Prince George will start his first day at Eton College today, joining 250 other 13-year-old boys. The article, written by Will Nutting, provides a guide for the young royal on navigating the school's unique culture and language, known as "Etonspeak". According to the article, new students must pass the Colours Test, which assesses their knowledge of Eton's history, customs, and terminology. By Long Leave (half term), students are expected to be fluent in Etonspeak and have adapted to the school's peculiar traditions and hierarchies.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-08,
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Story summary
Prince George, the second in line to the throne, started his first day at Eton College yesterday morning, accompanied by his parents, Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales. The 13-year-old royal was seen wearing his new school uniform, which includes a dark blazer, chinos, and brown suede shoes, as he posed for a photo with his mother. The family walked through the historic quadrangle, known as School Yard, in the heavy rain, shaking hands with Simon Henderson, the headmaster of Eton College, and Sir Nicholas Coleridge, the school's provost. Prince George is expected to settle into life at Eton, a prestigious boarding school located near his Windsor home. According to a guide for new students by Will Nutting, Eton has many unique traditions and customs, including the "Colours Test", a forensic examination of a new boy's knowledge, and the "Wall Game", a violent rugby scrum against a wall where opponents may be scraped against the brickwork.
Written for “Prince George Starts Eton” on 2026-09-08,
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Dear Prince George,
The Burning Bush is neither burning nor a bush.
asserted
Bush → see → Source
And The Bill isn't an inventory of costs – it's a list of students to be punished by the Deputy Headmaster who goes by the name 'Lower Man' and may well give you a 'Georgic' – writing out 500 lines of Latin hexameter.
uncertain
who → punish → hexameter
But don't worry too much because, when you arrive for your first day at Eton College today, along with 250 other 13-year-old boys, this most extraordinary of schools will feel foreign to you all.
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extraordinary → worry → you
It doesn't matter whether you were raised in a castle or a council flat, Eton is a world unto itself.
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Eton → matter → itself
Of course, things have changed since I joined in 1981.
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I → change → 1981
Back then we still had 'capping' – a custom which involved boys raising a finger in greeting to schoolmasters outdoors, echoing the tipping of top hats.
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boys → have → hats
But while some things change, so much of Eton has proudly stayed the same.
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much → change → Eton
And that's why the first task of any Etonian is to pass the Colours Test, a forensic examination of a new boy's knowledge of everything from the names of historic buildings to the 25 house colours, flags and – of course – Eton's own dictionary.
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task → pass → course
You'll soon learn that masters are called 'beaks', lessons are 'divs', weekends at home are 'short leave' and the terms – Michaelmas, Lent and Summer – are called 'halfs'.
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terms → learn → home
The evening assembly is called 'prayers' though God doesn't figure.
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God → call → ?
College refers only to the house of the 50 or so scholars.
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College → refer → scholars
Dry Bobs play sports on firm ground like cricket.
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Bobs → play → cricket
'When you arrive for your first day at Eton College today, along with 250 other 13-year-old boys, this most extraordinary of schools will feel foreign to you all', writes Will Nutting
Fourth of June is a major celebration of George III's birthday but is almost never actually held on June 4.
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Fourth → arrive → June
A Reader is when a boy doesn't have a div.
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boy → have → div
And so it goes on.
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it → go → ?
But don't worry, because by Long Leave, it'll all feel perfectly natural.
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it → worry → Leave
Etonspeak is a language of its own; you will soon be fluent and it will never leave you.
You will be joining F Block, known as Year 9 to the rest of the country.
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You → leave → country
All being well you will progress up the alphabet each year to B Block.
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you → progress → Block
As you come to terms with this new world, lean on the experience of the older boys, especially those in your house – after all, they've been through it all themselves.
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they → come → it
The archaic practice of 'fagging' in which younger boys acted as servants to older boys, even warming their loo seat, may have been abolished, but F Block is still expected to show reverence to their elders and carry out chores including delivering newspapers and cleaning the B Block common room known as Library.
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Block → act → Library
You will already have had your uniform fitted at one of the three tailors on the High Street: Tom Brown, Billings And Edmonds or New & Lingwood.
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uniform → have → Street
They'll come to your aid when you lose yet another collar stud.
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you → come → stud
Tourists will take pictures of you in uniform.
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Tourists → take → uniform
Not because you're heir to the throne, but because you're dressed like a penguin in a black tailcoat and waistcoat, pinstriped trousers and a stiff collar you attach to the shirt with two fiddly studs.
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you → dress → studs
Ascend to a position of authority in your final year and you'll be able to wear stick-up collars and maybe even a coloured waistcoat and different trousers along with a bow tie, too.
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you → ascend → tie
People will mock your uniform.
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People → mock → uniform
But traditions matter.
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traditions → matter → ?
Not because they are old, but because they connect people who otherwise would never meet.
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who → connect → people
Do not let the uniform wear you.
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uniform → let → you
Every boy is assigned a house.
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boy → assign → house
The House is led by the House Master.
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House → lead → Master
Listen and respect him, even when you believe he is wrong.
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he → listen → him
For many years later, you'll realise he's seen it all before and was probably right all along.
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he → realise → it
Keep your bedroom clean or endure the wrath of the Dame, who looks after the pastoral side of the house.
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who → keep → house
Never mistake the Dame's inquiries for nagging, for when everything feels like it's going wrong and you miss home, she'll be the one to comfort you.
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she → mistake → you
You will do almost everything with those nine other boys in your year, including sports.
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You → do → sports
On which note, try the Wall Game once, a violent rugby scrum against a wall, but beware it is within the rules to scrape your opponent's face against the brickwork.
Play the Field Game, a cross between rugby and football, not only because it's enormous fun but because – except for some POW camps during the war – it's never been played elsewhere.
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it → try → war
It doesn't matter whether you were raised in a castle or a council flat, Eton is a world unto itself
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Eton → matter → itself
Throw yourself into some of the 80 clubs on offer, known as 'societies', which are run by boys and bring in some of the best speakers in the world on topics from sport to politics, theatre, engineering and design.
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which → throw → politics
Don't fail the swimming test in your first week – when new boys are thrown into the pool fully clothed.
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boys → fail → pool
…and 18 more, not listed.
