How to Get into Eton

Eton College is one of the most famous and prestigious schools in the world. It has educated royals, statesmen, and leaders in business, academia, sport, and the arts.

With such an outstanding reputation, many families aim for their son to attend the school and wonder how to get into Eton. In this article, our Eton entrance experts break down the application process step by step, including all the key dates, tests, interviews, and deadlines. We’ll cover how hard it is to get into Eton, what the List Test and King’s Scholarship involve, and much more.

Eton Application Process

For now, we’ll focus on how to get into Eton for 13 Plus entry (starting at the school in Year 9, when your son is aged 13). Later on in this article, we’ll explore later entry points to the school.

Registration

The first step in the Eton application is to register your son. Boys may be registered any time from birth until the 31^st August after the conclusion of Year 5 (the school year in which he turns 10).

This means that the latest you can register your son is three full school years before he would begin attending the school. Many parents do not realise that the application process begins so early, and if you miss this deadline, your chances of getting into Eton are severely limited – more on that later.

There is no advantage to registering earlier, though as the first assessment in the application process takes place in the autumn term of Year 6, it is highly advisable to begin preparing your child 6-12 months in advance of the 31^st August registration deadline.

Registration takes place online and a non-refundable £480 deposit is payable.

Stage 1 – Pre-Test

Between September and November of Year 6, your child will need to take the ISEB Pre-Test. This is a multiple-choice, computerised assessment of Maths, English, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning.

Parents need to register their child for the Pre-Test themselves; this can be done for free online. Most boys sit the Pre-Test at their prep school but Eton also offers some dates when it hosts applicants to take the test.

Stage 1 – Head Teacher’s Reference

Eton requests a reference from the Head Teacher at your son’s current school. The reference should cover his academic strengths, interests, and character.

Stage 2 – Eton List Test

The Eton List Test is the well-known second assessment in the Eton application. If your child performs well enough in the Pre-Test and reference, then in mid-December, Eton will invite him to ‘Stage 2’ of the application – the List Test and Interview. These take place at Eton itself.

Boys are divided into two groups, depending on their age. Older boys will sit Stage 2 in the spring term and younger boys in the summer term of Year 6.

Format

The List Test is another online test. Like the Pre-Test, it is adaptive, meaning that the more questions a boy gets right, the harder the questions he will see. Top scores are reserved for the boys who answer the hardest questions correctly.

The test is one hour long. On their screen, boys see a countdown timer for each section and a progress bar showing how many questions are left.

Content

The Eton List Test covers three core areas:

• Literacy: word associations, word recognition, cloze reading, SPAG  
• Numeracy: logic, shapes, patterns and sequences  
• Cognitive: arithmetic, process, mechanics, logic and speed work 

As well as the exam content, the test is challenging because it is quickfire, requiring boys to work accurately under pressure and to switch frequently between different question types and sections.

If a boy is not well prepared, this can be cognitively overwhelming and can cause them to perform less well than their natural ability. If you’re wondering how to get into Eton, then performing well in this test is absolutely essential.

Stage 2 – Interview

While they are at Eton for the List Test, boys also undergo a one-on-one interview. This is usually held with a Housemaster. At interview, Eton are looking for thoughtful, eloquent, mature boys with a range of interests and an ability to contribute to the school.

To prepare, practising with common 11+ interview questions is a useful starting point. However, these should be used for developing strong interview skills such as confidence and articulacy, rather than for rehearsing particular answers which they can memorise and repeat.

The highest standards of preparation are provided by interview preparation tutors who are experienced with Eton, the areas the school likes to cover at interview, and how to stand out.

Here are some questions recent Eton interviewees have been asked:

• If you could only take one item you own with you to the Moon, which would it be and why?
• Is it important to do sport at school, or should schools focus on teaching academic subjects?
• Tell me about something interesting you’ve learned in the last week.
• What’s the best book you’ve ever read and why?

Remember, Eton are looking for evidence of original, sensitive thought. The ability to consider both sides of a question, to think logically and critically, and to display evidence of independent academic and extra-curricular interests will help your son get into Eton.

Common Entrance

Following the Stage 2 List Test and interview, Eton will issue offers:

• A – conditional offer
• B – waiting list
• C – no offer

If your child receives a conditional offer, they will need to pass the King’s Scholarship, Common Entrance, or Eton Entrance exams in Year 8 in order to have their place confirmed.

Common Entrance is a set of 13 Plus exams in a range of subjects. Eton will usually expect boys to take English, Maths, Science, a modern language, two or three humanities subjects (History, Geography, Religious Studies), and one or two ancient languages (Latin and Ancient Greek), if taught at your child’s school.

Passing Common Entrance is usually the simplest part of the process – by the time your son has secured a conditional offer, they have cleared the hardest hurdles for getting into Eton.

Waitlisted Boys

Boys placed on the waiting list after Stage 2 are then re-assessed at the end of Year 7. They complete the List Test again and have another interview.

Performance in this re-assessment determines their position on the waiting list: the boys who do best will be the first to have a conditional place offered to them if a boy with a conditional offer drops out of the process or does poorly at Common Entrance.

Eton King’s Scholarship

At Eton, there are a total of 70 King’s Scholars. The tradition of the King’s Scholars dates back to the founding of the school by Henry VI: Eton was originally intended to provide free education to 70 poor boys who would then go on to attend King’s College, Cambridge (which Henry also founded). The rest of the school gradually grew up around this foundation, with other boys paying to sit in on the scholars’ lessons and living in private accommodation in the town of Eton.

Today, the King’s Scholars still live in a different boarding house from the rest of the school (simply called ‘College’), wear gowns on top of their tailcoats, and are chosen by a set of academically rigorous exams, taken when applicants are in Year 8, known as the King’s Scholarship (KS).

