This article provides an overview of Oppidan’s view of the scholarship and our approach to its preparation.

The full prospectus outlining information on the Eton Scholarship can be found here and past papers are available to download here.

Eton Scholarship 2023 Results

11 of the 14 Eton scholarships given in 2023 were from 3 UK Prep Schools, which highlights the continued high quality of preparatory teaching; the standard is only set to rise as more candidates, both domestic and international, seek application in line with Eton’s broader and continued aim to attract boys from all and any backgrounds. There was a first in 2023: the first Korean boy from a school in Seoul to receive an offer from Eton. He was a student from our partner, British Education Korea.

Oppidan has mentored several children individually to King’s Scholarships over the past few years.

What are in the Eton Scholarship papers?

There are 9 exams student sit over the course of a few days in late April of Year 8. Boys take two maths papers – Maths A and Maths B, an English paper, and a Creative Writing paper. There is also a Humanities paper called History, Geography and Divinity as well as Latin and Science.

Past Papers from the school are linked here.

The most discussed paper amongst parents is the General 1 & General II papers which are open ended assessments which test broad skills such as persuasive writing, close reading and critical thinking. Example questions might be writing an answer to:

(a) Good character cannot be taught.

OR (b) Overall happiness of the population is the best measure of the progress of a society.

OR (c) Every problem presents an opportunity.

(d) We are all influenced to some extent by the context of the cultures and historical times in which we live. How far it is possible for art or writing to communicate meaningfully to those from other cultures and periods? Support your ideas with detailed examples.

Other questions encourage engagement with unfamiliar texts, images and planning scenarios.

Very few candidates are given an A+, and approximately 50% in each subject are graded C or D. Papers are not weighted equally; generally speaking, weighting is roughly proportional to the length of each paper.

 How best to prepare for the Eton Scholarship papers?

About the standard and expectations of the tests Eton say:

Since the King’s Scholarship examination is designed to find the most able candidates, it is intentionally very demanding. In most papers of the examination there is a wide range of questions so that any boy, with the academic aptitude to perform outstandingly, has the opportunity to prove his ability; the examiners are keen to reward boys who show real capability, even if in only a limited field.

The quality expected of children is set at an A-Level standard of numeracy and literacy; application towards the scholarship offers an academic challenge incomparable with any other KS3 offering for children, whether through, for example, the National Curriculum, ISEB Common Entrance or the Prep School Baccalaureate.

Regardless of whether teachers think the student necessarily has any realistic chance of successfully being “called to the Roll”, preparation for the papers provide students with an unrivalled academic challenge for Years 7 & 8 – being in the scholarship class is akin to early GCSE preparation – and set the tone for the standard required when boys join in F Block.

We asked one of our leading mentors, Patrick who has mentored many students in Eton and was a student there himself about the process. Here’s what he said:

"For me it's all about mentality! It's a behemoth of an exam process and students need to approach it not only with confidence, but also with the understanding that it'll be give-and-take. A tug of war. Basically, I tend to say 'these papers *will be* hard, but you can learn to roll with the punches and excel'. Unlike any other test, it's designed to push them to their limit, so it's all about familiarising the child with that sort of robust material, while providing them with the mental ammunition to enter the Eton Scholarship arena with courage and self-assuredness.'

When are the Eton Scholarship papers?

The tests are held at Eton in late April and/or early May for September entry. The Eton website also says:

Candidates must either be aged 13 on Monday 1 September of the year of entry or have turned 14 during August that year, where Eton has previously agreed that the boy may defer his entry by a year due to an August birthday. Applications must be returned to Admissions by the date shown in the current Prospectus: a candidate does not need to be registered in order to apply. The application form is relevant only for the current year of entry, as shown on the website.