Eton

Eton has educated boys for nearly six centuries. The College continues to develop
Henry VI's original vision by providing a distinctive education, which it is aimed to be
made accessible to any talented boy.

Advantages
-the higher level of education
-the 570 years tradition
-the opportunities students have after graduation (Almost all the school's pupils go on to
universities, about a third of them to Oxford or Cambridge.)
-At Eton, there are dozens of organisations known as 'societies', in many of which pupils
come together to discuss a particular topic, presided over by a master, and often including
a guest speaker.[30] Some societies are dedicated solely to music, some to religion, some
to languages, and so on. Among past guest speakers are Andrew Lloyd Webber, J. K.
Rowling, Vivienne Westwood, Ian McKellen, Kevin Warwick, Boris Johnson, Rowan
Atkinson, Ralph Fiennes and King Constantine II of Greece.
-Eton runs a number of courses for pupils from the maintained sector (state schools), the
majority of them during the summer holidays from July to the end of August. Started in
1982, the Universities Summer School is an intensive residential course open to boys and
girls throughout the UK who attend maintained schools, are at the end of their first year
in the Sixth Form, and are about to begin their final year of schooling. The Brent-Eton
Summer School, started in 1994, offers 40-50 young people from the London Borough of
Brent a one-week programme, free of charge, designed to bridge the gap between GCSE
and A-level.[63] The school also runs a number of choral courses during the summer
months.

Disadvantages
-is very expensive (very few people can afford) - The fee for the academic year 2009-
2010 is £28,851 (approximately US$47,000 or €33,300 as of January 2010), although the
sum is considerably lower for those pupils on bursaries and Scholarships. (scholarships
are hard to obtain too)
-is very selective (but this can be an advantage too, for those accepted) “We are usually
able to offer conditional places to about one third of the candidates at age 11. Others are
placed on a waiting list to replace any who may withdraw later.”
“Most of Eton’s 1300 students enter the school at age 13. An old system under which
boys could be registered at birth with a future house master was abolished some years
ago, and virtually all candidates now go through a pre-assessment at age 11 (during year
6 in UK educational terms). The assessment consists of an interview, a reasoning test and
a report from the boy’s current school.”
-boys must submit for admission at age 103 years before the school starts
-only boys
-boarding school (boys have to be sent at school at age 13)
-boys must submit for admission at age 10
-New boys are now admitted only at the start of the Michaelmas Half, unless in
exceptional circumstances.
* 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 phased out of most houses in the 1970s and completely abolished
in the 1980s. Captains of House and Games still give some tasks to first-year boys.

Eton has traditionally been referred to as "the chief nurse of England's statesmen", and
has been described as the most famous public school in the world. Early in the 20th
century, a historian of Eton wrote, "No other school can claim to have sent forth such a
cohort of distinguished figures to make their mark on the world".
The Independent Schools Inspectorate's latest report says, "Eton College provides an
exceptionally good quality of education for all its pupils. They achieve high academic
standards as a result of stimulating teaching, challenging expectations and first-class
resources.”

In conclusion, if I were a boy with the material possibilities to apply for a place at the
Eton College, I would have no hesitations in doing so. Despite all the disadvantages
stated before, I consider that not the number of advantages, but their value, leaves no
place for doubt.
The Good Schools Guide called the school "the number one boys' public school," adding,
"The teaching and facilities are second to none."