Eton College fees for 2026/27 are £21,891 per Half (term), including VAT — three Halves a year, which Eton’s own bursary guidance gives as £65,674 a year inclusive of VAT (official site, checked 14 October 2026). That fee covers tuition, board and lodging, most games and the majority of educational materials. On top of it sit a £480 registration fee, a £3,840 acceptance fee for boys joining in Michaelmas 2026 (£500 of which is refunded when the boy leaves), extras billed in arrears (Eton says usually £500 to £1,500 per Half), and — for families living overseas — a one-term advance deposit and a £3,000-a-year student visa charge.
If you searched “Eton College fees”, “how much does Eton cost” or “Eton bursary”, you probably want a straight number, an honest picture of the extras, and a clear explanation of how VAT now appears on the bill and how means-tested support works. This page answers those questions from Eton’s official website, then compares Eton with two other leading boys’ boarding schools, Harrow School and Winchester College, and with NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY (NGA) — a very different option: an online international school for ages 6–18 that opens in September 2027.
The short answer: who Eton suits — and who it doesn’t
- Suits: boys aged 13–18 who will thrive in a full boarding community. Eton describes itself as “a boarding school for boys aged between 13 and 18”, with around 1,350 boys.
- Suits: families who plan early. Registration for Year 9 entry closes on 31 August at the end of UK Year 5 — the year a boy turns 10 — and assessment begins in Year 6.
- Suits: able boys from families who could not pay the full fee. Eton’s bursaries are means-tested and range from 5% to 100% of the school fee; in 2024/25, 300 boys received fee reductions and 89 of them paid no fees at all.
- Suits: boys who want breadth. Eton offers 28 academic subjects, including nine modern and classical languages, and its 2024 ISI inspection called the co-curricular programme “a significant strength of the school”.
- Harder fit: girls, day pupils and children under 13. Eton is a boys-only, full boarding school with entry at 13+ and 16+.
- Harder fit: families who discover Eton late. A boy not registered by the end of Year 5 can usually enter only through a Music Award in Year 8 or at Sixth Form.
- Harder fit: families who want their child to keep living at home, or to keep studying in their own country. Boarding at Eton means living in Windsor during term.
What Eton College is
Eton College, in Eton near Windsor, is one of England’s best-known independent schools: a full boarding school for boys from 13 to 18. Boys live in boarding Houses, and the academic year is divided into three terms that Eton traditionally calls “Halves” — Michaelmas, Lent and Summer. King’s Scholars live in College, while other boys live in Oppidan Houses; Eton’s scholarships page says around 14 King’s Scholarships are awarded each year. Boys join from roughly 120 state and independent schools each year.
Academically, Eton offers 28 subjects. Its curriculum page reports that 85% of all GCSE grades achieved in 2025 were grade 8 or 9. Homework (“Extra Work”) is done in the boarding House, and boys sit internal exams called Trials at the end of the Michaelmas and Summer Halves. After Eton, the “After Eton” page says the vast majority go on to higher education, roughly a third after a gap year, and more than 15% of leavers apply to US universities; in 2026, 27 boys received early offers from US universities including Harvard, UPenn, Yale, the University of Chicago and Dartmouth.
| Item | Eton College (official information, checked 14 October 2026) |
|---|---|
| School type | Independent full boarding school for boys |
| Ages / years | 13–18 (Year 9 to Year 13); around 1,350 boys |
| Location | Eton, Windsor, England |
| School fee 2026/27 | £21,891 per Half including VAT; £65,674 per year inclusive of VAT |
| Entry points | Year 9 (13+) and Sixth Form (16+) |
| Inspection | Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI), 12–14 November 2024: all standards met |
| Financial aid | Means-tested bursaries of 5%–100% of the school fee; 300 boys supported in 2024/25, 89 paying no fees |
Eton College fees 2026/27 (official, including VAT)
Everything below comes from Eton’s fees page, its Year 9 (13+) entry page and the 2026–27 bursary guidance FAQ (PDF), checked on 14 October 2026.
