Eton College

TRAVEL JOURNAL
Melissa Radtke
2-11-200

Following a tour of Windsor Castle, the group walked through some of the city streets and over a bridge crossing the River Thames, into Eton. Upon crossing that bridge, we felt almsot as though we were stepping into another world. After a short distance, the college itself came into view, as did the students in their easily distinguishable uniforms: tailcoats, winged collars, and pinstriped pants. Some wore black robes and others not, however, and we soon discovered why. Almost immediately, we were guided into college hall, where young boys of various ages were standing behind their chairs, waiting to be seated. We walked through to the back table, where older boys wearing robes intermingled and sat with us. We then discovered that the robes they wore symbolised that they were "King’s Scholars," who are honored with scholarships on the basis of merit. We were very impressed at the maturity and intelligence of these boys.

We learned very quickly about their way of life at a boarding school. What they mainly liked to talk about was the number of extra-curricular activities available to them. Many are involved in sports activities, and participate in art, music, and plays. They are very well cultured! Regardless of Eton's being a boarding school and having rather strict rules, the students have means of recreation and of having fun. Their free time is another thing which they like a lot. It gives the boys a chance to get out and into the town a little. The older boys have more privileges. They have first choice of choosing a bigger room, and can go about more freely, more often. They can also have more weekends to go home. So, at Eton, privilege comes with age. It was really nice for them to be so informative about their lives! We learned a lot, and noticed a vast amount of differences between their schooling and what we are accustomed to in the U.S.

Following a delicious lunch, we were escorted to the library, which housed various collections of very rare books. These books dated from the tenth centuries; some were so old that the pages looked so delicate that a single touch might inflict serious damage. The collections were vast; some enclosed in glass casing on different floors. Some had original seals on them from famous people as well. One very interesting compilation had the very first drawing of Windsor castle ever taken down on paper. Most impressive, however, were their copies (original and second edition) of the Gutenberg Bible, still with the original binding around it. In addition, they possessed various other "original" and second edition copies of other literary works, including Paradise Lost. Their collection was very impressive and to simply have had the opportunity to look upon these great works was very exciting.

The tour of the campus was lovely. We learned that two famous movies were filmed in their courtyard alone. Shakespeare in Love had a scene directly on the staircase of their chapel (wedding scene), and Chariots of Fire in the courtyard itself. These were easily recognisable and we really enjoyed noticing that! Also in the courtyard, we were told that Eton had been bombed, courtesy of Hitler, in WWII, which caused a great deal of damage, including blowing out of much of the stained glass from the their chapel. Further on the tour, we got to sit in a few of the rooms where the boys are educated, like the upperschool with the busts of famous Etonians and initial carvings in the walls of alumni including the poet Shelley. Another room, was the oldest classroom in existence, where we sat on some of the (uncomfortable) wooden benches. Apparently, the room was kept warm in earlier times by merely shutting the thick wooden shutters, and students, even staff, would huddle together at night to keep warm. The conditions were more unfavourable for them in the earlier years of the college, but this was often thought of as being a good experience for the boys. It was believed that it built character and "toughened them up" in doing this. This is no longer common practice.

Once the tour had finished, we broke for a quick tea break, and met an hour later to walk over to hear the student speeches in another part of their campus. These were the most exciting part of the trip, for many of us. We were truly entertained. The room it took place in, resembled that of a UW Oshkosh "pit-classroom." The boys speaking wore robes and black tights. Their speeches were very broad, covering anything from common and popular issues, to poetry, and even to skits. Each, however, must have spent a great deal of time memorising all of their lines, because they did it all so well, especially those who recited full poems. At the very end of it, three of the boys began with a full imitation of the "Budweiser Frogs," which was absolutely hilarious, and bordered on being a little gross . . . but boys will be boys! We all left feeling very entertained!

The most interesting experience of it all, though, was walking amongst all of them following the speeches. We really stood out, but the majority of us just kept thinking about what a wonderful opportunity and experience we’d just had. Not many people are allowed in to see that. We felt privileged and thrilled to be there. Eton College is a place of prestige, and rich in history.