A private British college is starting compulsory¹ etiquette² classes for 13- to 14-year-olds to sharpen up their comportment in a world of ill-mannered informality, it was reported on Wednesday.

Brighton College on the southern English coast will drill pupils on how to iron a shirt properly, dance the waltz, when to take off a jacket or go to the toilet, when to avoid talking at the dinner table and other finer points of etiquette.

Headmaster Richard Cairns decided³ it was time his pupils were taught a few lessons in good manners after learning that employers were dismayed by the numbers of undergraduates who were not equipped for the business world.

"In the past, they would have learned all of this at home," a spokesman for the fee-paying independent school said.

Each Thursday, pupils will be invited to dine at Cairns' house, where they will be taught how to deal with food they do not like, how to use the right cutlery and how to talk to fellow guests, among other tips.

"Each student will receive a formal invitation to which he will have to respond in a written formal manner and not by email, text message or phone," the spokesman said.

 不拘礼节是现代社会的一大弊病。据本周三消息，英国一家私立学校将对十三四岁的学生开设“礼仪”必修课，以改善他们的行为举止。

位于英格兰南部沿海的布莱顿学院将对学生们进行各种礼仪培训，其中包括怎样熨衬衫、跳华尔兹、何时脱外套、何时去洗手间、在餐桌上何时不能说话等一些礼仪细节。

目前，一些公司老板认为很多大学毕业生缺乏应有的礼节知识。布莱顿学院的校长理查德•凯恩斯得知这一情况后，决定在低年级学生中开设礼仪课程。

该私立学校的一名发言人说：“过去，都是家长教给孩子们这些东西。”

每周四，学生们将应邀去凯恩斯校长家进餐，在那里，学生们将学到一系列餐桌礼仪，比如，遇到不喜欢吃的东西怎样应付、如何正确使用餐具以及怎样与其他客人交谈等。

这位发言人说：“每名学生都会收到一封正式邀请函，而他们必须以正式的书面形式答复，不得发电子邮件、发短信或打电话。”

Vocabulary:

sharpen up:improve（改善；提高）