Eton College

Focus

Learning in the pursuit of excellence 

Boarding fees 2025/26 

$85,100

Term dates

• Term 1: 2 September to 11 December 2025
• Term 2: 6 January to 20 March 2026
• Term 3: 14 April to 27 June 2026
  

Ages

13-18

Pupil count

1,350

Spear’s Review

You might be forgiven for thinking that the iconic Eton College is elitist, but the boarding school has one of the biggest inclusion programmes of any independent school. As an educational powerhouse it has been working on broadening access, and it’s not stuffy either, ‘seeking to balance the old with the new’. 

Eton retains its high academic standards and offers outstanding opportunities, including more than 80 societies for students to explore their passions, and first-class sporting facilities, such as the rowing lake that was used in the 2012 Olympic Games. Pupils achieve top grades and progress to the best UK and Ivy League universities, and are offered the incomparable opportunities for making contacts that will serve the Old Etonian well throughout life.

Academics

In 2025:

• 94 per cent of GCSE results were grades 7-9
• 78 per cent of A-Level results were A* or A

Head teacher

Simon Henderson was appointed head master of Eton College in 2015. He previously taught history at Eton for eight years and served as head of Bradfield College. 

University and college destinations

Eton graduates move on to many of the top universities in the UK, Europe and the US, including Oxbridge, and Ivy League schools Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, Columbia, Brown and Dartmouth.

Admissions

According to the school, there is no strict registration deadline for Year 7 or Year 9 entry. However, for Year 9 entry, early registration is encouraged to secure a preferred boarding house, as places are allocate based on registration date. For Year 9 entry, candidates take entrance exams in English, maths and verbal reasoning. For Sixth Form entry, applicants are assessed based on their GCSE results and an interview.

Notable alumni

Eton is well known for its notable alumni, or ‘Old Etonians’. The school has educated 20 prime ministers, a number of world leaders and members of the royal family, and key figures from the arts. These include:

• Robert Walpole (prime minister)
• David Cameron (prime minister)
• Princes William and Harry
• George Orwell (author)
• Tom Hiddleston (actor)

Accessibility

Heathrow Airport: 20 minutes

Location

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