Manners Makyth Man, according to the motto of Winchester College. A more recent public school has gone one better by putting manners on the curriculum.

Brighton College, founded in 1845, is introducing a course on etiquette to teach its 700 pupils how to behave when they face formal situations in later life.

Besides being taught how to dance and conduct themselves at dinner parties, boys will be shown how to iron shirts and girls how to apply make-up.

Richard Cairns, the headmaster, said yesterday: “Good manners and etiquette at formal dinners is a deal-breaker in the business world. It is as important as exam grades or degrees.”

Each Thursday pupils will be sent invitations to dine at Mr Cairns’s house, where they will be taught when and when not to take off their jacket, how to use the right cutlery, how to deal with food they do not like and how to talk to fellow guests.

“A report was published not long ago saying that employers were put off by the number of undergraduates not equipped for the business world,” Mr Cairns added.

“They do not know they cannot just take their jacket off as soon as they sit down, and they cannot get up to go to the loo whenever. They do not know they should break bread, not cut it, and they should talk to people on their left during the first course and on their right during the main course.”

It was natural to focus on one person who was interesting or easy to talk to, but that would not go down well at business, or even personal, dinners, Mr Cairns said.

“I will send out a formal invitation to my house, and anyone who wants to attend must write a formal RSVP.

“Obviously, no one will be turned away at my door, but in the wider world any host of a formal dinner will expect a correctly written response. Most of the students do not know that you write an RSVP in the third person, not the first.”

Professional teachers are being employed to give ballroom dancing lessons, a social skill that may be enjoying a resurgence thanks to the BBC One show Strictly Come Dancing.

Mr Cairns added: “A lot of big businesses in the City arrange formal dances and balls, so it is more important than you think. I wish I had been taught to dance at a young age; it makes it so much easier if it ever comes up in the future.” While it has not yet been decided at what age the etiquette lessons will start, they are expected to focus on secondary school level, or teenagers.

Alumni of Brighton College include Tony Hawks, the comedian whose published works include Playing the Moldovans at Tennis, Matt Prior, the cricketer who has just been dropped from the England squad, and Alex King, the Wasps rugby player.

The school has boasted of several other innovations since its foundation,including being among the first to introduce its own gym and small classrooms.

Brighton’s school motto is Let Right Prevail, which, given the latest innovation, means the hand you use for your knife, not your fork.

The done thing

— When seated, unfold the napkin by half and place it on your lap with the fold towards you. After dinner leave it on the place setting

— Never hold the fork at right angles to the plate

— Elbows should not be put on the table while eating. Between courses, if you cannot hear your companion, it is permissible to lean forward on your elbows

— Do not look around the room while drinking. Look into the glass

Sources: Times Database, OldandSold.com

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