no direct connection with the school. This subsidy has declined since the 2001 abolition by the Labour Government of state-funded scholarships (formerly known as "assisted places") to independent schools. 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 former Head Master, 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. The fee for the academic year 2021–2022 was £44,094 (approximately US$60,000 or [[Finance:Euro|€]]52,000 as of November 2021),<ref name="fees">{{cite web |url=https://www.etoncollege.com/admissions/fees/ |publisher=Eton College |title=School Fees 2021/2022 |year=2021}}</ref> although the sum is considerably lower for those pupils on bursaries and scholarships.

== Support for state education ==
=== London Academy of Excellence ===
Eton co-sponsors a state sixth-form college, the London Academy of Excellence, opened in 2012 in the London Borough of Newham in East London,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6301751 |title=A touch of Eton in the East End |newspaper=Times Education Supplement |location=London |date=16 November 2012 |access-date=11 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029190553/http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6301751 |archive-date=29 October 2013 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> the second most deprived borough in England,<ref name=LAE>{{cite web |url= http://excellencelondon.ac.uk/183/news/post/14/lae-named-best-sixth-form-in-the-country-by-the-sunday-times |title=LAE named "Best Sixth Form in the Country" by the Sunday Times |publisher= London Academy of Excellence |date=20 November 2015 |access-date=31 January 2017}}</ref> and just over a mile from the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the main venue for London's 2012 Summer Olympics. In 2015–2016, it had around 440 pupils and 32 teachers.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/138403?tab=absence-and-pupil-population |title=London Academy of Excellence – Pupil population in 2015 to 2016 |work=Gov.UK |access-date=31 January 2017}}</ref> The college is free of charge and aims to get all its students into higher education.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.standard.co.uk/comment/how-london-state-schools-became-the-nations-best-8014838.html |title=How London state schools became the nation's best |newspaper=London Evening Standard |date=7 August 2012 |access-date=11 June 2013}}</ref> The college's close relationship with Eton has led it to be described as 'the Eton of the East End'.<ref>{{Cite news |url= http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/newsreview/education/article1161379.ece |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140112034812/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/newsreview/education/article1161379.ece |url-status= dead |archive-date= 12 January 2014 |title=Eton of the East End |work=The Sunday Times |location= London |author=Sian Griffiths |date=11 November 2012 |access-date=29 January 2017}}</ref> In 2015, the college reported that it had been named best sixth form in the country by ''The Sunday Times''.<ref name=LAE />

=== Holyport College ===
In September 2014, Eton opened, and became the sole educational sponsor for, Holyport College, a new purpose-built co-educational state boarding and day school that provides free education for around 500 pupils. It is located in Holyport, near Maidenhead in Berkshire.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/secondaryeducation/9839489/Eton-College-sponsors-state-boarding-school.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/secondaryeducation/9839489/Eton-College-sponsors-state-boarding-school.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Eton College sponsors state boarding school |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |date=31 January 2013 |access-date=11 June 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="sponsor">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/sep/05/holyport-college-first-free-boarding-school-eton|title=Eton-sponsored Holyport College opens as first boarding free school|work=The Guardian|date=5 September 2014|access-date=19 February 2016}}</ref> Construction costs were around £15&nbsp;million, in which a fifth of places for day pupils have been set aside for children from poor homes, 21 boarding places for to youngsters on the verge of being taken into care, and a further 28 boarders funded or part-funded through bursaries.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

=== State school pupils ===
The above-described developments are running alongside long-established courses that Eton has provided for pupils from state schools, most of them in the summer holidays (July and August).

=== Universities Summer School ===
Launched in 1982, the Universities Summer School is an intensive residential course open to boys and girls throughout the UK who attend state schools, are at the end of their first year in the Sixth Form, and are about to begin their final year of schooling.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.etoncollege.com/USS.aspx|title=Universities Summer School |publisher=Eton College |year=2013}}</ref>

=== Brent-Eton Summer School ===
Launched in 1994, the Brent-Eton Summer School offers 40–50 young people from the London Borough of Brent, an area of inner-city deprivation, an intensive one-week residential course, free of charge, designed to help bridge the gap between GCSE and A-level.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.etoncollege.com/BrentEton.aspx |title=Brent-Eton Summer School |publisher=Eton College |year=2013}}</ref>

