Switch at Eton

To run England's Eton is to tutor England's Establishment, which is to say that a man had better respect the customs. Headmaster Robert Birley, who took over in 1949, seemed at times a bit rebellious. To the shock of Pop, the school club with old boys in high places, Birley opened Eton's doors to a few lads from the lower classes. Last year, when Birley was passed over for a knighthood, the London Sunday Telegraph blamed the "Pop lobby." This summer Birley will quit with a year yet to go on the usual 15-year tenure.

Last week Eton named his successor:

Anthony Chenevix-Trench. 43, an out-of-tradition choice since he did not go to Eton or even teach there. But Oxonian Chenevix-Trench, a Berkshire headmaster who lists his recreations as "shooting and general outdoor activities," thinks right about the rites of Eton. He plans no changes: "It is a wise chap who waits and sees." He is for "fagging," the custom that makes new boys the servants of older boys. As for another old custom, the right of head boys to beat others, he says: "If I were going to a school that didn't have it, I wouldn't start it. But if a school has it--well, it's useful."

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