Eton College has 70 King’s Scholars who board in College House under the care of the Master-in-College (the House Master), the Matron-in-College (the Dame) and pastoral team. Every boy has his own study-bedroom and, apart from a few minor differences, his life at Eton is very similar to that of boys in other Houses.
Approximately 14 scholarships are awarded annually.
The other boys in College encourage you to explore your interests and stretch your limits. They form the backbone of an amazing community.
House Captain
The King’s Scholarship Examinations
The examinations for potential King’s Scholars are held at Eton in late April and/or early May for entry in September. Candidates must either be aged 13 on Monday 1 September of the year of entry or have turned 14 during August that year, where Eton has previously agreed that the boy may defer his entry by a year due to an August birthday. Applications must be returned to Admissions by the date shown in the current Prospectus: a candidate does not need to be registered in order to apply. The application form is relevant only for the current year of entry, as shown on the website.
Admissions offer some open afternoons for boys in Year 8 to give potential candidates and their parents the opportunity to learn about the College House environment and details of the King’s Scholarship examinations.
King’s Scholars at Eton College.
Since the King’s Scholarship examination is designed to find the most able candidates, it is intentionally very demanding. In most papers of the examination there is a wide range of questions so that any boy, with the academic aptitude to perform outstandingly, has the opportunity to prove his ability; the examiners are keen to reward boys who show real capability, even if in only a limited field. In particular, the General papers allow candidates who may have received limited tuition to demonstrate their potential. Every candidate must take several compulsory papers (currently these are English, Creative Writing, Mathematics A, Science, and General I) and at least three of the optional papers (French, Latin, Greek, Mathematics B, General II and History-Geography-Divinity). The examiners assess a candidate on his performance in the compulsory papers and his best three optional papers.
Conditional Offers
For those boys who hold a conditional place but do not achieve a place in College, a satisfactory performance in the King’s Scholarship examinations guarantees entry to Eton. However, if a boy does not perform well in the examinations, he may be required to take Common Entrance in full or part before he may enter the school. Boys who do not already have a conditional place and who are not successful in gaining a scholarship will not be offered a place in the school. A boy’s present Head Teacher is the key adviser on whether an attempt at a scholarship is appropriate as a means of entry, in preference to Common Entrance, on the basis of his abilities.
Scholarship Prospectus and Application Documents
2025 King’s Scholarship application form
PLEASE NOTE: Two documents are required for this application.
DOCUMENT 1: A recent photo of the candidate, showing his face, head and shoulders.
DOCUMENT 2: An unabridged copy (showing both parents’ details) of the candidate’s birth certificate, plus a certified translation if it is not in English.
Future application dates: the 2026 King’s Scholarship application form will be available by October 2025 until the application deadline in early January 2026.
2025 King’s Scholarship prospectus
MS KS Bursary Information Sheet
King’s Scholarship Syllabus supplementary details
Minor Change of exam paper structure for 2024 onwards
Current Example Papers
King’s Scholarship Past Papers
2023
2022
2021
The 2021 KS General Paper 1 is currently unavailable.
2020
Older past papers can be requested from the Admissions Office, [email protected], but may have less relevance in terms of preparation.