=== Eton, Slough, Windsor and Heston Independent and State School Partnership ===
In 2008, Eton helped found the ''Eton, Slough, Windsor and Heston Independent and State School Partnership'' (ISSP), with six local state schools. The ISSP's aims are 'to raise pupil achievement, improve pupil self-esteem, raise pupil aspirations and improve professional practice across the schools'.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.etoncollege.com/ISSP.aspx |title=Eton, Slough, Windsor and Heston Independent and State School Partnership |publisher=Eton College |year=2013}}</ref> Eton also runs a number of choral and English language courses during the summer months.

== Historical relations with other schools ==
Eton College has links with some private schools in India today, maintained from the days of the [[History:British Raj|British Raj]], such as The Doon School<ref name="BBC20050309">{{cite news |last=Lawson |first=Alastair |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4309213.stm |title=Eton, the Raj and modern India |work=BBC News |date=9 March 2005 |access-date=3 September 2011}}</ref> and Mayo College.<ref name="BBC20050309" /> Eton College is also a member of the G30 Schools Group, a collection of college preparatory boarding schools from around the world, including Turkey's Robert College, the United States' Phillips Academy and Phillips Exeter Academy, Australia's Melbourne Grammar School and Launceston Church Grammar School, Singapore's Raffles Institution, and Switzerland's International School of Geneva.

Eton has fostered{{when|date=April 2012}} a relationship with the Roxbury Latin School, a traditional all-boys private school in Boston, US. Former Eton Head Master and Provost Sir Eric Anderson shares a close friendship with Roxbury Latin Headmaster emeritus F. Washington Jarvis; Anderson has visited Roxbury Latin on numerous occasions,<ref name="jarvis">{{cite web |title=Jarvis Fund Lecture Welcomes Sir Eric Anderson |url=http://www.roxburylatin.org/news/detail.aspx?pageaction=ViewSinglePublic&LinkID=6199&ModuleID=20 |publisher=The Roxbury Latin School |access-date=17 June 2011 |location=West Roxbury, MA |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002094102/http://www.roxburylatin.org/news/detail.aspx?pageaction=ViewSinglePublic&LinkID=6199&ModuleID=20 |archive-date=2 October 2011 }}</ref> while Jarvis briefly taught theology at Eton after retiring from his headmaster post at Roxbury Latin. The headmasters' close friendship spawned the Hennessy Scholarship,<ref name="jarvis" /> an annual prize established in 2005 and awarded to a graduating RL senior for a year of study at Eton. Hennessy Scholars generally reside in Wotton house.

Eton College funded the Chapel of Trinity College in Kandy, Sri Lanka. In 1927 with underground construction proving to be expensive, the project was strapped for funds. The administration led by Principal Rev John McLeod Campbell appealed far and wide for funds. The captivating edifice finished eight years later is the fruit of the generosity of many colleges in the UK including Eton College. In appreciation of the contributions, the coat of arms of Eton College adorns the inner pillars of the Trinity College Chapel, Kandy<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://trinitycollege.lk/2017/11/07/coats-of-arms-on-the-pillars-of-the-holy-trinity-chapel/|title=Coats of Arms on the pillars of the Holy Trinity Chapel &#124; Trinity College Kandy – Respice Finem|first=Sheshan|last=Abeysekara|date=7 November 2017|newspaper=Trinity College Kandy - Respice Finem|access-date=28 February 2022}}</ref>
 
Bishop James Chapman, a former alumnus of Eton College, would go on to become the 1st Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of Colombo. He was instrumental in establishing two prominent schools in Sri Lanka: S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, a fee-levying Anglican selective entry boys' private school based on the Etonian model in 1851, and Bishop's College, Colombo, a private girls' school in 1875.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stcmount.edu.lk/about/our-college/|title=Our College – S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia|accessdate=4 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bishopscollege.lk/profile/|title=Profile – Bishop's College|accessdate=4 April 2023}}</ref>

