It’s been revealed that Prince George is due to start Eton College in September (file) (Image: Getty)
Prince George will enrol at Eton College in September, Kensington Palace has announced. The royals recently confirmed the news in a statement issued on June 16, after the Prince and Princess of Wales had been discussing where to send their eldest son to school as he’s due to start year 7 in September.
While the Prince and Princess of Wales had considered several schools for their oldest son, including Marlborough College, the Wiltshire co-educational boarding school, which Princess Kate attended, they soon decided that the young prince would follow in his father’s footsteps and join Eton College.
But while most people will have heard of the school, which has been the alma mater for several royals, politicians, and actors, many might not realise the long process of being accepted to the school.
Taking to TikTok, a Specialist British Boarding School Advisory named Caven Wagstaff, who is the CEO of CJE Educational Consultancy, has outlined the long process Prince George had to go through to get his spot at the prestigious all-boys school.
“If your son wants to get into Eton College, here’s the process most parents don’t fully understand,” Caven said at the start of the video, as he went on to explain the years long process.
Registration
“The first stage is registration, which usually happens when boys are in Year 5, around age 9 or 10,” Caven explained. “And yes, many families prepare years in advance.”
According to Eton’s website, a boy can be registered at any time up to the end of UK School Year 5 (the UK academic year in which he reaches the age of 10 years). This registration can be done through the school’s website. As part of this registration, applicants will have to upload the student’s birth certificate, and pay a non-refundable registration fee of £480.
After this the only potential routes of entry will be through scholarships or Sixth Form entry, which open in Year 8 (for Year 9 entry) and Year 11 (for Sixth Form entry).
ISEB Common Pre test
In the autumn term of the boy’s sixth year of school, they are expected to sit the ISEB Common Pre-Tests during October or November. Eton’s website states that each boy’s score is standardised and age-adapted to give a measure of his ability and attainment irrespective of when his birthday falls in the academic year
“The test includes English, Maths, verbal reasoning and non verbal reasoning,” Cavan said. “Your child needs above 120 [to be considered].”
The tests take about two and a half hours to complete and can be taken together or separately.
Eton List tests and interview
“If they perform strongly [at the pre test], they’ll be invited back for the Eton List tests, which is a computerized adaptive assessment followed by interviews,” Cavan continued to explain.
These tests and interview takes place during three different times throughout the Spring term, depending on when in the year their birthday is. As Prince George’s birthday is in July, he most likely had his assessment and interview in late April or early May of 2025, as per Eton’s guidelines.
Explaing the interview process, Cavan said: “Eton is not only looking for academic ability, they’re assessing confidence, curiosity, communication and potential strong school reports and references also matter massively.”
Common Entrance exam
If the boy is successful with the Eton List test and the interview, they will be offered a conditional place at the school. This will later be confirmed by passing King’s Scholarship, Common Entrance or Eton Entrance examinations at age 12/13 in UK School Year 8.
Eton then explains that at this point in the application, parents and boys with a Conditional Place will meet a selection of House Masters with a view to finding a suitable Boarding house during the first and second terms of UK School Year 7.
“Most successful applicants continue preparing academically all the way through year 7 and then in year 8 where they will sit the Common Entrance exam before officially joining at thirteen,” Cavan shared.
Parents then need to pay the Acceptance Fee by the end of March in UK School Year 7, which in 2025 was £3,840. Of this, £500 will be refunded when the boy leaves the School, subject to settlement of his final bill. This is on top of the term fees, which are £21,099.60 per term (or “Half”), totaling £63,298.80 per year.