Eton College
Forget all the obfuscation of its
language, uniform and traditions;
forget its reputation for ‘poshness’
and arrogance (not always unjustified,
we have to say); forget Flashman
and Boris – look at the facts. Teaching
is sensational (boys sit IGCSEs
alongside GCSEs and Pre-Us alongside
A-levels); facilities are second-to-none
(the new design centre has to be seen
to be believed); music is pretty much
unparalleled; and every sporting
opportunity under the sun is on offer.
Thanks to its hugely generous
bursaries and scholarships (about
20 per cent of boys receive some form
of financial support), Eton pupils come
from a greater diversity of backgrounds
than at some other top public schools.
It’s not enough to be super-clever –
boys have to have a certain ‘something
else’, and the strength of character to
cope with full-boarding. For head
Tony Little, this is the ‘essence of
Eton’. In the words of one mother:
‘The house system brings this vast
institution down to something more
manageable in size.’ The main
incentive to win a prestigious King’s
Scholarship – for boys, if not their
parents – is that scholars live in
College, which we’re told has the best
food of all the boarding houses. Most
houses get pizza or soup at Chambers
– the break between the third and
fourth lessons of the day; College boys
nourish their mighty brains with lamb
chops. We asked one father to sum up
what Eton meant to him: ‘Profound
excellence.’ Enough said, really.