Eton College is delighted to announce that with the start of the new school year in September 2014, there are 70 boys attending Eton on 100% means-tested bursaries.
This number is significant. Henry VI founded Eton in 1440 to educate 70 scholars at no cost to their parents. Shortly afterwards boys also came to Eton whose parents paid fees. Over the centuries the funds available for charitable support have ebbed and flowed, but since the launch of the Campaign for a New Foundation in 2005, Eton has set itself targets to broaden access to the school. One of these targets was to raise the funds to give full financial support to 70 boys, thus reflecting the Founder’s original vision.
Head Master Tony Little said “This is excellent news. The generosity of donors and careful stewardship of resources has allowed us to reach this target far sooner than I had believed possible. It is however only the beginning. Our vision for the future of Eton is of a school which is truly needs blind, where any boy of character and ability, regardless of his background or parental income, can come to Eton on merit alone. To achieve that would be truly groundbreaking.”
Eton will spend a total of £6M on scholarships and bursaries in 2014/15. Altogether, 274 boys (21% of the pupils in the school) receive means-tested financial support averaging 64% remission of the school fees.
