Best Schools - Eton College to offer 12 free places to boys from challenging backgrounds who do not have high grade

The Orwell Award is aimed at those who have academic ability but have not had the chance to meet their potential. The prize, named after Eton alumnus George Orwell, who received financial aid at the exclusive school, will be offered to Year 11 pupils studying in non-selective state schools.

It will cover a sixth form place including boarding and allowances to enable boys to fully participate in the life of the school.

Unlike previous scholarship programmes, the Orwell Award will recognise academic achievement may have been held back by circumstance. Applicants will be assessed on academic potential and against specific criteria such as attending a school Ofsted has identified as requiring improvement or special measures.

Simon Henderson, headmaster at Eton College, said: "Eton has made places available free of charge to deserving students since our foundation in 1440 and we are very proud that there are over 80 boys currently in the school who pay no fees.

"The Orwell Award will ensure that we continue this tradition by helping boys with tremendous potential but limited opportunity.

"We are not targeting boys who will do well anyway.

"We're looking for applicants with vigour, talent and industry who, without proper support, will not be prepared for or even apply to the country's top universities."

Make language GCSE exams easier to stop them from dying out, private school chief says

Mike Buchanan, executive director of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC) which represents the country’s leading public schools including Eton, Harrow and Winchester, warns that even the brightest students are shunning the subjects for fear that they will miss out on top grades.

He said it is a “national scandal” that the teaching and learning of languages is “becoming the preserve of a minority of state and independent schools and even fewer universities”.

Mr Buchanan, a former headmaster at Ashford School in Kent, said that students tend to choose their GCSE subjects based on what they think they will do well in.

Entries for GCSEs in both French and German have dropped by 30 per cent over the past five years, while Spanish has dropped by a more modest two per cent, according to figures compiled by the British Council for its annual language trends report.

Mr Buchanan said that the status quo is “unacceptable”, adding: “Whether its Ofqual or someone else - unless we do something, languages will die. There won’t be students who want to take them, and over time there won’t be enough teachers to teach them”.