Registration

Many boys register and apply to Eton through the same 13 Plus process as non-scholarship applicants. Then, once they receive a conditional offer, they sit the KS exams rather than Common Entrance.

However, it is also possible to register only for the King’s Scholarship as late as January of Year 8. This is why missing the standard end of Year 5 registration does not necessarily mean missing out on 13 Plus entrance to the school. Nonetheless, the KS is not a backdoor route to get into Eton – it is the hardest route possible.

Exams

The King’s Scholarship exams are much more academically challenging than Common Entrance. Usually around 120-150 high-achieving boys apply for only 14 places.

The exams are held in late April / early May of Year 8 for entry in September. Boys must take the following compulsory papers:

• English A (critical analysis)
• English B (creative interpretations)
• Mathematics A
• Science
• General I (critical thinking and logic)

They must also take at least three of the following optional papers:

• French
• Latin
• Greek
• Mathematics B (advanced Maths)
• General II (textual analysis and essay writing)
• History-Geography-Divinity

The examiners assess a candidate on his performance in the compulsory papers and his best three optional papers.

You can download past papers on Eton’s website.

Results

The results of the King’s Scholarship are announced in May. There are four possible outcomes:

• A boy is granted the King’s Scholarship
• A boy is not granted the King’s Scholarship but his performance is good enough for his conditional offer to be confirmed (only for boys who already held a conditional offer)
• A boy is not granted the King’s Scholarship and his performance is weak enough that he is required to take Common Entrance in full or in part before his conditional offer is confirmed
• A boy is not offered a place at Eton (only for boys who did not already hold a conditional offer and were not granted the King’s Scholarship)

In other words, boys who have a conditional offer but are not awarded the King’s Scholarship can still gain admission to Eton if their performance in the KS exams was satisfactory. If their performance in these exams is not strong enough, they may need to sit all or part of the Common Entrance before being admitted.

Boys without a conditional offer who are unsuccessful in obtaining a scholarship will not be offered a place at the school.

How Hard Is it to Get Into Eton?

Eton is one of the most academically selective schools in the UK and entrance is highly competitive. If you want to get into Eton, you will usually have to pass a three-stage process:

• Stage 1 – Pre-Test and reference
• Stage 2 – List Test and interview
• Stage 3 – Common Entrance, Eton entrance exams, or King’s Scholarship

We highly recommend preparing your son for at least six months to a year before Stage 1 in order to improve his chances of admission.

Eton Acceptance Rate

Eton does not publish acceptance rates or other official admissions data. However, it is estimated that:

• 13 Plus entry (non-scholarship): Eton receives 1300 applications for 250 places, giving an acceptance rate of ~19%
• King’s Scholarship: Eton receives 150 applications for 14 places, giving an acceptance rate below 10%

Remember too that the vast majority of applicants will be academically strong (especially for the King’s Scholarship) and well prepared, underlining just how hard it is to get into Eton.

16 Plus Entry to Eton

At 16 Plus (entry into Year 12, the penultimate school year), there are two routes of entry to Eton: the standard Sixth Form Entry and the Orwell Award, a scholarship for boys at state schools.

Sixth Form Entry

Eton looks for academically high-achieving boys who are also likely to contribute to sports or the arts at the school. The minimum academic standard is six GCSEs (or overseas equivalent) at grade 7, but in practical terms the level is likely to be significantly higher and competition for the limited number of places is intense.

Applications open the summer before a boy starts Year 11 and close in October of Year 11. A non-refundable registration fee of £480 is required.

The initial application involves:

• Predicted GCSE grades (or international equivalent)
• Personal statement-style questions
• Reference from current school

Then boys are shortlisted for an assessment in late November, consisting of:

• Online cognitive test
• Written assessments (Maths and two general papers)
• Two interviews, one academic and one pastoral

Results are then announced in early December.

Orwell Award

The Orwell Award is only open to boys at state schools. Applicants are assessed on academic achievement and against specific criteria such as their school’s Ofsted grading and their family and financial background.

Applications open the summer before a boy starts Year 11 and close in October of Year 11. There is no registration fee for the Orwell Award.

The initial application involves:

• Predicted GCSE grades (or international equivalent)
• Personal statement-style questions
• Reference from current school

Then boys are shortlisted for an assessment in late November, consisting of:

• Online cognitive test
• Written assessments (Maths and two general papers)
• Two interviews, one academic and one pastoral

Results are then announced in early December.

How Dukes Tutoring Can Help Your Son Get into Eton

Eton has one of the most competitive application processes of any school in the UK. If you’re wondering how to get into Eton, Dukes Tutoring offers expert tuition to guide your son through every part of the process.

Our 13 Plus tutors have extensive experience preparing students for Eton entry and a strong record of success. They understand the admissions process in detail – from what the school is looking for to the common pitfalls applicants face – and use this insight to give each student a clear strategic advantage.

All our tuition is one-to-one. That means our tutors can focus on identifying and addressing your child’s unique areas for improvement, enabling rapid and sustained academic progress. This personalised approach ensures that each session is purposeful and closely aligned with your son’s needs.

We support students at every stage of the Eton admissions process, including the ISEB Pre-Test, Eton List Test, interview preparation, and either Common Entrance or the King’s Scholarship examinations. Our guidance is structured, thorough, and adapted as your son progresses.

Each student is carefully matched with a tutor who suits their personality and learning style. All of our tutors are hand-picked and rigorously vetted, ensuring the highest standard of teaching and mentorship.

If you would like to discuss how we can help your son get into Eton, contact our friendly team today.

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