Worth a visit?
Eton College is a very famous boarding school just for rich boys near London. Young students, at the moment they are altogether 1.300 pupils, visit the school from when they are thirteen till eighteen years old. Most of them are already enrolled[1] at their birth. After their education at Eton College the pupils often go on to universities like Oxford or Cambridge. Eton College is an independent school where you have to pay high school fees[2], 35 000 Euros a year. And when you join a sport team you have to pay even more because sports are very much promoted[3]; for example a special rowing lake has been built especially for the college. The college is also famous for its old traditions, for example the uniform.
Eton College was founded by King Henry VI in 1440 to make free education possible for seventy poor boys. But it lasted about 80 years to finish all the buildings. Till the middle of the 19th century it was a humanistic school but today it is also a modern school.
Eton College is located in Eton, a village west of London. It takes about 45 minutes to get there by car. The village has about 3500 inhabitants; and apart from the school it is also famous for the “Eton Wall Game”, which is a mixture[4] of rugby and football and is more than 240 years old. It's said to be invented by some Etonians.
The college is open for visitors from the end of March till September. There are changing opening hours. If you want to go inside, you have to pay £4. There are also guided tours[5] for £5 which take one hour.
Because of all these things Eton College is worth a visit. And when you are there, you could also go to Windsor Castle. It is just one kilometre away, or to Heathrow Airport, which is about eleven kilometres away.
So, why shouldn’t you visit Eton College?!
Svenja G. and Margarete B., 9c
[1] = anmelden
[2] = Schulgeld
[3] = fördern
[4] = Kreuzung
[5] = Führungen
Eton College
After the visit
Although Eton College was interesting for us, we expected to see more of the school life for example bedrooms or “normal” classrooms. Of our sight we liked the chapel and the historic classroom most . But it was sometimes difficult to understand the guide, an elderly lady. The whole building looked very dismal[1]. I think we have expected a more glamorous building. And it was also a pity that we didn’t see any pupils because they had their half-term holidays. Maybe we would visit it again, but then there should be a better guide, maybe a former pupil who could tell us more about the everyday life at Eton.
After the visit
Although Eton College was interesting for us, we expected to see more of the school life for example bedrooms or “normal” classrooms. Of our sight we liked the chapel and the historic classroom most . But it was sometimes difficult to understand the guide, an elderly lady. The whole building looked very dismal[1]. I think we have expected a more glamorous building. And it was also a pity that we didn’t see any pupils because they had their half-term holidays. Maybe we would visit it again, but then there should be a better guide, maybe a former pupil who could tell us more about the everyday life at Eton.
When you want to visit it, you have to keep in mind that they have changing opening hours the whole year and that you have to pay an entrance fee.
[1] = trist
