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Get your lad to Eton, school for princes and PMs, for FREE with £100k bursary
IT is England’s most famous school, attended by princes and future Prime Ministers.
And now £42,500-a-year college Eton is offering YOUR child the chance of a life-changing FREE place there.
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The exclusive independent boys’ boarding school in Windsor is today launching the Orwell Award bursary in The Sun on Sunday.
The scholarship scheme will fund up to 12 boys from across the UK to do their A-levels at the 15th-century school founded by King Henry VI.
Headmaster Simon Henderson said: “We’d love a Sun on Sunday reader’s child to be able to access what we offer.
“We don’t care about backgrounds. If you’re good enough, we’ll find the money. Please, please apply.”
Successful candidates will join the ranks of former students including Boris Johnson, 55, and Princes William, 37, and Harry, 34.
‘I NEVER FELT LIKE A POOR KID’
Together with trips, uniform and extra-curricular activities, costs at Eton add up to more than most parents cannot afford.
Yet Mr Henderson added: “We’re also speaking to local authorities about boys in foster care or children’s homes.
“If your son is doing his GCSEs and wants to study A-levels, get in touch — it could change his life.
“Similarly, if your son is in Year 5 and is doing well, we want to hear from you.
“Currently 83 students at Eton receive full bursaries.
“The bursary will include all fees, trips, musical instrument lessons, uniform, a laptop and pocket money.
“To be an Etonian, boys need to be good citizens who our country can be proud of. We want intelligent boys but they don’t necessarily have to be straight As.”
Education is way out of poverty
WHEN a career adviser told 17-year-old Abed Ahmed he should not go into teaching because of his stammer, he felt like his dreams had been crushed.
For 13 years he had been bullied for stuttering and called “woodpecker” by other kids.
But now eight years on Abed has been named Britain’s New Teacher Of The Year.
The TES Awards judges called him a phenomenal guy and a great role model.
Maths teacher Abed, who works at Washwood Heath Academy in Birmingham, told The Sun on Sunday: “To be named teacher of the year and to do it after people said I would never teach because of my stammer is proof to my kids they can do anything they set their minds to.
“I get on well with the naughty kids, I relate to them. I understand what it’s like to come from really deprived areas.”
Abed did his teaching qualification at Birmingham City University. He still lives in the city with his parents and helps support them.
He said: “As a teacher with a stammer, I have found myself developing certain professional traits. I listen more than I speak.
“I give pupils a chance to explain the reasons for their behaviour.” Abed’s inner-city school has an outstanding Ofsted rating despite being in one of the UK’s most deprived areas.
He says: “I teach kids the importance of choosing friends wisely and tell them to stay clear of gangs.
“It’s so rewarding when I know I’ve helped a kid. One boy who I always thought didn’t like me as we clashed a bit came to me at the end of his time at the school and told me I was the teacher he was going to miss the most. That meant so much.
“So many of the kids come from difficult backgrounds. We have to work that bit extra hard to make kids realise that education could be their way out of deprivation.”
Abed is so grateful he ignored that careers adviser and battled his stammer and fear of public speaking head-on by taking Drama at A-level.
He accepts his stuttering is part of who he is and says: “Seeing kids learn from the difficulties I’ve had makes me proud. I hope I show kids that you need to be comfortable with who you are.”
Abed has set up a group at the school where he helps pupils deal with stammering. He also gives advice to other kids on his Twitter page, which has almost 8,000 followers.
- Exclusive by Ben Griffiths, Deputy Features Editor
The Orwell Award was created in memory of Animal Farm author George Orwell, an Old Etonian who also received financial assistance.
Potential students will need to apply online and take an entry exam, along with written tests in maths and critical thinking.
They will meet the head and house masters and be interviewed by teachers.
The school has around 1,300 pupils. Most join at 13, with a few joining in the sixth form.
Every pupil has his own study-bedroom and can choose to learn languages and compete in sports.
We’d love a Sun on Sunday reader’s child to be able to access what we offer. Please apply
Simon Henderson, Headmaster
Get into Eton
Apply at:
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Ahmed-Adam Roble, 18, from Brixton, South London, is proof the school is prepared to put its money where its mouth is.
The eldest of three sons born to Somali refugees, he went to one of the biggest state comprehensives in a notorious crime spot.
After watching a documentary on CBBC about Eton in 2014, he applied a year later, aged 15. He said: “The first time I had my own bedroom was at Eton.”
He was given a conditional offer which meant he had to get six A-grades in his GCSEs.
He said: “I kept that offer by my bed. My friends would ask me to come and play football but one glance at the letter and I’d say ‘no’ and revise more.”
Ahmed-Adam, who is off to study history at Oxford University, added: “My best friend at Eton lives in a house in Mayfair and I’m at the other end of the Victoria line.
“But he comes to my area and I go to his.”
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Nearly a decade ago we launched a scheme to send a reader’s son to Eton.
Bradley Mitchell, now 23, from Blackpool, was awarded the five-year scholarship after his dad Carl read our paper.
At the time, Carl said: “It caught my attention because Bradley is really bright. But I thought Eton was just a posh sixth-form college.”
Bradley says the school transformed his life and gave him opportunities his parents, who foster children, could never have dreamed of.
He said: “My years at Eton were some of the best of my life and it would not have been possible without your paper.
“There is a perception that Eton will be snobby but I was welcomed by everyone.
“Everything was provided. I never felt like the poor kid.
“And when you’re a bunch of teenage boys kicking a ball around, no one cares how much money you have.”
Bradley, a snowboard instructor, has now graduated with a first class degree in economics from Manchester University and hopes to move into politics.
He said: “People think that having Eton on your CV will open doors but the CV Eton gives makes the difference.
If you can't Eton, join 'em
THE Sun on Sunday today offers our readers a life-changing opportunity — the chance to send your son to Eton for free.
With fees of £42,000-a-year the world-famous school is out of reach to most. But as Head Simon Henderson says: “If you are good enough and want to come, we’ll find the money. We want your sons at Eton.”
We wish every school had Eton’s facilities and resources.
Until then this is the chance of a lifetime for a lad — regardless of background.
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“There are so many sporting opportunities and societies and music lessons and plays.
“Every student wants to succeed so working hard isn’t something to be ashamed of.
“If any parent is reading this and considering their son’s application, I’d say go for it.”
The Sun On Sunday Says
THE Sun on Sunday today offers our readers a life-changing opportunity — the chance to send your son to Eton for free.
With fees of £42,000-a-year the world- famous school is out of reach to most. But as Head Simon Henderson says: “If you are good enough and want to come, we’ll find the money. We want your sons at Eton.”
We wish every school had Eton’s facilities and resources.
Until then this is the chance of a lifetime for a lad — regardless of background.
Actors, authors among old boys
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ROYALTY: Recent past pupils include Princes William and Harry, following in the footsteps of their uncle Charles, mum Diana’s brother.
POLITICANS: Prime Ministers Sir Anthony Eden, Harold Macmillan and David Cameron attended as did Jacob Rees-Mogg and Boris Johnson.
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ACTORS: Hugh Laurie, Damian Lewis, Ian Ogilvy, Eddie Redmayne and Tom Hiddleston are past pupils.
WRITERS: Bond creator Ian Fleming attended, as did Eric Arthur Blair – better known as George Orwell – and Brave New World’s Aldous Huxley.
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TV STARS: Chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, reality TV’s Spencer Matthews and adventurer Bear Grylls.
Eddie Redmayne reveals he felt sorry for Prince William when they played rugby at Eton because he was constantly targeted
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