Eton College Exhange 2016
Introduction
Ever since my good friend Michael Milam (MBA Class of 2015) returned from his exchange experience at Eton College in the spring of 2014, I had my heart set on spending third quarter of my junior year abroad, travelling and studying in England at perhaps the most reputed and prestigious boarding school in the world that claims such notable alumni as Percy Shelley, George Orwell, and Bear Grylls, not to mention 19 English Prime Ministers and both Royal Princes, William and Harry. When I expressed interest to Mrs. Scholer and Mr. Gioia at the beginning of my junior year, I began to build up the experience even further in my mind. When I was lucky enough to be selected among a small pool of extremely qualified applicants, I was both honored and ecstatic in my fortune. Little did I know just how incredible the experience would turn out to be.
After a phone call with Mr. Gioia wishing me well before my journey, I set off on a flight across the Atlantic. After a significant delay in Chicago, I made it to Heathrow the next morning to be picked up by Mr. Ralph Oliphant-Callum (RDO-C), Mr. Gioia's friend at Eton who coordinates the exchange in addition to being a Housemaster and a Latin teacher. He made my introduction to the school extremely smooth, and I spent that day with him as he showed me around the campus and the neighboring town before a nice dinner, where he told me about all of the wonderful opportunities I would soon be enjoying.
The next day, I met Mr. Nolan (TEJN- teachers and housemasters at Eton are often referred to by their initials for organizational purposes), who would be my housemaster for my time there. He helped me get settled into my room and arranged a dinner at the house Henry Wyard, a boy in my year at Eton who would grow to become one of my best friends there. Henry told me not just about some of the courses I would be taking but also some facts of the school, including the uniform, a full set of tails usually reserved for only the most formal occasions.
Seeing the beautiful campus and meeting just a few of the people, I knew as early as the first day that I had underestimated how incredible the experience would be.
Academics
The day that classes began I signed up for the four classes I would take that term. Unlike in America, where everyone takes the same core classes all throughout high school and at the beginning of college, in England, once you reach your junior year, you begin to narrow down the subjects on which you focus before ultimately choosing one subject to study for your entire time at university. To this end, I was a bit of an anomaly among my peers, as I chose four subjects that covered a very broad spectrum: English, French, History of Art, and Physics.
The academic schedule at Eton is also quite different from MBA's: where we have the same classes in the same order, every day, five days a week, at Eton the schedule rotates depending on the day. Some days, you may have a class twice, others, not at all. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, you have class all day, but Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday (yes!), you only have classes until lunch.
In English, I was lucky enough to study under Mr. Newton (JDN) and Ms. Osborne (HEO). Having been a top English student at MBA, I kept the teachings of Dr. Batten, Dr. Tarkington, and Mr. Kelly in mind as I wrote essays and participated in class discussions about The Bloody Chamber, King Lear, The Merchant's Tale, and various poems studied in one off exercises called practical criticisms. My strong performance in these classes enabled me to really get to know both the teachers and my peers, who were all very passionate about the study of English as they had elected to take it in lieu of other options. My good experience in this class pushed me over the edge to fully commit to studying English at the college level once I leave MBA.
I had a very similar experience with French, where I studied under Mr. Powles (AP) and Miss Brooking, the former teaching me language with the latter teaching me culture. Mr. Powles was very strict and very tough, but the excellent language instruction by Mr. Trotter at MBA had prepared me to be the best speaker in a class of very strong students. Mr. Powles exercised a completely opposite language approach to that of Mr. Trotter: where Mr. Trotter emphasizes speaking and fluency, Mr. Powles emphasizes grammar and writing, speaking a good deal of English in class when Mr. Trotter speaks none. I was skeptical of this approach at first, but ultimately grew to enjoy the change of pace and improve areas of my French that had been previously lacking. With Miss Brooking, we studied the classic 19th century realist novel Bel Ami by Guy de Maupassant, analyzing and enjoying the book very thoroughly. Both classes were a real pleasure to be in.
History of Art was wonderful as it is an area of study I had always wanted to learn about without ever having a chance. Mr. Harrison (JDH) and my housemaster Mr. Nolan, who I was lucky enough to have serve in both roles, were both incredible at exposing me to an area of study I had never experienced before. Mr. Harrison covered the High Renaissance, where we discussed many classics likeMona Lisa and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, while Mr. Nolan covered abstract art, Dada, and surrealism, a complete change of pace. Both classes were extremely enlightening and entertaining, a particular highlight being Mr. Nolan's creative way of introduce a painting: putting it up on the slideshow, staring at it in silence for a moment, saying a single word (usually a preposition such as "with!"), remaining silent for a bit longer, and ultimately calling on a student.
