Burnand was educated at Eton, where, aged fifteen, he wrote a farce, "Guy Fawkes Day", played at Cookesley's house, and subsequently at the Theatre Royal, Worthing. While at Eton, he submitted some illustrations to the comic weekly magazine, "Punch", one or two of which were published. In 1854 he went to Trinity College, Cambridge, where as an undergraduate he sought the approval of the Vice-Chancellor, Edwin Guest, of the establishment of a Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club, with a performance of "Box and Cox". Guest and his colleagues refused their consent, but Burnand went ahead without it. The members of the club performed a triple bill under stage names to avoid retribution from the university. The club prospered (and continues to the present day); Burnand acted and wrote plays under the name Tom Pierce.