Page "Eton College" Paragraph 53

A boy who is late for any division or other appointment may be required to sign " Tardy Book ", a register kept in the School Office, between 7. 35am and 7. 45am, every morning for the duration of his sentence ( typically three days ).

Tardy Book may also be issued for late work.

For more serious misdeeds, a boy is summoned from his lessons to the Head Master, or Lower Master if the boy is in the lower two years, to talk personally about his misdeeds.

This is known as the " Bill ".

The most serious misdeeds may result in expulsion, or rustication ( suspension ).

The term derives from the Latin word ' rus ', countryside, to indicate that a boy has been sent back to his family in the country, and is also traditionally used at Oxford and Cambridge.

Conversely, should a master be more than 15 minutes late for a class, traditionally the pupils might claim it as a " run " and absent themselves for the rest of its duration.