Eton College
Eton redirects here; see also Eton, Georgia for the town in the United States. For the town near Eton College, see Eton, Buckinghamshire.
Eton College, is a public school (i.e., an independent secondary school) for boys, in the historic county of Buckinghamshire located near Windsor, (which is in Berkshire), England.
It boards approximately 1,280 boys between the ages of 13 and 18 who enjoy some outstanding facilities at a cost of over £5000 a half (term). As at most public schools, its pupils achieve very good exam results.
It is famous for its alumni and the archaic traditions it maintains, including a uniform of black tailcoat and waistcoat, and pin-striped trousers. The uniform was first worn as mourning for the death of George III, and the uniform is still worn today. Other idiosyncrasies include the Eton Field Game, the Eton Wall Game, the lack of a prefect system 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 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, John Strachey, Arnold Ward, and the Duke of Wellington.
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 a small number of poor students who would then go on to King's College, Cambridge. 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 provenance for this is 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.
Eton Terminology
Eton slang is mostly the same as Public school slang such as calling the elder brother 'Major' and the younger brother 'Minor'. There are few Eton-specific phrases.
Popper: Prefect (member of Pop).
Beak: Teacher
Stick Ups: Starched wing collar
Absence: Roll call
Corps: School cadet force
Socking: Eating
to cap: to raise a finger as a sign of respect, derived from tipping of a hat. All boys had to cap beaks when passing them in the street. (Now abolished as a rule)
a rip: when work is torn as a mark that it is substandard and has to be submitted for inspection of the house master
a show up: the opposite of a rip - the paper is not ripped, obviously
and others which refer to places or things at the school
Tap: School bar
Mespots: "Mesopotamia", one of many playing fields including Upper Sixpenny, Lower Sixpenny, Agar's Plough, Upper Club.