Hey gang! Will be great to start working with you. I'm getting impatient.


I've been doing some research on boarding schools, bastions of the old English establishment what what etc. Eton seemed a fitting place to start...

Now Eton seems like a MASSIVE extreme of all things English, but I think you get a good sense of the importance of tradition, following eccentric rules, and how public schools aim to develop a boys character. So I've got some messy ideas and links and things below:







http://www.etoncollege.com/default.asp

http://youtube.com/watch?v=vcKpwKK94QU&feature=related

(Dodgy japanese eton documentary with even worse English subtitles)

Random thoughts:

• Being away from home. Out on your own. Just you now.
• Church meetings most weekdays, with a longer service on Sunday.
• Singing like a choirboy. Get used to that kind of music.
• Best teachers / worst teachers
• A Good teacher teaches you that what you've just been hearing about is the best thing in the universe, nothing else bears thinking about.
• Small groups for lessons and a personal tutor
• 'Your results are raising concern. Letters will be sent home.'
• WOW. The FEAR of stepping out of line is crazy!
• The Peer Pressure from older, institutionalised boys.
• Not wearing the very complicated uniform correctly an offence. It's like it is made to catch you out. People WILL notice. You WILL be punished.
• Having to organise your time well enough.
• Masters constantly on your back about acheivements or failures.
• Being late, having to do lines, being left in the lurch, the disappointment of Eton hanging over you. 'Eton is disappointed in you'.
• Being expected to reach for massive things.
• Fagging (running errands and making tea for their elders) humbles young aristocrats. (Just like Shaolin training ;)
• Getting to a school and saying: 'right, how am I going to make an impact here?'
• Join the new boys fives tournament - go for glory?
• Work hard so one of my pieces will be on constant display in the College Library?
• Study the rules of the Eton Wall Game so my goal will one day be scored at the St.Andrews Day match?
• Will I be a wet bob or dry bob come summer term. Can I row and make my House Captain proud?
• 'The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton' - The Duke of Wellington.
• PRESSURE PRESSURE PRESSURE!
• You MUST win acclaim!!!
• You MUST succeed!!!
• Live up to the example and memory of the greats who have passed through here.
• On Eton: 'The peer pressure is still very evident. Having officially taken over a position of responsibility for the annual Fourth of June celebration, I had to decide whether to wear my stick ups for the first time on the great day. In the end, along with my friends who were in in a similar situation I decided it was best to wait until further towards the end of the half lest we were queried too frequently as to our new dress. And there is also the threat of boys pulling your bow tie undone in the street as a prank before you have learnt to refasten it properly without the aid of a mirror.'

Chain of Authority: Provost, House Master, then Dame (like a Matron/Nurse) House Captain, Captain of Games, Boys Maid. Domestic Staff Prefects fit in there somewhere. Above? Below? Who knows?! All Houses have their own colour hats. Stripes, Quadrants, Front Logo

Minor Sports Selection: Choose TWO. Beagling, Fencing, Rackets, Fives, Squash, Hockey, Water Polo, Climbing, Martial Arts, Badminton, Fly Fishing, Canoeing, Basketball, Weight Training, .22 Shooting, Golf, Table Tennis, Tennis, Athletics, the Eton Wall Game (which is mental)

Pupils of Authority: There are a number of variations of school dress which distinguish boys in positions of authority. All office holders wear stick ups - that is to say, a wing collar with a white bow tie. The Captains of houses wear a grey waistcoat (often double-breasted) as well as stick ups. The twenty highest academic achievers in B Block (the final year) form 'Sixth Form Select', a prefectorial body. In addition to stick ups, they wear silver buttons with their black waistcoats. There is a second, self-elected prefectorial body, known as Pop or The Eton Society. These elite boys are entitled (by their own authority) to wear black and white spongebag trousers, stick ups, and any colourful waistcoat they desire (and great liberty is taken) also trimming their tailcoats with silk piping. Pop:, also known as the Eton Society. Over the years their power and privileges have grown. Pop is the oldest self-electing society at Eton, although the rules were altered in 1987 and modified again in 2005 so that the new intake are not now elected solely by the existing year. Members of Pop are entitled to wear checked spongebag trousers, and a waistcoat of their own choosing or design. Historically, only members of Pop are entitled to furl their umbrellas or sit on a special wall. They also perform roles at many of the routine events of the school year including School Plays, Parents' evenings and other official events. Notable ex-members of Pop include Prince William of Wales, and Boris Johnson.

The ties are easy to misplace in your room and far too frequently you see boys without ties at all. The better beaks (teachers) might put such a miscreant on a 'dress offence' (imposed for various infractions of the regulations) which means wearing full school dress all day for three days and signing in at the school office, properly attired, once an hour during free time. (Boys are usually permitted to change out of tailcoats for the afternoon during games and free time.)

Day in the Life - from New Boys Guide on the Eton Website
You’ll need to wake up at about 7.30 every weekday (8.30 on Sundays) to give yourself time to wash and dress before Breakfast: a reliable alarm clock is a helpful bit of kit.
After Breakfast you have about twenty minutes before Chapel at 8.40 (10.40 on Sundays): time to make your bed and tidy up your room, time to see if you have any letters or email, time to see your House Master or Dame if necessary, time to organize yourself for the first three schools of the morning.

The weekly morning timetable runs as follows (Tuesday and Thursday are slightly different):
09.00–09.40 1st school
09.50–10.30 2nd school
10.40–11.20 3rd school
11.20 Chambers
11.45–12.25 4th school
12.35–13.15 5th school (but a free period on Saturdays)
13.25 Boys’ Dinner You should go back to your House after the first three schools — for elevenses and to organize yourself for the final two schools of the morning. What happens after Boys’ Dinner depends on which day of the week it is and on which half it is. It’s too complicated to explain here: you’ll find out when you arrive.

Every day and every half, Supper is at about 7.40 followed by House Prayers at about 8.20.

'Every evening, about an hour and a quarter, known as Quiet Hour, is set aside, during which boys are expected to study or prepare work for their teachers if not otherwise engaged. Some houses, upon the discretion of the House Master, may observe a second Quiet Hour after Prayers in the Evening. This is however less formal, with boys being allowed to visit each others' rooms to socialise if neither boy has outstanding work.'
Between House Prayers and Lights Out (at 9.30 in most Houses) you have time to finish off your ‘prep’ for the following day, to have a bath, and to tidy up your room. This is also the time when your Dame is likely to drop in to have a chat, and your House Master too. Have a good night! You’ll find life at Eton is very exhausting, and a good night’s rest is absolutely essential.