Is it true that Eton is losing its status as an elite school?

The school is financially inde­pendent, which enables it to pro­vide scholarships to gifted chil­dren whose parents cannot afford to pay tuition fees. For example, this year, the principal announced that eight scholarship students (rather than the usual four) would be admitted to the Sixth Form. To do that, they need to pass exams with flying colors. This is a chal­lenging task for children from ordinary families. Entrance exam­inations for Eton require a good knowledge of French, Latin, and a number of other subjects, many of which are not taught at state schools that are maintained at public expense. This curriculum gap creates serious difficulties. There are probably not more than 200 scholarship students among Eton's 1,300 boys. And of course English is the greatest barrier for foreign applicants. I am sure that if Russian children could speak English as fluently as the natives, they would have no problem entering the school.

How does the Eton curriculum differ from the curricula of maintained schools - public schools in the U.S. sense?

We teach the same basic subjects: English, literature, history, mathe­matics, physics, foreign languages, etc. Probably the main difference is that in addition to core subjects, there is a wide selection of extras. For example, our department teaches 10 foreign languages. Electives also include sports, music, drama, oratory, etc.

There are about 50 interest groups and societies at Eton – from our Slavic society, which open to all those interested in Slavic culture and languages, to connoisseurs of English tea, photography, and arts. Every evening, some luminary or other comes from London or other places to meet and talk with students. Eton also has some 30 sports to choose from. The college also has its own the­ater, and students may attend con­certs and excursions, including abroad.

Boys' schools are known for their brutal hazing practices. Have there been any such inci­dents at Eton?

I have never heard about this. There is a well thought through system of relations between stu­dents, as well as between students and teachers. These relations are extremely trustful. We know exact­ly what is going on here. This also applies to the students' living con­ditions. Every boy has a separate room from the first till the last year of studies. In a certain sense, this is well in line with the famous English principle: My home is my castle. There are 25 Houses at Eton, each with its centuries old traditions. This is related, in partic­ular, to the color of caps, hats, socks, and soccer uniforms.