Eton Mess! Glitch Wrongly Invites 400 Boys

Princes William and Harry's old school, Eton College, has said it "deeply regrets" a mistake which left hundreds of would-be pupils thinking they had been given a place.

A computer glitch at the public school that has produced more prime ministers - including David Cameron - than any other, meant an email intended for nine families with a conditional offer was sent out to 400 households.

The glitch meant all the boys were offered a conditional place after an interview to join the September 2017 intake as long as they passed the Common Entrance exam.

The Berkshire boarding school, also attended by London mayor Boris Johnson, said it will hold an internal review.

An Eton College spokesman said: "This error was discovered within minutes and each family was immediately contacted to notify them that it should be disregarded and to apologise.

"We take this type of incident very seriously indeed and so a thorough investigation, overseen by the Head Master, Tony Little, and led by the Tutor for Admissions, is being carried out to find out exactly what went wrong and ensure it cannot happen again.

"Eton College offers its sincere apologies to those boys concerned and their families. We deeply regret the confusion and upset this must have caused."

The spokesman added: "We understand the problem was caused by a computer error. Our review will seek to discover what went wrong and put in place appropriate solutions, but we would not wish to pre-empt its findings at this stage.

"We have contacted and apologised to all the families concerned."

Eton College was founded 575 years ago and is one of the most prestigious public schools, with fees starting at £34,000 a year.

Many old boys have gone on to have thriving careers as captains of industry as well as in politics but it also has a tradition of turning out world-class actors.

The latest batch of award-winning Old Etonians actors includes Damian Lewis, Eddie Redmayne and Tom Hiddleston.

Dominic West, Hugh Laurie and the late Patrick Macnee were also alumni, as were novelist George Orwell, explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes and chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.