=== The Doon School, India ===
The Doon School, founded in 1935, is an all-boys' public school in India that was modelled along the lines of Eton and Winchester.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Foot |first1=A.E. |date=April 1947 |title=The Doon School |journal=Journal of the Royal Society of Arts |volume=95 |issue=4741 |page=360 |jstor=41364317}}</ref>  The School's first [[Social:Head teacher|headmaster]] was an Englishman, Arthur E. Foot, who had spent nine years as a science master at Eton College before joining Doon.<ref>{{cite book |year=1979 |chapter=Foot, Arthur Edward |title=Who Was Who 1961–1970 |location=London |publisher=A. & C. Black |isbn=0-7136-2008-0}}</ref> In Doon's early years, teachers from Eton travelled to India to fill the academic posts. Peter Lawrence was one of the first few masters to go to Doon. This led to similar slang being introduced in Doon which is still in use today, such as ''trials'', ''dame'', ''fagging'', and ''schools'' (as opposed to 'periods'). In February 2013, Eton's Head Master Tony Little visited Doon to hold talks with the then headmaster of Doon, Peter McLaughlin, on further collaboration between the two schools.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.doonschool.com/eton |title=Headmaster of Eton College visits Doon |publisher=The Doon School |year=2013 |location=Dehradun, Utterakhand |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130306124323/http://www.doonschool.com/eton |archive-date=6 March 2013 }}</ref> Both schools participate in an exchange programme in which boys from either school visit the other for one academic term.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4309213.stm |title=Eton, the Raj and modern India |work=BBC News |date=9 March 2005 |first=Alastair |last=Lawson |access-date=4 July 2015}}</ref> Doon has often been described as the 'Eton of India' by media outlets such as ''{{wipe|The New York Times}}'',<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/12/world/india-s-old-school-tie-harrow-by-the-himalayas.html |title=India's Old School Tie: Harrow By The Himalayas |last=Weisman |first=Stephen R.  |work=The New York Times |date=12 November 1985 |access-date=29 July 2021 }}</ref> BBC,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02c3zgq |title=India's Eton |publisher=BBC |access-date=29 July 2021 }}</ref> Channel 4,<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/mar/29/indian-summer-school-review-five-terrible-teens-are-sent-to-indias-equivalent-of-eton |title=Indian Summer School review – five terrible teens are sent to India's equivalent of Eton |first=Sam |last=Wollaston |date=29 March 2018 |work=The Guardian |location=London}}</ref> ''{{wipe|The Guardian}}'',<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/aug/13/fiction.arundhatiroy |title=The lost sub-continent |first=William |last=Dalrymple |work=The Guardian |location= London |date=13 August 2005 |access-date=4 July 2015}}</ref> ''The Daily Telegraph'',<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/alastair-sooke/7546719/The-rise-and-rise-of-Anish-Kapoor-Inc..html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131208111840/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/alastair-sooke/7546719/The-rise-and-rise-of-Anish-Kapoor-Inc..html |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 December 2013 |title=The rise & rise of Anish Kapoor Inc. |date=2 April 2010 |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |access-date=4 July 2015}}</ref> and ''{{wipe|Forbes}}'',<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesasia/2013/10/28/the-doon-school-grooming-ground-for-indias-wealthy-kids/ |title=The Doon School: Grooming Ground For India's Wealthy Kids |date=28 October 2013 |work=Forbes Asia |access-date=4 July 2015}}</ref> but the school eschews the label.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-times/deep-focus/Doon-of-India-wants-to-conquer-the-globe/articleshow/6800690.cms |title='Doon of India' wants to conquer the globe |newspaper=Times of India  |date=24 October 2010 |access-date=8 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/put-him-down-for-doon |title=It's a spartan life at 'the Eton of India' |work=The Spectator |location=London |date=19 March 2017 |first=Will |last=Brown |access-date=13 June 2017}}</ref>

== Old Etonians ==
[[File:Old Etonian Necktie.svg|thumb|The Old Etonian Tie: black with Eton blue stripes]]
Former pupils of Eton College are known as '''Old Etonians'''.

