He went from a comprehensive in Wales to one of the world's most elite schools which counts Princes William and Harry among former pupils. Amr Maher, 17, from Cardiff first learned about Eton watching TV soap The Crown during the 2020 lockdown and decided he wanted to go.
Fascinated by the institution, which charges up to £50,000 a year fees, the 16 year-old looked at its website and saw there was a scholarship he could apply for. With the backing of his state school teachers and parents Amr successfully won Eton's Orwell Award, beating more than 150 other applicants, to start in Eton's sixth form in September 2021.
He admits the massive difference between his old school, St Cyres in Penarth, and Boris Johnson’s alma mater was so huge “it hit me like a brick wall”. Not only had Amr left home for the first time to attend boarding school but lessons and activities at Eton go on from breakfast to bedtime and competition is fierce. You can get more education news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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Fortunately the teenager likes wearing suits, which is useful because at Eton the 1,344 pupils must wear a shirt with a stiff shirt collar, a waistcoat, tailcoat, suit trousers, and smart black shoes to lessons. For casual wear in the evenings that can be swapped to chinos, a shirt, and jacket. Amr, who wore a white shirt, black trousers and tie to St Cyres, had to ask for help with his stiff collar on the first morning as he dressed in his room overlooking Eton’s gardens.
“It hit me like a brick wall, it was really different,” the teenager, who achieved a clutch of more than 10 GCSEs from St Cyres in summer 2021, said. “It was pretty intimidating at first, which I was not expecting, and there was a lot to take in but the boys and teachers were eager to help. Eton is such a busy school and the day never ends. It is an intense environment and I was used to going home at the end of the school day.”
The year 12 pupil’s days at Eton sometimes start at 8am and end at 10.30pm with plays, societies, and other extra-curricular activities after classes. Amr was also stunned by prestigious speakers who came to speak to the boys in his first few weeks at the school. Visitors included foreign ambassadors, Oxbridge academics, and captains of industry such as the head of Deliveroo.
School meals also took on a new flavour with steak among the meals on the menu and all his halal dietary requirements catered for. Amr was also surprised by the size of his classes, with no more than 10 or 12 pupils, and the confidence of his new classmates. While he quickly made friends and was never made to feel inferior by anyone Amr admits he found the academic work hard at first, even in subjects he knew he was good at.
“After such a long summer off in 2021 I was rusty on all fronts when I started at Eton in September 2021. I was feeling I was always struggling in subjects I was supposed to be good at. I had to adapt and decided to go to teachers and say I was struggling. Everyone was supportive.”
Having sat his GCSE exams based on seen past papers, because of teacher-assessed grading during the pandemic, Amr found the more rigorous internal exams at Eton hard. “It was a massive shock but I never felt alone because I had teachers, a house master, and boys in the year above to help. I cannot emphasise my relief at what happened when I asked for help.”
Although Eton was a far cry from the education environment he was used to the sixth former was no stranger to moving schools. Amr’s family moved from Egypt to Wales when he was 11 and joined St Cyres in year seven. He had already previously attended a German school in Egypt as well as international English language schools in Kuwait and his family’s home city of Alexandria.
The teenager, who is studying maths, further maths, physics, and chemistry, hopes to go on to Cambridge or Imperial College London to study engineering after A-levels in summer 2023. But it was his acting skills that won him the full scholarship to Eton.
When he told his teachers at St Cyres he wanted to apply for the Orwell Scholarship to attend Prince William and Harry's old school Amr said they rallied round to help him prepare for auditions which helped win him the scholarship. As well as an academic entrance exam Amr also had to prepare drama pieces for the scholarship.
“I would like to thank St Cyres in their role helping me get into Eton, especially Harry Withers the drama teacher. I had to audition online [because of the pandemic] and it seemed an impossible dream.
“I have been in the school play in Eton and it is a different calibre of production. We put on Vernon God Little and I learned a lot.”
At Eton Amr has his own room in the Keate House boarding house where he has made friends with boys from all school years. While some fellow pupils are the children of multi-millionaires he insists they are all equals at school and he has never felt out of place apart from when he first arrived.
Amr, who is now secretary of Eton's science society and is in the school fencing team, believes the school gives pupils the confidence and self-belief to handle any situation. "Everyone is good at something," he said. "I have never been made to feel less because I am a scholarship boy. There are people from all classes and places in the world here."
One difference, and one he can do nothing about, has surprised him though. At 5ft 9ins Amr is shorter than most of his Eton peers. “One thing I was not expecting was that everyone is a lot taller. I am not considered tall at Eton,” he joked.
Looking back at how he first found out about Eton Amr said he has come a long way. “When I was watching The Crown in lockdown and found out about Eton my father told me a bit about it and said if he could afford it he would like to send me there.”
Amr, being Egyptian, was also intrigued that King Farouk of Egypt had failed exams to get in when he applied to Eton in 1936. More than 80 years later the teenager from Cardiff is proud to be an Egyptian-born schoolboy, educated in Wales, able to pass the competitive scholarship entry requirements.
Back home in Wales Amr’s proud parents are delighted their son goes to Eton. His father Mohamed came to Wales on an entrepreneurship visa and runs a health IT company in Cardiff while his mother Ghada is an engineering graduate. Amr’s brother Ahmed, 13, attends Stanwell School in Penarth.
Eton's Orwell Award is aimed at boys at a UK state school which "recognises academic achievement may sometimes have been held back by personal circumstance". The award is assessed on academic potential and criteria including whether applicants have refugee status or are a looked-after child and the performance of the state school they attend.
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