Admission to Eton College

Eton College – one of the most famous and prestigious schools in the UK. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI, British politicians, scientists and representatives of the world elite studied here. Eton – A highly selective school, boys who are capable of learning are selected here. There are about 240 places for children 13 years old, with more than 1,300 applications received – There is a lot of competition. 

Historically, Eton has not published information about which universities its graduates go to, but since 2020 the school has become more open. 41 graduates entered Oxbridge, and 37 – to prestigious foreign universities, including Harvard, Princeton, Stanford and Yale. The rest took places at leading UK universities including Bristol, Edinburgh, Exeter, Imperial and UCL. 

If you want your child to study at the legendary Eton College, then you need to take care of this issue before your son turns 10.5 years old. Although boys begin studying at Eton at the age of 13, they must register before this age.

At what age do people enter Eton?

• Admission at 13+: students enter the 9th grade of the British program when they turn 13-14 years old. The admission process begins 2 years earlier, in 6th grade.
• Enrollment at 16+: Students enter Year 12 of the British curriculum, the first year of the Sixth Form, when they are 16-17 years old. The admission process takes place in October-November of the year preceding admission to school. For those entering at 16 years of age, Eton offers about 4 places each year.

Stages of entrance tests to Eton at 13+

As mentioned above, a child can be registered at Eton until June 30 of the year in which he turns 10 years old – 5th grade of the British system.

For example,

• in order to start training in September 2027, you must register before June 30, 2024;
• In order to begin your studies in September 2028, you must register by June 30, 2025.

1. First stage– boys passing preliminary computer testing ISEB Common Pre-Tests in the autumn (October-November) of the year when the child should be in the 6th grade of the British educational system (boys enter this class at the age of 10). For those starting their studies in 2027, it will be autumn 2024. You will also need a description of the school principal/class teacher about the child’s academic results, interests and character.

ISEB Common Pre-Tests – this is an online test lasting about 2.5 hours, including tasks in English, mathematics, and logical thinking.

After ISEB, boys take another test – Eton List, Eton's own test, taken in Year 6 (British system, when boys are 10 years old). This is a computer test designed to predict a child's academic potential.

Boys going to Eton said they grappled with the following issues:

• English: corrective grammar exercises, open-ended comprehension question requiring the student to enter an answer.
• Math: Particularly complex word problems, often requiring the assimilation of many pieces of information.
• Reasoning: Logical and lateral thinking questions that test spatial and nonverbal thinking.

Both the ISEB test and the Eton List test boys' thinking and reasoning abilities, and both are designed to determine a child's abilities. These are online adaptive tests: the better a candidate does, the more difficult the questions become, increasing their standardized score. age score (SAS). Because Eton is highly selective, successful candidates will have an SAS score well above average and will face more difficult questions on the tests.

In December, the results of the first stage will be summed up and the list of boys admitted to the second stage of entrance examinations will be announced.

2. The second stagetakes place between January and June (the second and third semesters of the 6th grade of the British educational system). For example, for those starting their studies in 2026, it will be January – June 2024

• At the end of January – Exams will be held in early February for boys born between September and mid-December.
• At the end of February – exams will be held at the beginning of March for boys born between the second half of December and March.
• At the end of April – exams will be held at the beginning of May for boys born between April to August.

Results for each age group will be published in March, May and July respectively.

Admission tests are held at the college according to age groups and include a personal interview and an online test to determine academic abilities and potential. The interview lasts about 15 minutes. It is important to answer sincerely, as Eton is very attentive to memorized answers and is tired of them.

What questions are asked in an interview?

• Family (Tell us about your family)
• Current School (What do you like best about your current school?)
• Academic interests (What is your favorite subject? What are you reading?)
• Extracurricular interests (What do you do outside of school?)
• They may also ask: “Why are you going to Eton?”, “What do you hope to contribute to Eton?”

What mistakes does the candidate make:

• Does not listen carefully enough to the question asked.
• Rushes with an answer, answers without thinking.
• Gives memorized responses when the child says what he thinks the school wants to hear.

It is very important to avoid these mistakes, since the child has little time during the interview to make a good impression.

3. Final stage

Boys who successfully pass the second stage of entrance examinations are given a conditional offer, and in the 8th grade of the British educational system – the year preceding the start of studies at Eton (boys enter this class at 12 years old) – The final stage of assessment is carried out. It represents one of the Common Entrance entrance exams (a set of 8 exams that British school students take at the age of 13 to enter the 9th grade of high school), King's Scholarship or Eton's own entrance exams. Alternatively, the boy may be placed on a waiting list and retested at the end of Year 7.

Eton Scholarship

Eton offers scholarships for talented boys, but they do not automatically reduce tuition fees. Eton does offer (often significant) tuition discounts through scholarships, which are assessed based on family situation.

At the age of 13, the most famous scholarship is the King's Scholarship, which was introduced in 1440 and is intended for boys of very academic ability. The exams are challenging, with boys taking 8 academic exams including English, Maths, Science, Humanities and Languages. In addition, music scholarships are available for talented musicians who wish to audition.

At the age of 16, scholarships are only available to boys who are educated at a public school. These include the Orwell Prize for All-round Excellence and the Music and Drama Awards.

Every year, Eton awards 12-14 Queen's Scholarships. Exams are held in late April/early May when the boy is in 8th grade. This is one of the most academically challenging scholarships offered by UK schools. Boys must pass the following exams: English, Creative Writing, Mathematics, Science. In addition, they must then pass 3 more exams from the following options: French, Greek, History-Geography-Theology, Latin, Mathematics.

Paradise helps children prepare for their Eton entrance exams. We work with a company that has a number of experienced tutors, whose work results in children successfully passing exams at Eton College.

Usually, preparation for admission to Eton begins at the age of 8 and lasts until the start of the first stage of entrance examinations. It is not advisable to delay preparation immediately at the start of the entrance examinations, as this will only lead to overwork and will not allow you to fully express yourself during the interview.

At the time of starting preparation for the Eton entrance tests, the child must be practically fluent in English, and it is assumed that from the age of 6-7 he has been studying at a British school (an international school operating according to the British system) in his country or in the UK.

Working with a tutor begins with a personal interview with the child. In cases where it is not possible to attend a personal meeting with a tutor, the interview is conducted online.

During the interview, the child performs basic exercises that help assess his potential. Particular attention is paid to how the student works and what he already knows. During the conversation, the child is asked about his character, interests and hobbies. This is very important to take into account when enrolling in school, as well as when selecting tutors who will be assigned It is possible to work with the child in the future.

After a personal interview, parents are provided with detailed feedback on the child, and a work plan is drawn up. It outlines what will need to be done in preparation, and also includes a schedule of mock exams, tests and follow-up consultations.

Cost

If you are thinking about enrolling in Eton College, we recommend assessing your child’s chances of successfully passing the entrance examination and, with the help of qualified tutors, developing a preparation strategy for you.

Individual lessons with a tutor – from 90 to 300 pounds sterling per hour depending on the qualifications of the tutor.

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