=== Politics ===
*Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, first Prime Minister of Great Britain
*William Pitt the Elder, 1st Earl of Chatham, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
*William Ewart Gladstone, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 
*Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury,  former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 
*Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 
*Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
*Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 
*Alec Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
*David Cameron, Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
*Boris Johnson, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
*Abhisit Vejjajiva, former Prime Minister of Thailand
*Kwasi Kwarteng, former Chancellor of the Exchequer<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62796213 | title=Who is Kwasi Kwarteng? Chancellor who won University Challenge | work=BBC News | date=22 September 2022 }}</ref>
*[[Biography:Robert Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood|Robert Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood]], recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
*Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
*Lord Curzon, former Viceroy of India
*Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire, former Governor General of Canada
*Tam Dalyell, former Labour MP

Eton has produced twenty British prime ministers. Eleven of them are shown above.

=== Royalty and nobility ===
A number of blue-blooded pupils come to Eton from aristocratic and royal families from six continents, some of whom have been sending their sons to Eton for generations.

British:

* William, Prince of Wales (born 1982)<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smithers |first=Rebecca |date=28 August 1999 |title=Eton's reputation takes another knock as its A-level ranking plunges |work=The Guardian |location= London |url= https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/aug/28/news |access-date=4 May 2020}}</ref>
* Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (born 1984)<ref>{{Cite news |last=Maley |first=Jacqueline |date=14 February 2006 |title=£45,000 damages for Prince Harry teacher |work=The Guardian |location= London |url= https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/feb/14/schools.publicschools |access-date=4 May 2020}}</ref>
* Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster (1879–1953)
* Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (1900–1974)
* Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester (born 1944)
* Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster (born 1974)
* Prince William of Gloucester (1941–1972)
* Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (born 1935)
* George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews (born 1962)<ref>{{cite news |title=Lady Amelia Windsor parents: Who are the Instagram famous royal's parents? |url= https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/903023/lady-amelia-windsor-parents-instagram-royal-royals-news |last=Specter |first=Francesca |date=10 January 2018 |work=Daily Express |location= London |access-date=4 May 2020}}</ref>
* Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick (born 1988)<ref>{{Cite news |date=23 May 2018 |title=Louis Spencer, the Duke of Westminster and many more – now Prince Harry is off the market, who are our most eligible bachelors? |work=The Telegraph |location=London |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/louis-spencer-duke-westminster-many-now-prince-harry-market/edward-downpatrick-29-financial-analyst-son-earl-st-andrews/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/louis-spencer-duke-westminster-many-now-prince-harry-market/edward-downpatrick-29-financial-analyst-son-earl-st-andrews/ |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=4 May 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* Prince Michael of Kent (born 1942)<ref>{{cite web |title=The Prince |url= http://www.princemichael.org.uk/the-prince/ |access-date=3 August 2020 |website=Prince Michael of Kent}}</ref>
* Lord Frederick Windsor (born 1979)
* James Ogilvy (born 1964), son of Princess Alexandra and the Rt Hon. Sir Angus Ogilvy
* George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood (1923–2011), son of Mary, Princess Royal and Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sutcliffe |first=Tom |date=11 July 2011 |title=The Earl of Harewood obituary |work=The Guardian |location=London |url= https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jul/11/the-earl-of-harewood |access-date=4 May 2020}}</ref>
* Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer (born 1964), brother of Diana, Princess of Wales<ref>{{Cite news |last=Silverman |first=Rosa |date=2 January 2015 |title=I wished I'd been sent to state school, says Earl Spencer |work=The Telegraph |location=London |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/11321779/I-wished-Id-been-sent-to-state-school-says-Earl-Spencer.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/11321779/I-wished-Id-been-sent-to-state-school-says-Earl-Spencer.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=4 May 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* Charles Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley (born 1999)<ref>{{cite magazine |title=How the Earl of Snowdon Turned His Heritage into a Lifestyle |url= https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2017/03/earl-of-snowdon-lifestyle-provence |last=Colacello |first=Bob |magazine=Vanity Fair |date=10 March 2017 |access-date=4 May 2020}}</ref>
* John Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough (1926–2014)<ref>{{cite news |title=The Duke of Marlborough obituary |url= http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/oct/16/the-duke-of-marlborough |date=16 October 2014 |work=The Guardian |location= London |access-date=4 May 2020}}</ref>
* Lord William Beauchamp Nevill (1860–1939)
* Arthur Chatto (born 1999), son of Lady Sarah Chatto and Daniel Chatto
* Samuel Chatto (born 1996), son of Lady Sarah Chatto and Daniel Chatto
* Lord Max Percy (born 1990), son of Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of Northumberland

