Overview

Eton College is the famous public boys' school, where many famous men have attended. From May to September the college is open for guided tours on Friday afternoons. If you want to go book early as they are very popular. I walk with a crutch and found the usual tour route was do-able and pleasurable. The tour guide and assistant (sorry forgotten their names) were outstanding and pre-empted everything I would need, which was a rare treat and a pleasant change from always having to articulate my access needs and then worrying if support will be provided.

Transport & Parking

The nearest train station is Windsor and Eton Riverside. The station is step fee, see separate review. It is the a level walk to Eton College via crossing a pedestrian bridge and walking up Eton High Street. Be aware when I went there was some building works on the High Street, which jutted out onto the entire pavement at one point and no temporary ramps. Google said it was a 12 minute walk from the station, with stops it took me about 40 minutes. There are a couple of places you can sit on your way up. There are benches on the bridge itself, which will give you nice views of the River Thames, then there is a bench outside Eton Council building at 102 High Street (on left hand side walking up), then at the junction with Eton Court there is a paved area with some flower boarders where there are 3 benches (also on the left hand side). The final bench is at the junction with Baldwin's Shores (right hand side), and this is where you turn to go to the college entrance for the tour or if you are visiting its museum, the Museum of Eton Life. All the benches have back support and arms. The bus no. 15, from Slough to Eton Wick, goes along Eton High Street.

Access

I wrote to the college before my visit to inform them of my access needs. This is a historic building with access limitations, there are some lifts and staff work hard to support visitors' disabled access. I went on the regular route but there is an alternative route using lifts but the chapel is not step free as it has a few steps which are not avoidable. This was the regular route which lasts about 90 minutes: BREWHOUSE YARD (STARTING AND ENDING POINT) The meeting point of the tour is Brewhouse Yard, just off Baldwin's Shores, see doorway photo. There is a bag search when you enter. You wait in Brewhouse Yard until the tour starts and there are benches with back support and arms, plus toilets including accessible toilet there. An introduction to the tour takes places here. SCHOOL YARD School Yard is next door to Brewhouse Yard. It is a large open courtyard with no permanent seating. However, a dining style chair was brought for me to sit on during this part of the tour. The tour guide or the assistant carried the chair, as we moved to different stopping points in the yard (3 stops in total). COLLEGE CHAPEL The College Chapel is on the first floor. There is a staircase with handrails on both sides and I did not find the steps too steep. I was allowed to go at my own pace and the assistant stayed with me. There is then are a couple of single steps into the chapel and in the chapel leading to the high altar area. None of these steps have handrails. The pews face each other rather than towards the altar, with the front row of the stalls all the way along the chapel providing easy access. UPPER AND LOWER SCHOOL On exiting the Chapel there are a few more steps with handrails on both side into the Upper School. We went into a large classroom which was laid out with chairs stacked around the sides, see photo. A chair was put out for me for my arrival. Then there was a smaller second room, where I stood and we were not in there for long. LOWER SCHOOL We descended by a different staircase, which was identical to first with handrails on both sides. We then went back out into School Yard and then, I think, it was a single steps with no handrails into Lower School. This room had plenty of bench seating, without back support or arms. Then there was a step with no handrail back into School Yard. We also saw a temporary exhibition about Eton College and sport, with a section about its Olympia connections. MUSEUM OF ETON LIFE The museum has a permanent ramp, see photo. Inside the museum is all on the one level. There were seats. There are displays and written information on boards. After an introduction from the tour guide, we had free time to explore the exhibition. Then we returned to Brewhouse Yard, where the tour ended.

Toilets

There is an accessible toilet in Brewhouse Yard, which is where the tour starts and ends. There are a lot of health and safety concerns about the accessible toilet 1) It has a manual door, which is quite heavy, this makes it difficult for people with physical disabilities to open and close it. 2) There is no lock on the door, just a latch. The latch is high up, so will be difficult for wheelchair/ powerchair users to close the door properly. I was standing over the latch when I used it and it did not fit snuggly, see photo it is slightly raised. This is totally inappropriate. There is nothing to stop someone outside opening the door and walking in a disabled person being attended to by their personal assistant. It is undignified. 3) Due to the bins and radiator that sticks out, the space for wheelchair/ powerchair users to manoeuvre and transfer is very tight, and therefore unsafe. 4) There is a right hand side transfer and plenty of grab rails around the sink and toilet but none on the back of the door, which is usual practice, as it works like a handle, to help wheelchair/ powerchair users/ people without fine motor skills to open and close the door. 5) The toilet is too low, which creates difficulties when people are trying to transfer, even if they are also using the grab rails, as it puts additional strain on their knees and legs. 6) There is no emergency cord to enable disabled people to request assistance if they fall. The accessible toilet is unsafe and I would ask Eton College to immediately review its provision.

Staff

Exceptional. Everyone was amazingly helpful. The School Yard is a wide open space with nowhere to sit. A security guard brought me a chair and the assistant who accompanied the tour would move it for me when we changed positions in the square. Inside the buildings, the tour guide would always point out a seat for me if one was available and awaited until I arrived before starting talking about a particular location. I felt spoilt at no point did I have to ask for a seat or to stop and rest, as they pre-emptied everything and it made the tour so much easier. The tour guide led the tour through various areas of the college and was engaging, and her presentation was fascinating and entertaining. She really brough the college to life, with lots of history and stories. Huge thank you to all the staff who assisted me on the tour, you made the tour very do-able and did not at any point make me feel like a nuisance or that I was going too slow. It was such a lovely, welcoming, supportive and friendly environment. Thank you so much.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

I loved my visits. The tour was fascinating and I felt spoilt by the staff for looking after me so well. However, I will be writing to the Head Master to express my concerns about the visitors' accessible toilet. I would definitely recommend a visit, either doing the tour or visiting the Museum of Eton which is open on weekends. I would also recommend contacting the college before your visit if you have any questions about access, and I had a very positive response from doing that. Definitely would go back.

Photos