My choice to study Physics with Mr. Fielker (MNF) was a source of mystery for many of my friends, who had usually decided to focus on humanities or sciences. Physics was a nice change of pace, as I was able to mix more essay based courses with more work with a quantitative subject matter where understanding was the only real expected outside effort. We did have one research project, and my teacher let me work on Rotational Mechanics, a topic from my AP Physics class at home that is not covered in the English syllabus. Physics was very interesting, and I was able to get ahead on some of my work from home through my study of Electricity.
The outside work was substantial but not even close to the amount of work MBA students juggle on a nightly basis. Even while keeping up with the work for my two AP classes at home and working very hard on my Eton coursework, I read 7 books on my own, watched all of How I Met Your Mother, and was able to participate in various extracurricular activities. Daily work is not emphasized as much because students are expected to be following through with the subject on their own, doing independent reading and research to further their knowledge. At Eton, I met some of the most intellectually curious and intelligent teenagers I've ever encountered, and it was an absolute pleasure to study and work with them.
Activities
I did not just stay shut up in my room in between classes. In between socializing with my friends in the hallways at night, putting golf balls or messing with each other between rooms, I was able to participate in several outside activities.
One such was the tutorial, which is the Eton version of an MBA advisory, except it meets once a week for an hour (or more, for occasional outings) rather than for ten minutes every day. My tutor, Nick Goetzee, was an extremely nice and welcoming man who taught music and directed the Jazz groups at Eton. He let me join his Big Band, where I was honored to play with some incredible jazz musicians who were all my age or younger. I was humbled to hear some of their solos, and I will never forget how good we sounded play Chick Corea's "Spain" at our final concert. I also sang in the E.C.M.S. choir, which helped me build enough confidence in my singing abilities to audition and receive a lead in the MBA-Harpeth Hall musical Return to the Forbidden Planet
I participated in the House Drama competition as well, where my friend Henry Wyard directed ten boys from the house in a small production of Act III of Chekov's The Cherry Orchard. I played the part of Petya Trofimov, the wandering student. Though we did not advance past the initial round in the competition, we spruced it up enough to perform it very well for several house parents, pleasing Mr. Nolan in the process.
For sports, the Eton schedule has a two and a half hour break from 2:00-4:30 each day set aside for sport (they always refer to it in the singular). I was able to play in the Sine (JV) team for the field game, a very complex sport that predates and served as a basis for modern association football. I can't say I got a real grasp on many of the rules, but I had an excellent time running around with some of the boys from my house.
As for other aspects of the experience, the food was decent, though not quite as gourmet as the MBA Dining Hall that spoils me with daily offered pizza. I also enjoyed sleeping in until about 7:45 each morning before going down to breakfast at 8:00 before Chapel at 8:35.
Chapel services were another wonderful experience, where I sang some beautiful hymns loudly and proudly.
Excursions
Throughout the 11 week semester, I was able to get away from the campus a few times for a few weekend leaves in addition to a generous 10 day half term break.
For a few weekends, I went into London with my best bud Jack Parker, where I met his extremely nice family and got to see Camden Market and buy some vinyl albums missing from my classic rock collection.
I also stayed one weekend with Charlie Broad, who took me to a F.A. cup football match and let me get some good reading time in.
During the halftime break, I stayed again with my pal Jack Parker as well as my other friends Will Dobbs, Tom Henderson, and Henry Brooke. While I was at Will's house, I visited four museums (The National Gallery, the V&A, the Courtald Gallery, and the Tate Britain) in two days, a good complement to my study of History of Art. With Tom, I enjoyed a nice tour of the upper English countryside as well as the hilarious musings of his father. With Henry, I was able to see enough of the University of Oxford to make it one of my top choices for college after MBA. I really enjoyed the mid-term break, as I got to experience England from a tourist angle as well as a student's angle in addition to spending more time with my friends.
Aftermath
When my parents arrived in England to pick me up at the end of term, I was extremely sad to leave all of my friends and teachers. As early as a week into the exchange, I knew I was embarking on a one-of-a-kind experience. I couldn't bear to get back to the daily life of Nashville after spending three months among castles and tailcoats.
