It’s worth recounting the exam question in full, to give you a sense of what exactly the college was asking of 12 to 13-year-old boys.
“The year is 2040. There have been riots in the streets of London after Britain has run out of petrol because of an oil crisis in the Middle East. Protestors have attacked public buildings. Several policemen have died. Consequently, the Government has deployed the Army to curb the protests.
After two days the protests have been stopped but 25 protestors have been killed by the army. You are the Prime Minister. Write the script for a speech to be broadcast to the nation in which you explain why employing the army against violent protestors was the only option available to you and one which was both necessary and moral.”
This is a pretty ghastly task to give to any child, but it is made even more disturbing by the fact that 20 of the UK’s 57 prime ministers to date (35%) have been educated at the boarding school. This includes two of our last five leaders, governing for nine of the past 13 years...no amount of cajolery, and no attempts at ethical or social seduction, can eradicate from my heart a deep burning hatred for the Tory Party...So far as I am concerned they are lower than vermin.
What comes across to me is the expectation that these pupil will be in positions of power. Entitlement if you like. Clearly as we have seen from two of the "Bullingdon" group that they are clearly not the sharpest knives in the draw. I'm not too bright either but I like to think that I have a decent moral compass which includes compassion and empathy which sadly does not seem to be apparent in those tasked by the tutors at Eton. Just saying.
on July 11, 2024, 4:40 pm