The role of the Tutor is central to a rounded Eton education. Tutors are an integral part of the boys’ lives and play a vital role in association with House Masters and Dames. Tutors thus make a vital contribution to the school’s pastoral provision and ensure that every boy has an adult, additional to the House Master and Dame, taking a close interest in him over an extended period.
The roles of Tutor and House Master overlap: although a House Master has ultimate responsibility for the boys in his House, a boy’s Tutor assists the House Master in overseeing the boy’s academic progress and fostering his development and general well-being. They can also be important points of contact for parents who may wish to raise issues or concerns about their son.
We aim to promote and protect different personalities, talents and interests and to inculcate a culture of mutual respect. Within the House communal values are stressed, yet boys also have their independence and privacy within that community.
boarding Houses (College and the 24 Oppidan Houses).
Tutors usually look after boys for a period of two or three years. Before a boy comes to Eton, he is allocated a non-Specialist (Years 9-11) Tutor by his House Master in conjunction with the Head of Tutoring. A Tutor meets their boys each week in groups, usually on a whole school-day. In the case of non-Specialists, groups are normally of five or six boys and they meet for a tutorial of at least 40 minutes. During this time the Tutor plays an important part in helping a boy to settle, in advising him about how to use his time well, and in guiding him in the making of important choices.
In the half (term) before a boy becomes a Specialist (Years 12-13), he applies to several Masters whom he would like as his Specialist Tutor, and who may well be teaching one of his Specialist subjects. Specialist boy groups meet for a Private Business session lasting up to an hour. Tutorials are held in a Master’s home rather than in a schoolroom. Throughout a boy’s time in the school, it is during these weekly meetings that boys cover a number of PHSEE topics.