I was very happy to bring my friend Jack Parker over to stay with me on his own exchange to MBA for two weeks. I was able to set up him up with a date for both MBA and Harpeth Hall prom as well as take him to a baseball game and to see downtown Nashville. It was nice to have Joss Tricks from my English class at Eton come over for a few weeks as well; we spent many study halls catching up and chatting about everything under the sun.
In the end, I wouldn't trade my experience for the world. My time at Eton was easily the best three months of my life. I cannot thank the Warner family enough for making this experience possible. To any student reading this blog who is considering applying but is worried about the school he might miss, do yourself a favor and apply. The catch up work is inconsequential compared to the sublimity of the experience you will have. If you are selected, you will not regret it in the slightest.
Ever since my good friend Michael Milam (MBA Class of 2015) returned from his exchange experience at Eton College in the spring of 2014, I had my heart set on spending third quarter of my junior year abroad, travelling and studying in England at perhaps the most reputed and prestigious boarding school in the world that claims such notable alumni as Percy Shelley, George Orwell, and Bear Grylls, not to mention 19 English Prime Ministers and both Royal Princes, William and Harry. When I expressed interest to Mrs. Scholer and Mr. Gioia at the beginning of my junior year, I began to build up the experience even further in my mind. When I was lucky enough to be selected among a small pool of extremely qualified applicants, I was both honored and ecstatic in my fortune. Little did I know just how incredible the experience would turn out to be.
 |
| Me in my classic Eton uniform: full tails. |
The next day, I met Mr. Nolan (TEJN- teachers and housemasters at Eton are often referred to by their initials for organizational purposes), who would be my housemaster for my time there. He helped me get settled into my room and arranged a dinner at the house Henry Wyard, a boy in my year at Eton who would grow to become one of my best friends there. Henry told me not just about some of the courses I would be taking but also some facts of the school, including the uniform, a full set of tails usually reserved for only the most formal occasions.
Seeing the beautiful campus and meeting just a few of the people, I knew as early as the first day that I had underestimated how incredible the experience would be.
Academics
The day that classes began I signed up for the four classes I would take that term. Unlike in America, where everyone takes the same core classes all throughout high school and at the beginning of college, in England, once you reach your junior year, you begin to narrow down the subjects on which you focus before ultimately choosing one subject to study for your entire time at university. To this end, I was a bit of an anomaly among my peers, as I chose four subjects that covered a very broad spectrum: English, French, History of Art, and Physics.
The academic schedule at Eton is also quite different from MBA's: where we have the same classes in the same order, every day, five days a week, at Eton the schedule rotates depending on the day. Some days, you may have a class twice, others, not at all. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, you have class all day, but Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday (yes!), you only have classes until lunch.
In English, I was lucky enough to study under Mr. Newton (JDN) and Ms. Osborne (HEO). Having been a top English student at MBA, I kept the teachings of Dr. Batten, Dr. Tarkington, and Mr. Kelly in mind as I wrote essays and participated in class discussions about The Bloody Chamber, King Lear, The Merchant's Tale, and various poems studied in one off exercises called practical criticisms. My strong performance in these classes enabled me to really get to know both the teachers and my peers, who were all very passionate about the study of English as they had elected to take it in lieu of other options. My good experience in this class pushed me over the edge to fully commit to studying English at the college level once I leave MBA.
I had a very similar experience with French, where I studied under Mr. Powles (AP) and Miss Brooking, the former teaching me language with the latter teaching me culture. Mr. Powles was very strict and very tough, but the excellent language instruction by Mr. Trotter at MBA had prepared me to be the best speaker in a class of very strong students. Mr. Powles exercised a completely opposite language approach to that of Mr. Trotter: where Mr. Trotter emphasizes speaking and fluency, Mr. Powles emphasizes grammar and writing, speaking a good deal of English in class when Mr. Trotter speaks none. I was skeptical of this approach at first, but ultimately grew to enjoy the change of pace and improve areas of my French that had been previously lacking. With Miss Brooking, we studied the classic 19th century realist novel Bel Ami by Guy de Maupassant, analyzing and enjoying the book very thoroughly. Both classes were a real pleasure to be in.
 |
| Charlie Broad and I in Trafalgar Square on a field trip to the National Gallery. |
My choice to study Physics with Mr. Fielker (MNF) was a source of mystery for many of my friends, who had usually decided to focus on humanities or sciences. Physics was a nice change of pace, as I was able to mix more essay based courses with more work with a quantitative subject matter where understanding was the only real expected outside effort. We did have one research project, and my teacher let me work on Rotational Mechanics, a topic from my AP Physics class at home that is not covered in the English syllabus. Physics was very interesting, and I was able to get ahead on some of my work from home through my study of Electricity.
