Live, Laugh, Love, London: An Etonian Afternoon

I’ve been blessed with many incredible opportunities to see and learn about new things throughout this Fulbright experience, and Friday no exception. Joe, a former Fulbrighter who spent last year in California, teaches at Eton College, which is just a short train ride from London. He was gracious enough to invite a few London Fulbright folks out to spend the day at Eton, observing some lessons, touring the campus and visiting with some faculty members. My head teacher was also gracious enough to grant me a day of leave so I could participate. So Kathryn, who’s also from Seattle and was placed in London, and Yasmin, a former Fulbrighter who lives in London, and I all met up at Eton on Friday morning to begin our exciting day.

Eton College, which is an elite boarding school for boys ages 13 to 18, was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI. Since it’s early beginnings, Eton has educated many of Britain’s leaders and public figures. Some of the most interesting to me include Prime Minister David Cameron, writer George Orwell, actor Hugh Laurie, and my favorites, Prince Harry and Prince William. There are even famous fictional Etonians (yes, that’s what they’re actually called), including James Bond, Mark Darcy, and Captian Hook!

Needless to say, Eton is a fascinating place, and I couldn’t wait to explore it! I arrived in Windsor on the train and set out make the quick 15-minute walk to Eton (the village and the school are both called Eton). But I didn’t make it very far before I ran into Kathryn. Funny enough, we both had stopped at the same bridge to take pictures of the ducks! I was happy to run into Kathryn and walk with her because it gave us chance to catch up. Even though we live in the same city, we don’t manage to see each other often enough. The walk was too quick, though, and before we knew it, we had arrived.

At the train station

On the walk up to the school, we saw many Eton boys in full uniform,
including dress coats with tails! I don't think our American boys even
get that dressed up for prom, let alone daily lessons!

About to arrive!

The first interesting thing I noticed was the security, which is pretty tight at Eton. Visitors have to check in at a guard’s office, be approved, and then they take your photo and make you a temporary visitors badge (which is promptly collected at the end of the visit).

The entrance and security office.

After checking in, we met up with Yasmin and Joe, who was lovely and so welcoming. First, we went up to the science staff lounge where we visited over a cuppa (that's a cup of tea, of course!). Then, Joe took us with him to the daily staff briefing. Staff members wear a uniform that matches the boys’ uniform, but on top of that they also wear a gown, which looks just like an American black graduation gown. All that formal attire really made the staff briefing look quite impressive, especially considering that I’ve never been to a staff meeting in a room as beautiful as this one!

The large room in the Upper School where the staff briefing was held.
The chairs were removed for the meeting, though.

After the meeting, Joe sent Yasmin and I to observe a couple English lessons while he and Kathryn headed back to science. Our first lesson was in a year 11 class, which is a class I teach here in London. These students were working on a part of the curriculum I don’t teach because at my school this half of the exam is actually the focus for year 10. Still, I was still able to follow the lesson quite easily and really enjoyed observing the easy way in which the teacher interacted with his pupils. Much of the lesson was student driven, which I found very impressive. I was also impressed with how insightful the boys were as they analyzed a piece of nonfiction and prepared to write an essay about it. At the same time, there was a bit of light banter among some of the boys that reminded me they were not Etonian Pod People, but just normal kids. And again the old saying was proven true once more, kids are just kids, no matter where you go. After this lesson, we met up with another English teacher who took us with his class to the library. His year 12 English students were working independently on their essays about “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” We had a chance to chat with them and ask them questions, but we didn’t want to disturb them too much, so we also spent some time exploring the gorgeous (and impressively large) Eton College library.

Later we met up with Kathryn and Joe for lunch in the staff dining hall. When you hear dining hall, you’re probably picturing your old college cafeteria with blue plastic trays and mushy, indeterminable food. Well this cafeteria was nothing like that! There were a variety of options to choose from, including soup, salad, mains and desserts, and we ate a lovely big table with proper place settings (with decorative dishes!) and white linen tablecloths. Much different from a typical teacher’s lunch break! There are two other American teachers at Eton, and they both joined us for lunch as well, making it feel like a bit of a party, really.

Following lunch, Joe took us on a nice walk around the campus, which is spread out across the village. Eton is just the most charming village/campus, and we got to see parts of it that the tourists don’t get to see. That made our visit feel really special.

Joe, Kathryn, myself and Yasmin in the school yard.

That's a statue of King Henry VI, the founder of Eton College. The building
behind and surrounding this yard for the 70 King's Scholars, who are basically
the most elite, smartest boys in school. King Henry originally opened Eton to
just 70 "King's Scholars" and the tradition stuck.

The College Chapel, which is WAY more than a "chapel." It has the most
incredible stained glass windows, a remarkably large and beautiful organ,
the walls were painted in the 1480s with scene depicting the seven miracles.
You're not allowed to take photos on the chapel, unfortunately.

You are allowed to take photos in here, the original classroom at Eton
College. In fact, this was Eton's only classroom for more than 200 years.
Apparently it's the oldest classroom still in use in the world.

To stand in here and imagine how many discussions, decisions
dilemmas were hashed out in the space...it's incredible.
How many great thinkers and dreamers have sat in these
benches and stared at these walls. The wood on the benches
and support beams is well carved with hundreds and
hundreds of pupil names, a tradition echoed on wood
across the school where boys have literally left their mark on Eton.

More names carved into the walls.

Nowadays, not just any pupil can carve his name into the walls. You have to
be granted that right by doing something (but I forgo what--oops!). The Princes
technically weren't supposed to have their names carved, but being as
they are princes and all, the school broke its own rule and had their names
added to this door.

The headmaster's table---very old, original. I'm doubtful he still hangs
out in here...This room is also where a bomb fell during WWII. It didn't
detonate right away, so they were able to dismantle much of the walls,
remove the furniture and doors and save some of the important parts of
the room. Later, the bomb did detonate and then the school had the
room rebuilt using as much of the original wood work as possible.

These boys have all won an award and have earned their names.

Kathryn and I steal a quick photo!

Nobody seems to know what this art piece is all about...

One of the 24 dormitories on campus

The art studio. What incredible light! That's the football pitch (aka
soccer field) out there, too.

After our walk it was time to say goodbye to Joe, as he had to dash off to teach a lesson. Yasmin and Kathryn and I decided to take a little walk through Eton and check out some of the shops along the way. It really was the perfect day and a fabulous way to end the week!

Kathryn, Yasmin and I after our day at Eton.

Keate's Lane was named after the well-known Eton headmaster
Dr. Keate, who ran the school in the early to mid 1800s.
Apparently he was quite gruff but kind as well.