Foreign:

* Prajadhipok, King Rama VII of Siam (1893–1941)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Suwannathat-Pian |first=Kobkua |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1kldAgAAQBAJ&q=King+%5B%5BPrajadhipok%5D%5D+eton&pg=PA71 |title=Kings, Country and Constitutions: Thailand's Political Development 1932–2000 |date=16 December 2013 |publisher=Routledge |location= Abingdon |isbn=978-1-136-85523-8}}</ref>
* Prince Tokugawa Iesato (1863–1940)
* Leopold III of Belgium (1901–1983)
* Prince Nirajan of Nepal (1978–2001)<ref>{{cite news |date=2 June 2001 |title=Eton's royal connection |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1366105.stm |work=BBC News |access-date=4 May 2020}}</ref>
* Aga Khan III (1877–1957)<ref>{{cite book |last=Sowers |first=Richard |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=iTJiAgAAQBAJ&q=Aga+Khan+III+eton&pg=PA178 |title=The Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes: A Comprehensive History |date=25 February 2014 |publisher= McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-7698-5}}</ref>
* Birendra of Nepal (1945–2001) 
* Dipendra of Nepal (1971–2001)<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sharma |first1=Madhusudan |title=Eton's royal connection |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1366105.stm |website=BBC News |date=2 June 2001 |access-date=30 May 2021}}</ref>
* Zera Yacob Amha Selassie, Head of the Imperial House of Ethiopia<ref>{{cite news |title=Lost: one Lion Emperor, last seen in the Isle of Dogs |url= http://www.independent.co.uk/news/lost-one-lion-emperor-last-seen-in-the-isle-of-dogs-1285111.html |date=26 January 1997 |work=The Independent |location= London |access-date=4 May 2020}}</ref>
* Prince Nicholas of Romania (1903–1978)
* Prince Eustachy Sapieha (1881–1963){{CN|date=May 2023}}
* Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia (born 1945)<ref>{{cite news |date=18 July 2016 |title=Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia, globe-trotting playboy prince – obituary |work=The Telegraph |location= London |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2016/07/18/prince-alexander-of-yugoslavia--obituary/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2016/07/18/prince-alexander-of-yugoslavia--obituary/ |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=4 May 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

=== Writers ===
*Robert Bridges
*Cyril Connolly
*William Douglas Home
*Henry Fielding
*Ian Fleming
*Gilbert Frankau
*Thomas Gray
*[[Biography:Aldous Huxley|Aldous Huxley]]
*Pico Iyer
*Montague Rhodes James
*Ronald Knox
*Richard Mason
*Douglas Murray
*Musa Okwonga
*Dillibe Onyeama
*[[Biography:George Orwell|George Orwell]]
*Anthony Powell
*Benedict Rattigan
*[[Biography:Percy Bysshe Shelley|Percy Bysshe Shelley]]
*Osbert Sitwell
*[[Biography:Sacheverell Sitwell|Sacheverell Sitwell]]
*Horace Walpole
*Guy Walters

=== Scientists ===
*[[Biography:Robert Boyle|Robert Boyle]], chemist
*[[Biography:John Gurdon|John Gurdon]], biologist and Nobel laureate
*[[Biography:J. B. S. Haldane|J. B. S. Haldane]], biologist and statistician
*Henry Moseley, physicist
*[[Biography:John Maynard Smith|John Maynard Smith]], biologist and geneticist
*[[Biography:John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh|John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh]], physicist
*[[Biography:Stephen Wolfram|Stephen Wolfram]], computer scientist
*[[Biography:Richard Wrangham|Richard Wrangham]], biological anthropologist

=== Journalists ===
*Timothy Brinton, 1950s BBC newsreader and 1960s ITN newscaster
*Nicholas Coleridge, president of Conde Nast International and managing director of Condé Nast UK
*Geordie Greig, current editor of ''The Mail on Sunday''
*Julian Haviland, former political editor of ITN and ''The Times''
*David Jessel, BBC current affairs presenter
*Ludovic Kennedy, former ITN newscaster and BBC ''Panorama'' presenter
*James Landale, current BBC diplomatic correspondent
*Charles Moore, Baron Moore of Etchingham, former editor of ''The Daily Telegraph''
*Ferdinand Mount, former editor of ''The Spectator''
*John Oaksey, former chief ITV and Channel 4 racing commentator
*David Shukman, BBC science editor
*Corbet Woodall, 1960s BBC newsreader

