Eton College

• University of Oxford
• University of Oxford

University of Oxford student review

Eton College - The British exam system is, for the most part, based on assessment objectives: tick the boxes and you're guaranteed a great result. At Eton, while you are taught to tick the boxes, this is merely a preliminary measure: the emphasis in on going beyond the exam and enjoying the subject in all its depth. In English Literature, to take just one example, this means students enjoy deep and wide-ranging discussions not normally seen until the final year of a University degree. With excellent examination results expected and a huge proportion of the student body moving on to Oxford and Cambridge, Eton is best-suited to the highest-achieving students. That said, every student cannot be expected to excel in every subject and provision for those struggling is just as excellent. Close scrutiny is given to personal academic development and to progress relative to peers, which housemasters and personal tutors follow through the school's electronic reporting system: teachers file feedback for every student every couple of weeks. There is also a system of merits for good work (a few times a year, the very best pieces of work are put into the school's College Library, alongside some of the world's rarest manuscripts) as well as for poor or lazy work, meaning appraisal is effectively given every step of the way. For the first two years, class sizes are generally around twenty students per class. However, this becomes between three and ten students per class when students specialize in the final two years. Workload can seem daunting for some at first: students will often find themselves with several hours' worth of work to do on their own each weekday evening (called "EWs" [extra work] rather than homework, for obvious reasons). The emphasis is on learning to do things. …read more »