Eton College
Eton College, is a public school (that is, an independent secondary school) for boys near Windsor, Berkshire, England.
It boards approximately 1,200 boys between the ages of 13 and 18 who enjoy some outstanding facilities at a cost of over 8,000 GBP a half-year (term). As at most 'public schools', its pupils achieve very good exam results. 'public schools' in the British sense are not state funded or run, rather they are the top independent secondary schools.
It is famous for its alumni (known as Old Etonians) and the archaic traditions it maintains, including a uniform of black tailcoat and waistcoat, false-collar and pin-striped trousers. The uniform was first worn as mourning for the death of George III, and the uniform is still worn today for classes (known as "divisions" or "divs".) Other idiosyncrasies include the Eton Field Game, the Eton Wall Game, and the remnants of a peculiar slang.
The school is popular with the Royal Family and has produced nineteen Prime Ministers. There are also more old Etonians in the Special Air Service (SAS) than any other Army regiment. Other former students include Waldorf and John Astor, Hugh Dalton, Guy Burgess, George Orwell, Cyril Connolly, Henry Fielding, Ian Fleming, William Gladstone, Thomas Gray, Stewart Headlam, Frederick Pethick-Lawrence, Humphrey Lyttelton, Herbrand Sackville, Henry Salt (later also an Eton schoolmaster), John Strachey, Arnold Ward, the Duke of Wellington, William Ralph Inge and Prince William of Wales
The King's College of our Lady of Eton was founded in 1440 by Henry VI as a charity school to provide free education to seventy poor students who would then go on to King's College, Cambridge, founded by Henry VI in 1441. It became popular in the 17th century.
It is often suggested that the Duke of Wellington claimed "The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing-fields of Eton". The credibility for this is believed by some to be dubious: Wellington briefly attended Eton, for which he had no great love, in the late 18th century, when the school had no playing fields or organised team sports, and the phrase was first recorded three years after the Duke's death. The Duke was, however, wildly popular at Eton, visiting many times later in his life.
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