| Cost item | Amount (2026/27) | Notes from the official site |
|---|---|---|
| School fee | £21,891 per Half, including VAT | Covers tuition, board, lodging, most games activities and the majority of educational materials |
| Annual school fee | £65,674, inclusive of VAT | As stated in the 2026–27 bursary guidance; three Halves a year |
| Registration fee (13+ or 16+) | £480 including VAT | Non-refundable; “subject to change” |
| Acceptance fee | £3,840 | For boys joining in Michaelmas 2026; £500 refunded when the boy leaves, subject to settling the final bill; payable by the end of March in Year 7 |
| Additional deposit (overseas families) | One full term’s fees, including VAT | If at least one parent normally lives overseas; credited on the final bill |
| Student visa charge | £3,000 per year, payable termly | For boys who need Eton to sponsor a UKVI Child Student or Student visa |
| Extras | Usually £500–£1,500 per Half | Billed in arrears: music lessons, optional insurances, boat club, trips. Standard extras for every boy total about £400 per term |
| Music lessons | £548 / £822 / £1,096 per Half | 30 / 45 / 60 minutes a week, including VAT |
How VAT appears on Eton’s bill
Since 1 January 2025, VAT at the standard rate of 20% has applied to private school fees in the UK. Eton quotes its school fee including VAT, and its fees page says that “all relevant fees and charges will be subject to the prevailing VAT rate”. For reference, Eton’s 2026 King’s Scholarship prospectus gave the 2025/26 fee as £21,100 per term, or £63,299 per year, “including 20% VAT”. The 2026/27 figure of £21,891 per Half is therefore the number to budget with — there is no separate VAT line to add on top of it. Note that three times £21,891 is £65,673; the bursary guidance gives £65,674 for the year, a one-pound difference that presumably reflects rounding, so check the exact figure on your account.
Payment terms
The account for the next Half, plus extras from the previous Half, is sent out during each main holiday. It is paid by direct debit on the first day of the Half, or in three equal instalments during the Half, for which an administration charge applies. Eton also mentions a pre-paid fees scheme. Fees for each academic year are set by the Provost and Fellows in the preceding May, and parents are told by the end of the Summer Half — so the fee will very likely change during a boy’s five years.
What five years at Eton cost at today’s prices
Using only official 2026/27 numbers, here is the arithmetic for a boy who enters in Year 9 and stays to Year 13 (15 Halves), with no bursary and no fee rises:
- School fees: 15 × £21,891 = £328,365
- Registration £480 + acceptance fee £3,840 = £4,320 (of which £500 comes back at the end)
- Extras at Eton’s stated £500–£1,500 per Half: 15 × £500 = £7,500 to 15 × £1,500 = £22,500
- Total: about £340,185 to £355,185 at today’s prices, before uniform, travel and any fee rises
For an overseas family needing a student visa, add £3,000 a year (£15,000 over five years) and the one-term advance deposit of £21,891, which is credited back on the final bill. Our guide to online vs in-person international school costs explains how boarding budgets compare with day and online schooling more generally.
Eton bursaries: who gets help, and how much
Eton’s financial aid page says that in 2024/25, 300 boys received fee reductions and 89 of them paid no fees at all. The bursary guidance adds that the average award was 77% of the school fee. Awards range from 5% to 100%, and a 100% award may be increased to cover reasonable extras and, in some cases, uniform, a laptop and the acceptance fee. Eton states that it does not publish guidance on qualifying income levels — every case is assessed individually, with an independent financial review by Bursaries Administration Limited and a decision by the Bursaries Committee. Awards are reviewed every year.
Timing matters. All parents complete a Financial Declaration (for 2026–27 the stated deadline is 30 September of Year 6), and families who need help submit a full bursary application after the first assessment stage (deadline 15 January 2027 in this cycle). Late applications are not considered, and bursary funding is allocated at least two years before a boy starts. King’s Scholarships and Music Awards do not carry automatic fee remission; families apply for a bursary separately.
How a school week works: boarding, Halves and time zones
Eton is not an online school, so “time zones” work differently from the other schools we review. Boys live at school during each Half, following Eton’s timetable on UK time, with lessons, Extra Work in the House, sport, music and societies forming a full week. Eton does not publish a detailed daily timetable on the pages we checked, so we do not reproduce one here; ask Admissions or a House Master for a typical day when you visit.
For families abroad, the practical questions are distance and logistics rather than lesson times: a student visa (with Eton’s £3,000-a-year sponsorship charge), the one-term advance deposit, travel at the start and end of each Half, and how you will stay in touch from another time zone. If you are weighing a UK boarding school against learning from home, our explainer on how an online international school day works shows the other side of that trade-off.
Admissions: the timeline for 13+ and Sixth Form entry
Year 9 (13+) entry
- Register by 31 August at the end of Year 5 (the year he turns 10). For 2028 entry, that meant registering by 31 August 2025. The registration fee is £480 including VAT, and an unabridged birth certificate is required.
- Stage 1, autumn of Year 6: the ISEB Common Pre-Test (verbal and non-verbal reasoning, English and maths, about two and a half hours), sat in October or November; results in December.
- Stage 2, spring and summer of Year 6: an individual interview and an online test of academic ability and potential. Boys are seen in groups by birth date, with financial aid applicants assessed in mid-January.
- Conditional Place: successful boys receive a Conditional Place (some receive a Waiting List Place and are reassessed in Year 7). The acceptance fee is due by the end of March in Year 7.