The outside work was substantial but not even close to the amount of work MBA students juggle on a nightly basis. Even while keeping up with the work for my two AP classes at home and working very hard on my Eton coursework, I read 7 books on my own, watched all of How I Met Your Mother, and was able to participate in various extracurricular activities. Daily work is not emphasized as much because students are expected to be following through with the subject on their own, doing independent reading and research to further their knowledge. At Eton, I met some of the most intellectually curious and intelligent teenagers I've ever encountered, and it was an absolute pleasure to study and work with them.
 |
| My housemates in my year at Eton. Great blokes. |
Activities
I did not just stay shut up in my room in between classes. In between socializing with my friends in the hallways at night, putting golf balls or messing with each other between rooms, I was able to participate in several outside activities.
One such was the tutorial, which is the Eton version of an MBA advisory, except it meets once a week for an hour (or more, for occasional outings) rather than for ten minutes every day. My tutor, Nick Goetzee, was an extremely nice and welcoming man who taught music and directed the Jazz groups at Eton. He let me join his Big Band, where I was honored to play with some incredible jazz musicians who were all my age or younger. I was humbled to hear some of their solos, and I will never forget how good we sounded play Chick Corea's "Spain" at our final concert. I also sang in the E.C.M.S. choir, which helped me build enough confidence in my singing abilities to audition and receive a lead in the MBA-Harpeth Hall musical Return to the Forbidden Planet
I participated in the House Drama competition as well, where my friend Henry Wyard directed ten boys from the house in a small production of Act III of Chekov's The Cherry Orchard. I played the part of Petya Trofimov, the wandering student. Though we did not advance past the initial round in the competition, we spruced it up enough to perform it very well for several house parents, pleasing Mr. Nolan in the process.
For sports, the Eton schedule has a two and a half hour break from 2:00-4:30 each day set aside for sport (they always refer to it in the singular). I was able to play in the Sine (JV) team for the field game, a very complex sport that predates and served as a basis for modern association football. I can't say I got a real grasp on many of the rules, but I had an excellent time running around with some of the boys from my house.
 |
| The Eton College chapel. |
Chapel services were another wonderful experience, where I sang some beautiful hymns loudly and proudly.
Excursions
Throughout the 11 week semester, I was able to get away from the campus a few times for a few weekend leaves in addition to a generous 10 day half term break.
For a few weekends, I went into London with my best bud Jack Parker, where I met his extremely nice family and got to see Camden Market and buy some vinyl albums missing from my classic rock collection.
I also stayed one weekend with Charlie Broad, who took me to a F.A. cup football match and let me get some good reading time in.
During the halftime break, I stayed again with my pal Jack Parker as well as my other friends Will Dobbs, Tom Henderson, and Henry Brooke. While I was at Will's house, I visited four museums (The National Gallery, the V&A, the Courtald Gallery, and the Tate Britain) in two days, a good complement to my study of History of Art. With Tom, I enjoyed a nice tour of the upper English countryside as well as the hilarious musings of his father. With Henry, I was able to see enough of the University of Oxford to make it one of my top choices for college after MBA. I really enjoyed the mid-term break, as I got to experience England from a tourist angle as well as a student's angle in addition to spending more time with my friends.
Aftermath
When my parents arrived in England to pick me up at the end of term, I was extremely sad to leave all of my friends and teachers. As early as a week into the exchange, I knew I was embarking on a one-of-a-kind experience. I couldn't bear to get back to the daily life of Nashville after spending three months among castles and tailcoats.
I was very happy to bring my friend Jack Parker over to stay with me on his own exchange to MBA for two weeks. I was able to set up him up with a date for both MBA and Harpeth Hall prom as well as take him to a baseball game and to see downtown Nashville. It was nice to have Joss Tricks from my English class at Eton come over for a few weeks as well; we spent many study halls catching up and chatting about everything under the sun.
In the end, I wouldn't trade my experience for the world. My time at Eton was easily the best three months of my life. I cannot thank the Warner family enough for making this experience possible. To any student reading this blog who is considering applying but is worried about the school he might miss, do yourself a favor and apply. The catch up work is inconsequential compared to the sublimity of the experience you will have. If you are selected, you will not regret it in the slightest.
 |
| My Eton friends (Sam, Me, Joss, and Jack) at Harpeth Hall Prom. Jack and I wore our Eton uniforms. |
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