Led by Eton’s development programme, the continual enhancement and re-imagining of our learning spaces to embrace the latest technology and pedagogy provides our boys with academic facilities designed to inspire and equip our boys to excel. This is supported by the broad range of outstanding resources made available by our libraries and Collections.
Queen’s Schools
Housing 29 laboratories for the biology, chemistry and physics departments, this Victorian building has been substantially extended and refurbished multiple times over the last half-century.
The most recent modernisation of Queen’s Schools has grown the available teaching space with two new classrooms, communal discussion zones and subject-based exhibition areas. With the addition of a ‘critical space’ at its heart, all three science departments are brought together for social encounter and informal discourse with a united sense of identity within the faculty.
Featuring photovoltaic panels on its distinctive parallelogram roof to generate much of the power needed for the building below, the newly-renovated Queen’s Schools is a truly innovative learning environment. Indeed, topics such as renewable energy, biodiversity and other areas of sustainability form the focus of experimental teaching on the new rooftop pavilion on the Holford Building.
All of Eton’s laboratories are supported by a team of well-qualified technicians and the latest equipment. As safety is a major concern in science teaching, all our staff have received appropriate safety training and a wide range of safety-related equipment is in use.
laboratories in Queen’s Schools.
Collections
The Natural History Museum can also be found in Queen’s Schools. Opened in 1875 to house the Thackeray Collection of British Birds, this museum has been on its present site since 1895, and generations of boys at Eton and from other local schools have enjoyed learning from its extensive and well-displayed collection. The collection continues to grow and now houses over 17,000 objects, most of which are on display. Among the many items available for boys to study are fossils from the pre-Cambrian era onwards, the critically endangered and nocturnal Kakapo parrot from New Zealand and over 1,400 eggs collected in the late 19th century.
School Library
At the heart of Eton is School Library, which provides over 30,000 resources including books, music CDs, audio CDs, magazines and a range of online resources accessible throughout the College. There is also a large suite of computers and printing facilities.
The Library is staffed by a team of five librarians who manage the collection and teach study skills. Qualified librarians provide tutorials to support boys’ independent learning and ensure boys are able to search, manage and analyse information confidently. School Library also aims to support the academic and leisure needs of our boys, with an extensive collection of fiction supported by staff-run initiatives throughout the year to encourage reading for pleasure.
Departmental libraries with more specialised materials are also available for art, classics, geography, history, mathematics, and music.
resources housed in School Library.
College Library
College Library is a library of international importance that holds an outstanding collection of rare books and manuscripts together with the Eton archives. This working library is open throughout the year and used by visiting scholars. Introduced to this library in their first year, boys visit for teaching sessions and are encouraged to use it for independent study.
Established soon after the foundation of Eton College, this library houses more than 150,000 items, ranging from the 9th to 21st Centuries. These include printed and manuscript volumes, literary manuscripts, autograph letters, prints and drawings.
The Library’s earliest collections were predominantly theological. Changes in taste and thought are reflected in subsequent additions, which include large numbers of classical books and manuscripts, early scientific works, historical and literary texts in modern languages, and materials valued primarily for their aesthetic or historical interest.
In the 1960s, the College began also collecting rare books and manuscripts from the 19th century onwards. The modern collection includes important holdings of English literature and is also rich in travel writing, theatrical history and fine printing. College Library also has responsibility for the Macnaghten Library of First World War materials, presented to Eton as a memorial in 1938.
Access and Enquiries
College Library’s collections may be explored in our online catalogue.
Materials in the library may be consulted by appointment. Please email research enquiries or image requests to the Collections Administrator, or write to: the Librarian, Eton College Library, Eton College, Windsor, SL4 6DB. The library also welcomes specialist groups and school visits.
Learning Support
Our Learning Support Centre provides specialist support for all boys with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and English as an Additional Language (EAL). Bespoke interventions include the development of strategies to overcome difficulties, gain confidence and learn skills; one-to-one lessons to develop executive functioning skills, revision and learning strategies, and handwriting; as well as group activities featuring study skills, exam techniques and effective reading strategies.
Innovation
Our state-of-the-art facilities include the award-winning Tony Little Centre for Innovation and Research in Learning (CIRL), which features a creative space, an observation schoolroom with a viewing gallery and a Harkness table for discussion-based learning. Outstanding teaching and learning spaces such as these enable our Masters and boys to trial innovative platforms and practices. EdTech is also performs a vital role: from extensive use of school iPads to online modules available through EtonX, digital technology is integrated into our innovative approach to learning both inside and outside the classroom.