- Year 8 (age 12/13): the place is confirmed by passing the King’s Scholarship, Common Entrance or Eton Entrance exams. The King’s Scholarship prospectus notes that candidates at schools outside the UK may sit the UKiset test instead of the Eton List Test.
Sixth Form (16+) entry
Eton’s entry page lists Sixth Form as the second entry point, opening in Year 11; for 2027 entry, tours had concluded when we checked and applicants were asked to contact Admissions. The best-documented route is the Orwell Award: up to 14 places a year for boys who have spent Years 9, 10 and 11 in a UK state school, with means-tested financial support. The number of fee-paying Sixth Form places and their assessment details are not published on the official site.
Inspection, qualifications and university outcomes
UK independent schools are not “accredited” in the American sense; they are registered with the government and inspected. Eton’s most recent routine inspection by the Independent Schools Inspectorate took place on 12–14 November 2024. The ISI report found all standards met — leadership and governance, quality of education, wellbeing, social and economic education, and safeguarding — and named relationships and sex education as the area to develop further.
Boys take GCSEs and A Levels set by public exam boards, so their qualifications are recognised by universities in the UK and worldwide. Eton publishes its own results (including the 85% grade 8–9 GCSE figure for 2025) and destination information on its official site. Exam-by-exam university admission rates beyond those statements are not published on the official site pages we checked.
Eton vs NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY vs two other options (official data)
Harrow School and Winchester College are the two schools families most often weigh against Eton: both are historic boarding schools with entry at 13+ and 16+. NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY (NGA) is a different kind of school altogether — online, for ages 6–18, and not yet open. For a full breakdown of Harrow’s costs, see our Harrow School fees and review.
| Eton College | NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY | Harrow School | Winchester College | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| School type | Independent full boarding school for boys, Windsor | Online international school focused on Asia & Oceania; opens September 2027 (planned) | Independent boarding school for boys, London | Independent school; boys at 13+ (full boarding), boys and girls at 16+ (day and boarding) |
| Ages / years | 13–18 (Years 9–13) | Ages 6–18 | Year 9 and Year 12 entry (see official site) | 11+ via The Pilgrims’ School, 13+ and 16+ entry |
| Fees (2026/27) | £21,891 per Half incl. VAT (£65,674 / year) | Not yet published (no enrolment, facility or uniform fees; materials included; sibling discounts) | £21,990 per term incl. VAT | Boarding £20,700 per term; day (16+) £15,318 per term; inclusive of VAT where applicable |
| One-off fees | Registration £480; acceptance fee £3,840 | No enrolment fee | Registration £450; Year 9 entry deposit £2,400 + final confirmation deposit £2,400; acceptance fee £1,200 | Registration £480; deposit £4,000 (UK) or £20,700 (non-UK) |
| Curriculum | GCSEs and A Levels; 28 subjects | Subjects learned in English, CEFR-based English levels, projects; optional Cambridge IGCSE / A-Level pathway | See official site | See official site |
| Classes & time zone | In person, UK; full boarding | Small live online dialogue groups (about 8); built for Asia–Oceania daytime — may fall outside the day in the Americas or Europe | In person, UK | In person, UK |
| Inspection / diploma | ISI November 2024, all standards met; public GCSE and A Level exams | Not yet accredited; no graduates yet | See official site | See official site |
| Admission | Register by end of Year 5; ISEB pre-test, interview and online test in Year 6; confirmed by exams in Year 8 | No academic entrance exam, no English requirement | Register by 30 September of Year 6; ISEB pre-test, then the Harrow Test (interview, assessment, group activity) | See official site |
| Financial aid | Means-tested bursaries 5%–100% | Sibling discounts | Means-tested bursaries (see official site) | Means-tested bursaries (see official site) |
Sources: Eton College fees, Entry to Eton, Harrow School fees and deposits, Harrow Year 9 entry, Winchester College fees 2026-27, Winchester admissions — checked 14 October 2026.
Reviews and common concerns, answered honestly
Parents researching Eton tend to raise the same questions. Here is what the official pages say, so you can weigh them yourself.
“Is it only for very wealthy families?”
The full fee is high, and Eton states it plainly. At the same time, it reports 300 boys on fee reductions in 2024/25, 89 paying nothing, and an average award of 77% of the fee. Its fees page also says registration and entrance fees may be waived for financial need with supporting documents, though funds cannot cover every request. If cost is the barrier, say so on the Financial Declaration and meet the deadlines.
“We found out about Eton too late.”
This is the most common practical problem. The 13+ registration deadline is the end of Year 5, and it is strict. After that, the routes are a Music Award (applied for in Year 8) or Sixth Form entry, including the Orwell Award for boys from UK state schools.
“Will VAT push the fee up again?”
Eton quotes the fee including VAT and says all relevant charges are subject to “the prevailing VAT rate”. The 2026/27 fee of £21,891 per Half compares with £21,100 per term in 2025/26, as published in Eton’s own prospectus. Future fees are set each May.
