Eton, the boarding school of kings and prime ministers, has announced that it would like to have at least 40 per cent of its pupils coming from poorer backgrounds.
LONDON: Eton, the boarding school of kings and prime ministers, has announced that it would like to have at least 40 per cent of its pupils coming from poorer backgrounds.
The revolutionary move comes 550 years after the world’s most famous boarding school for boys opened its doors. Eton College, as it is officially called though it is a high school admitting boys from the age of 13-18 years, is raising £50 million to enable it to take students with merit from poor families by giving them scholarships.
Currently the annual fees for Eton are £26,490. Some 20 per cent of its 1,300 pupils already receive some support from bursaries through its wealthy endowment fund, but the school wants to see this figure rise to 40 per cent.
The fundraising scheme has already raised more than £20 million in 18 months, relying on the school’s alumni, many of who are in influential positions in businesses and work in the City of London.
While the school was first started in 1440 by King Henry VI to provide free education to 70 poor students who would then go on to Cambridge University, the character of the school changed over the years to become the school for aristocrats and royalty from round the world.
Apart from Prince William and Prince Harry who both studied at Eton, 19 former British Prime Ministers and half of the Conservative Party’s current shadow cabinet including leader David Cameron are old Etonians.
The new bursary scheme would change the profile and social mix of the school. “The parents I’ve spoken to who are paying a lot of money in fees, are very glad to have boys from different backgrounds as part of a broader education,” said Anthony Little, head master of Eton College.
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