Newcastle Scholarship

The Newcastle Scholarship, an annual prize awarded at Eton College for the highest performance in a series of special written examinations taken over the course of a week, was for over a century considered the premier school prize in England for pupils of the Classics (Greek and Latin language and literature) and Divinity (the Bible scriptures). It was instituted and first awarded in 1829, thanks to the initiative and benefaction of Henry Pelham-Clinton, 4th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyme. The Statutes, recorded in 1841, state:

'The design and object of these Scholarships is to promote and encourage a Religious education and sound and useful Learning in general among the Scholars of Eton School, including particularly accurate Scholarship in Greek and Roman literature but most especially and principally to inculcate a thorough knowledge of the Evidence, Doctrines and Precepts of the Christian Religion.' ^[1]

Originally a series of up to twelve examinations in the ancient languages and in knowledge of Biblical texts, the Scholarship was split into two, becoming one Prize for Divinity and one for Classics, in 1976; the Newcastle Scholarship has since 1987 been an examination primarily in philosophy and ethics. Distinguished winners of the Newcastle Scholarship in its original form include Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy, WR Inge, Patrick Shaw-Stewart, Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone, Douglas Hurd and William Waldegrave (currently Provost of Eton College).

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