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With over 570 years of history, Eton is a daunting place. The buildings loomed over me as my taxi pulled into my home for the next three months. The chapel, as the biggest building in the school towered up ahead of me and cast its shadow upon me for the first of many times and I gazed up at it in all its splendour. Boys stood around the school in their strange ‘penguin-looking’ tail suits which only added to the intimidation. I had been told to expect quite a difficult start as I settled in and fully integrated into the school, but, surprisingly, this period was surprisingly short. The first day was a little tough getting used to the culture, but before long boys were popping in and out of my room regularly, and I was too ‘making the rounds’.

House life at Eton is very different to Hilton. Whereas here there are clear distinctions between the age groups, with Matrics holding a lot, if not all of, the power, at Eton this is not the case. A house has more of a family atmosphere, but perhaps this is just because their houses are a lot smaller (about 45 – 50 boys). It is not uncommon to see a Form 1 boy chilling with a Matric, for example and with so few in your house you can’t really afford to not get to know everyone. I was amazed at the friendliness of the boys as well. They were not at all shy and made me feel one of them extremely quickly. I was also happy to see that they were, just boys. They were not snobby, nor did they act like ‘upper-class’ citizens, but they were just normal boys leading very privileged lives.
 

At Eton, as with all schools in England, sport isn’t taken as seriously as it is here at Hilton. They do however have a number of games which have been created there and are unique to them. Field Game (which was my main opt for the term) was one such sport. It was a very peculiar mixture between rugby and soccer, played more like soccer, but ruled more like rugby with regards to off sides and scrums. Interestingly, Field Game pre-dates both rugby and soccer, and has been an influence on how each of the two games are played. I cannot really begin to explain exactly how the game is played in accordance to the rules as nobody in the school (including the umpires) really knows all the rules themselves! However, the handyman in my house was somewhat of a school legend as he was the only person who knew the rules. The other unique sport is Wall Game. It takes the form of a large rugby scrum against a brick wall and the aim is to get the ball out of the mess (not an easy feat with the rough play that goes on in the darkness of the pile of bodies) and send it out to a back player, whose job it is to throw the ball between two lines on either side of the wall. This hardly ever happens, however, as the last goal was scored in 1906! When watching the game, all the boys sit on the top of the wall and look down at the action.
 

Because these two games are played only at Eton, there is a large emphasis on inter-house sport. There is a lot of competition between the 26 houses to see who can win the various cups. While I was there our house won the Field Game cup, and I was lucky enough to witness a great final in which we pipped our opponents to the post in the last few minutes.

Being a big place, I found it quite hard to find my way around at the beginning of my exchange. All the buildings look very similar and on more than one occasion found myself popping my head into the wrong classroom to be met with snickers and laughs. But, when one spends time at another place, you get a feeling for it very quickly and very soon, Eton was my new home. There are 1300 boys, who all walk around in their famous Eton tail-suits. Being so many boys it is impossible to get to know everybody in five years, let alone three months. At times you get the feeling of being pushed around in a tidal wave of action where there is just a swarm of boys and teachers marching on to their destination.
 

Having said this, I came away from Eton really appreciating Hilton and all it offers. I have really realized that we are immensely privileged to be afforded the opportunity to come to this great school. Boys who go on exchange are given the unique opportunity to see Hilton from the inside out and the outside in. Comparing the two schools is not possible as they are totally different. Both schools have huge strengths and areas which could be enhanced. I have come out on the other side of my exchange with great memories, great lessons learnt, but most importantly new friends and new contacts who I will continue to keep in contact with. It is an experience I will never forget and hold in my heart and mind until I die. I would like to encourage any boys wishing to go on exchange to go for it and all who aren’t to seriously consider it. It is the chance of a lifetime and one would be silly to let it pass.