Exchange with Eton
Brad Fainsinger

Last term I was lucky enough to attend Eton College in the UK. It was my first visit to the UK so I really didn’t know what to expect. From my perspective I think this was a good thing because it meant that my experiences were all the more amazing.

I arrived at Heathrow where I was met by my dame (house manager) who turned out to be originally from Cape Town. From the airport it was about a half hour's drive to Eton. Eton has about 1500 boys so it was very daunting arriving. I was lucky enough, however, to be met by a familiar face in Jamie Ballard who was on exchange here last year.

I soon got to meet the guys in CMJ (my house, named by housemasters initials) who all turned out to be very friendly and great “lads”. My housemaster, in particular, Mr Jones, was really nice. Everyone has their own room and own computer. I was amazed to find that there was no notice board or DRO of any sort. Everything is done through e-mail from sports notices to homework assignments. Many of the 25 houses at Eton have their own dining rooms, which comes in really handy when you are craving that extra 15 minutes of sleep.

Eton, being as old as it is, has tremendous tradition, which I was very fortunate to experience. One can feel the history just walking around the school. The school has many weird sports, some of which are only played at Eton, that are hundreds of years old. One afternoon while watching “the wall game,” which is a scrum parallel to a wall with 3 “back” players, I learned that the last time a goal was scored was in 1909! Players also wear kit that resembles early 20th century clothing. The main sport for the “half” (term, of which there are 3!) is another sport unique to Eton called “field game”. As the game is unique to the school all the matches are inter-house or against scratch XI’s made up of old boys. The sport resembles football with the inclusion of a scrum called the “bully”. It is really funny because very few people know all the rules and thus you actually have to play the game to even begin understanding how it works. The game contributes hugely to a great atmosphere in the house and between boys. Along with these sports, the uniform, the buildings and the history that comes with the school help it to maintain its aura as one of Britain’s oldest schools. The school has done really well to preserve tradition while adapting to meet the needs of children today.

Eton is situated in the town of Eton, which is about a 500m walk from Windsor. There is no campus of any sort. This means that there are shops and public roads in between and next to school buildings. Boys are free to wear whatever they please in the afternoons and wander through the town. There is therefore never a dull moment and always plenty to do, which means that even weekends spent at school are lots of fun. Having a Mcdonald’s right there, however, does start to burn a hole in your pocket. On weekends, even if you are not taking leave, you are free to take the train into London or wherever and spend the day there as long as you are back in time for roll call in the evening. The public transport is really amazing and allows you to do some much in so little time and means that you can be a lot more independent. Many of the guys had apartments in London, which would be available to them on weekends.

In the house, which had about 50 boys in it, there was a very relaxed atmosphere. With only 10 boys per year one cannot afford not to get to know everyone and thus most people, no matter how old they are, are good friends. Our small kitchen would be opened in the afternoon and guys could grab some milk, make tea or some toast before the occasional afternoon class or “div”. The kitchen called “debate” kitchen, was a great place for socializing and catching up on the days events, hence the name. In the mornings shortly after breakfast the papers would be delivered and guys would wait in the “book room”(common room) before “divs”. I was horrified to find that there was no “super 12” coverage but only the news of how England was beating us in the cricket. I did not get off lightly for that. I was already an avid football fan before but the spirit and dedication to a club involved in the English culture was amazing. One of my highlights was witnessing my favourite club, Chelsea, take on Barcelona at Stamford Bridge.

Besides “field game” and “Eton five’s” (squash played with your hand) I did participate in some normal sports. I represented the school in the rugby sevens team, played golf at the school’s own course, and participated in athletics and shooting. Sport normally finished at about 3:30 so there was still plenty of free time in the afternoons. Sport only consisted of matches and no skills and drills practices, which meant it was very social and always good fun.

One thing about the school is that it is an extremely busy place. Excluding the many extra mural activities available such as an amazing recording studio and live drawing sessions at the drawing schools there is at least one society meeting per night if not more and there is a play done by a group of boys every week which is always of outstanding standard. The type of societies range from the Chinese society to the wine tasting society and the plays always turn out to be very entertaining events which are very well supported. During my time the school was lucky enough to have presentations by Nasser Hussain, Raphael Ibanez (former French rugby captain) and many others. The school would also host live bands in the school hall on a number of weekends.

In the classroom there is again a very relaxed atmosphere. There are only about 10 or 12 boys in each “div” and the relationship between the pupils and the “beak” (teacher) is very relaxed. It therefore becomes more of an interactive learning process where everyone is involved and often means that more can be learned. Some teachers and tutors even have classes and tutor groups at their houses. Classes are either 35 minutes or 40 minutes long, which works very well when considering boys concentration spans. Boys only have to take 3 or 4 subjects of which none are compulsory. There is no set prep sessions so boys have to become very independent. However, with boys only having to take 3 subjects completely of their own choice from an incredible range of subjects guys have a very good work ethic.

One of the things that really struck me about Eton was the standard of music. It was a pleasure attending chapel just to hear the choir sing and I would say that about 60% of the boys played a musical instrument of some sort. During my time I took “music tech” as one of my 4 subjects. This included music history, which was the history of “hip hop” during my time, and learning how to play, record, edit and produce radio quality music. This encourages boys who don’t necessarily play a traditional instrument to get involved in music.

As in any place that one has put a lot into, I will miss many aspects of Eton, but look forward to getting back into Hilton life and all that it has to offer. My experience has also meant that I have come to appreciate many of the things at Hilton that we take for granted and those which make it a school that we can be proud of.

All in all, I made some fantastic friends and had an amazing experience. I will be sure to stay in touch and hopefully I will be able to link up with some of them later on. It was a real eye opener and incredible to be a part of the English culture from the inside and not as a tourist. It is a wonderful opportunity and I would encourage anyone thinking of applying to go for it and really give it your best shot. It is a privilege to have been selected and I must thank the school once again.

Brad Fainsinger