Industry News
Eton focuses on poor
Posted on 24th July 2007
Eton College, the most famous boarding school in the world, is planning to admit pupils from poorer homes.
The school is raising £50 million to accommodate boys who are academically gifted but whose families are unable to afford the annual fees of £26,490 per year.
"The parents I've spoken to about this, who are paying a lot of money in fees, are very glad to have boys from different backgrounds as part of a broader education," Anthony Little, head master of the college, said.
"We certainly don't want to cream off the brightest and the best," he added.
The school has already raised £20 million in the past year and a half, mainly from the school's alumni now working in the City.
If they are successful in raising a further £30 million, all fees will be met by a bursary scheme available to a third of its students.
The college already provides a bursary scheme, but nothing to the scale it is aiming to reach now. Some have argued that the scheme was an attempt to escape taxes, allegations which were denied by Mr Little.
Eton College, founded in 1440 by Henri VI, has provided education to many influential people, including 19 former prime ministers as well as Princes William and Harry.