“Is it a good fit for an international family?”
Eton sponsors student visas (with a £3,000-a-year charge), asks overseas families for a one-term advance deposit, and lets boys at schools outside the UK sit UKiset for the King’s Scholarship route. Families should plan for travel each Half and decide whether full boarding at 13 suits their son.
“What do the extras really add?”
Eton says extras are usually £500–£1,500 per Half and that standard extras every boy pays — dry cleaning of school dress, House subscriptions and tutorial outings — come to about £400 per term. Music tuition is the largest variable: £548 to £1,096 per Half per instrument.
Alternatives to Eton worth comparing
Harrow School suits families who want a historic boys’ boarding school with a slightly different admissions calendar (registration by 30 September of Year 6) and a fee that includes textbooks, a stationery allowance and laundry. Winchester College suits families who also want a route for daughters at 16+, or an 11+ route via The Pilgrims’ School. If you are open to studying online in a British curriculum instead, compare our King’s InterHigh fees and review and our overview of online British curriculum school fees.
Eton itself also runs a not-for-profit online venture, EtonX, which offers short self-paced “Future Skills” courses (about 7–10 hours each) — free for UK maintained schools. These are skills courses, not a school place or an alternative route into Eton.
NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY (NGA) is a different kind of option. It is an online international school for ages 6–18 focused on Asia and Oceania, opening in September 2027 (planned), with free trial classes monthly from September 2026 and pre-opening trial classes in April–May 2027. Its first cohort is 100 students, and it is operated by NIJIN Inc. in Japan, whose alternative school NIJIN Academy has more than 1,000 students. NGA does not rank children by test scores: lessons are small-group live dialogue (classes of about 8), subjects are learned in English with a bilingual English–Japanese mentor, English levels follow the CEFR, and students join social co-creation projects with companies and governments plus international exchange. An optional Cambridge IGCSE / A-Level pathway is listed on the curriculum and timetable page. There is no academic entrance exam and no English requirement; it can run alongside a local school or as the main school, and it travels with the family if they relocate. Tuition is not yet published; NGA says it will be far more affordable than a typical international school, with no enrolment, facility or uniform fees, materials included and sibling discounts.
Be clear about the trade-offs: NGA is not yet open, is not yet accredited and has no graduates or track record. It is not a boarding school and offers nothing like Eton’s residential life, facilities or centuries of history. Its timetable is built for Asia–Oceania daytime, so for families in the UK, Europe or the Americas live classes may fall outside their day — check the timetable against your local time. If your son is a strong candidate for a British boarding education and you can plan from Year 5, Eton, Harrow and Winchester are the schools to compare.
For a wider view, see our online international schools compared guide.
Comparing the big three? Our Winchester College fees review sets out its 2026/27 termly fee, deposits and means-tested bursaries in the same format as this page.
Comparing London day and boarding options too? See our Westminster School fees and admissions guide (official 2026–27 figures).
FAQ
How much does Eton cost per year?
For 2026/27, Eton’s school fee is £21,891 per Half including VAT, and its bursary guidance gives £65,674 a year inclusive of VAT. Add a £480 registration fee, a £3,840 acceptance fee and extras of usually £500–£1,500 per Half (official site, checked 14 October 2026).
Are Eton’s fees shown with VAT?
Yes. Eton quotes the 2026/27 fee “including VAT”, and says all relevant fees and charges are subject to the prevailing VAT rate. VAT at 20% has applied to UK private school fees since 1 January 2025.
Does Eton offer bursaries?
Yes. Bursaries are means-tested and range from 5% to 100% of the school fee. In 2024/25, 300 boys received fee reductions and 89 paid no fees; the average award was 77%. Eton does not publish qualifying income levels.
Can international students apply to Eton?
Yes. Eton sponsors student visas (£3,000 a year, payable termly) and asks families with a parent living overseas for one term’s fees in advance as a deposit. The 13+ registration deadline — the end of UK Year 5 — applies to all applicants.
What are the alternatives to Eton?
Families usually compare Harrow School (£21,990 per term including VAT in 2026/27) and Winchester College (£20,700 per term for boarding). NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY is a very different, online option for ages 6–18 focused on Asia and Oceania, with no academic entrance exam and no English requirement; it opens in September 2027 and is not yet accredited.
Choosing calmly, and early
Eton is an extraordinary school, and the decision to apply is a big one for any family — financially and emotionally. The most useful thing you can do now is check where your child is in the timeline, budget the full cost honestly, and if a bursary would be needed, say so from the start. Whichever school you choose, the right one is the place where your child will be known, stretched and happy.
Tuition and admissions details were checked on the official websites on 14 October 2026. Schools revise fees every year — always confirm on the official site before applying.