=== Actors ===
*Sebastian Armesto
*Michael Bentine
*Jeremy Brett
*Christopher Cazenove
*Jeremy Child
*Jeremy Clyde
*Adetomiwa Edun
*Clement von Franckenstein
*Harry Hadden-Paton
*Nyasha Hatendi
*Charles Hawtrey
*Tom Hiddleston
*Hugh Laurie
*Damian Lewis
*Harry Lloyd
*Patrick Macnee
*Ian Ogilvy
*Julian Ovenden
*Eddie Redmayne
*John Standing
*Moray Watson
*Dominic West

===Music===
*Thomas Arne, composer
*Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt, 14th Lord Berners, composer and novelist
*George Butterworth, composer
*John Macleod Campbell Crum, priest and hymnwriter
*Thomas Dunhill, composer
*Victor Hely-Hutchinson, composer and conductor
*Frederick Septimus Kelly, musician and composer
*Humphrey Lyttelton, jazz trumpeter
*Hubert Parry, writer of the hymn "Jerusalem" and the coronation anthem "I was glad"
*Roger Quilter, composer
*Donald Tovey, musicologist
*Frank Turner, musician
*Atticus Ross, musician and film composer
*Philip Heseltine, Anglo-Welsh composer and writer (pseudonym Peter Warlock)

=== Others ===
*Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Nazi SA Obergruppenführer
*Francis Bertie, 1st Viscount Bertie of Thame, ambassador
*Henry Blofeld, cricket commentator
*Beau Brummell, dandy
*Guy Burgess, diplomat and spy
*Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy, WWI commander and Governor-General of Canada
*Alan Clark, MP and author
*James Colthurst, radiologist and friend of Diana, Princess of Wales
*Charles Douglas-Home, 13th Earl of Home, father of Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home
*Ranulph Fiennes, explorer
*Alexander Fiske-Harrison, bullfighter and author
*Ivo Graham, comedian
*Bear Grylls, adventurer
*William Inge, Dean of St Paul's Cathedral
*[[Biography:John Maynard Keynes|John Maynard Keynes]], economist
*Richard Layard, Baron Layard, economist
*Oliver Leese, WWII commander 8th Army
*Frederick Stanley Maude, WWI commander
*Stewart Menzies, WWII head of MI6
*Alexander Nix, CEO of [[Company:Cambridge Analytica|Cambridge Analytica]]
*Nigel Oakes, CEO of Behavioural Dynamics Institute and SCL Group
*Lawrence Oates, Antarctic explorer
*[[Biography:Derek Parfit|Derek Parfit]], philosopher
*Herbert Plumer, 1st Viscount Plumer, WWI commander
*Paul Raison, art historian and former Chairman of Christie's
*Timothy Raison, MP and Government minister
*Henry Rawlinson, 1st Baron Rawlinson, WWI commander, ultimately Commander in Chief India
*Charles Studd, cricketer and missionary
*Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury
*Henry Maitland Wilson, WWII commander

Thirty-seven Old Etonians have been awarded the Victoria Cross—the largest number to alumni of any school (see List of Victoria Crosses by school).

== Partially filmed at Eton ==
Here follows a list of films partially filmed at Eton.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/List?endings=on&&locations=Eton%20College,%20Eton,%20Berkshire,%20England,%20UK&&heading=18;with+locations+including;Eton%20College,%20Eton,%20Berkshire,%20England,%20UK|title=IMDb: Most Popular Titles With Location Matching "Eton College, Eton, Berkshire, England, UK"|publisher=IMDb|access-date=4 July 2015}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=IMDB.com is not classed as a reliable source|date=April 2018}}
* ''Henry VIII and His Six Wives'' (1972)
* ''Aces High'' (1976)
* ''Chariots of Fire'' (1981)
* ''[[Biology:Young Sherlock Holmes|Young Sherlock Holmes]]'' (1985)
* ''The Fourth Protocol'' (1987)
* ''Inspector Morse'': ''Absolute Conviction'' (1992 TV episode)
* ''Lovejoy'': "Friends in High Places" (1992 TV episode)
* ''The Secret Garden'' (1993)
* ''The Madness of King George'' (1994)
* ''A Dance to the Music of Time'' (1997 TV mini-series)
* ''Shakespeare in Love'' (1998)
* ''Mansfield Park'' (1999)
* ''A History of Britain'' (2000 TV series documentary)
* ''The Social Network'' (2010)
* ''My Week With Marilyn'' (2011)
* ''The English Game'' (2020 TV miniseries)

