Eton College

Eton College, private school (known as a “public school” in England) in Eton, Berkshire, England. The school was founded in 1440 by Henry VI, king of England, as the “King's College of Our Lady of Eton Beside Windsor.” The original college buildings, which were begun in 1441 and completed for the most part about 80 years later, consisted of two quadrangles containing the chapel, the upper school (for older students) and lower school (for younger), the apartments of officials, the library, and the offices. Additions, undertaken in 1846, 1889, and 1908, include the boys' library, science schools, laboratories, an observatory, and 25 boarding houses. The curriculum, almost purely classical until the middle of the 19th century, consists predominantly of modern subjects, although students continue to study the classics. Correspondingly, the college facilities have been modernized and include science laboratories, language laboratories, and closed-circuit television systems. Preparation is provided for British army examinations, and numerous scholarships to universities are available, including six to King's College, at the University of Cambridge. The school has had many distinguished graduates, including the British statesmen Robert Harley, 1st earl of Oxford, and William Pitt, 1st earl of Chatham; Great Britain's first prime minister (1721-1742), Robert Walpole, 1st earl of Orford, and his son, the English writer Horace Walpole, 4th earl of Orford; the British general and statesman Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington; the poets Thomas Gray and Percy Bysshe Shelley; and the British statesman William Ewart Gladstone. The British biologists John Burdon Sanderson Haldane and Sir Julian Sorell Huxley also attended Eton. The college foundation grants 3 music scholarships and 70 King's Scholarships to students; these students, called Collegers, live in the college. The rest of the students, including music scholars and holders of other bursaries, are called oppidans (Latin oppidanus,”dwelling in town”) and board with the housemasters in the town.

Reviewed by: Eton College