Beckton pupils set to swap places with Etonians

Four primary school pupils hope to start a ground-breaking new tradition of swapping places with children from the most prestigious school in the country.

Young learners at Gallions Primary School in Warwall, Beckton, will switch their studies with four Eton boys in the coming months whose alumni include the Royal Princes, Prime Minister David Cameron, and London Mayor Boris Johnson. Gallions, which offers pupils a creative, arts-based curriculum, hopes the programme will offer Etonians a taste of East End life while linking their pupils up with a school steeped in tradition.

Paul Jackson, headteacher at Gallions, told The Wharf: “This has been a superb opportunity for us at Gallions to work with one of the world leaders in education.

“I feel there will be equal benefits for Eton as well.

“I am hoping the Gallions/Eton partnership will grow stronger and will develop into a tradition as much part of Eton as all the other traditions that are set in stone there.”

Eton College’s housemaster Stuart McPherson added: “It is an inspirational school with fantastic staff and innovative ideas about education that the boys will learn a lot from.”