== Controversies ==
{{Main|Organization:Eton College controversies}}

== See also ==
{{div col}}
* Eton and Castle, the electoral ward that includes the College
* Eton Boating Song
* Eton College Collections
* Eton mess
* Eton Montem
* Eton Racing Boats
* "The Eton Rifles", a 1979 song by the Jam
* Eton Summer Course
* List of head masters of Eton College
* List of the oldest schools in the world
{{div col end}}

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
{{refbegin}}
* Nevill, Ralph (1911). ''Floreat Etona: Anecdotes and Memories of Eton College''. London: Macmillan. {{OCLC|1347225}}.
* McConnell, J.D.R. (1967). ''Eton: How It Works''. London: Faber and Faber. {{OCLC|251359076}}.
{{refend}}
* [https://www.etoncollege.com/news-and-diary/term-dates/ Term Dates] [accessed 19 August 2021]

== Further reading ==
* Card, Tim, ''Eton Established: A History from 1440 to 1860'' (London, John Murray, 2001, {{ISBN|978-0-7195-6052-1}})
* Cust, Lionel, [https://archive.org/details/historyofetoncol00custuoft ''A History of Eton College''], third edition, London, 1899, {{oclc|960992620}}
* {{cite book |last1=Clutton-Brock |first1=Arthur |title=Eton |date=1900 |publisher=George Bell and Sons |location=London |isbn=9781340998721 |edition=reprint 2015}}
* Fraser, Nick, ''The Importance of Being Eton'' (London, Short Books, June 2006, {{ISBN|978-1-904977-53-7}})
* Gladstone, William, ''People in Places'' (Michael Russell, 2013, {{ISBN|978-0-85955-325-4}})
* Jesse, J. Heneage, ''Memoirs of Celebrated Etonians'' (London: Richard Bentley & Son, 1875) in 2 vols.
* McConnell, J. D. R., ''Eton Repointed: The New Structures of an Ancient Foundation'' (London: Faber & Faber, 1970)
* McConnell, James (ed.), ''Treasures of Eton'' (London: Chatto & Windus, 1976) 
* {{cite book |last1=Lyte |first1=Sir Maxwell |title=A history of Eton College, 1440-1884 |date=1889 |publisher=Macmillan and Co |location=London and New York |url=https://archive.org/details/ahistoryetoncol04lytegoog|ol=OL7418230W|edition=2nd|}}
* {{cite book |last1=Okwonga |first1=Musa|title=One of Them: An Eton College Memoir |date=2021 |publisher=Unbound |isbn=978-1783529674}}
* Ollard, Richard, ''An English Education: A Perspective of Eton'' (London: Collins, 1982)
* {{cite book |last1=Onyeama |first1=Dillibe |title=Nigger at Eton |date=1972 |publisher=Delta of Nigeria |isbn=978-9782335920}}
* Osborne, Richard, ''Music and Musicians of Eton: 1440 to the present'' (London, Cygnet Press, 2012, {{ISBN|978-0-907435-19-8}})
* Parker, Eric, ''Playing Fields: School Days at Eton'' (London, Philip Allan, 1922, {{OCLC|2528782}})

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927005008/http://www.isinspect.org.uk/report/0374.htm Independent Schools Inspectorate – Eton College]
* [http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/witness/2011/12/2011122071759683728.html Mohamad at Eton – documentary about Palestinian refugee attending Eton] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803205034/https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/witness/2011/12/2011122071759683728.html |date=3 August 2020 }}

<!-- Please respect alphabetical order -->

[[Category:Educational institutions established in the 15th century]]

{{Sourceattribution|Eton College}}