Prince George is set for big shake up ahead of first term at Eton

Prince George could be set for a big shake up during his first year at Eton College as the prestigious college is expected to announce its new Head Master within weeks.

George, 12, will attend Eton in Berkshire this September, following in the footsteps of his father, the Prince of Wales, and his uncle, the Duke of Sussex.

Eton's current Head Master Simon Henderson, who took up the post in 2015, recently announced he would leave the school next September.

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According to The Sunday Times, Alastair Chirnside, 50, the headmaster, or warden, at St. Edward's in Oxford, a co-ed school known as Teddies, is considered the frontrunner to be Henderson's replacement.

Chirnside previously taught at Eton from 2004, becoming Head of Year 11, Head of Classics and House Master of Walpole House before leaving in 2016 to become Director of Studies at Harrow. He became warden of St. Edward's in September 2021.

Charles Bonas, founder of education advisory firm Bonas MacFarlane, which advises wealthy families on elite schools, said: "The favourite is probably him.

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"He’s got a very good name in the boarding school world, although he has only been at Teddies for a few years, so I don’t think the governors at Teddies would be too happy to see him go."

Prestigious

According to Eton's website, Prince George will have an incredible 28 subjects to get stuck into, including "nine Modern and Classical Languages". Among the subjects on offer are traditional ones like English literature, mathematics and the three sciences: biology, chemistry and physics.

The rest of the curriculum consists of Ancient History, Latin, Greek, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic, History (medieval, early modern or modern), History of Art, Geography, Design, Art, Music, Theology, Theatre Studies, Economics, Government and Politics, Music Technology and Computer Science.

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The school's website explains that sending a student to university without "a love of learning" leaves them "woefully underprepared". 

It adds: "It is crucial that boys enjoy their studies, thrive and have fun, rather than leave feeling burnt out and disengaged."

This doesn't mean that it's unimportant, as the website begins by saying: "Examination results matter. We understand this and encourage all our boys to aspire to academic excellence. Our record in enabling boys to achieve the qualifications they need to access the best universities across the globe speaks for itself."

Eton, which charges fees of £63,300 per year, currently has 1,350 pupils.