Inside the 'years-long' admissions process to Eton as Prince George's place confirmed

Inside the 'years-long' admissions process to Eton as Prince George's place confirmed Prince George will start at Eton College in September after Kensington Palace confirmed the news, with a boarding school expert revealing the gruelling years-long admissions process Kensington Palace has confirmed in a statement that Prince George is set to begin at Eton College this September. The Prince and Princess of Wales had deliberated over which school to send their eldest son to, ahead of his Year 7 start in September. Although the Prince and Princess of Wales had weighed up a number of options for their oldest son — including Marlborough College, the co-educational boarding school in Wiltshire attended by Princess Kate — they ultimately decided the young prince would follow in his father's footsteps by joining Eton College. While most people will have heard of the renowned institution, which counts numerous royals, politicians and actors among its former pupils, many may not fully appreciate the lengthy process involved in securing a place there. In a TikTok video, specialist British boarding school adviser Caven Wagstaff, CEO of CJE Educational Consultancy, laid out the rigorous journey Prince George would have had to undertake in order to secure his place 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 opening of the video, before going on to detail the years-long procedure. 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 point up to the end of UK School Year 5 (the UK academic year in which he turns 10 years old). This registration can be completed via the school's website. As part of this process, applicants must upload the student's birth certificate and pay a non-refundable registration fee of £480. Following this, the only possible entry routes will be through scholarships or Sixth Form entry, which become available in Year 8 (for Year 9 entry) and Year 11 (for Sixth Form entry). ISEB Common Pre test During the autumn term of the boy's sixth year of school, they are required to sit the ISEB Common Pre-Tests in October or November. Eton's website explains that each boy's score is standardised and age-adapted to provide a measure of his ability and attainment regardless 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 roughly two and a half hours to complete and can be sat 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 went on to explain. These assessments and interviews occur at three separate points during the Spring term, determined by when their birthday falls in the year. As Prince George's birthday is in July, he most probably underwent his evaluation and interview in late April or early May of 2025, in line with Eton's procedures. Explaining 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 pupil succeeds with the Eton List test and the interview, they will receive a conditional place at the school. This will subsequently be confirmed by passing King's Scholarship, Common Entrance or Eton Entrance examinations at age 12/13 in UK School Year 8. Eton then clarifies that at this stage in the process, parents and boys with a Conditional Place will meet a selection of House Masters with a view to identifying 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 revealed. Parents are then required to settle the Acceptance Fee by the end of March in UK School Year 7, which in 2025 stood at £3,840. Of this sum, £500 will be returned once the pupil leaves the school, provided his final bill has been settled. This is in addition to the termly fees, which sit at £21,099.60 per term (or "Half"), amounting to £63,298.80 annually.