Eton boys work from home as floods block boarders’ lavatories

ETON COLLEGE has been forced to delay the start of term because sewage drains have become flooded with rainwater and blocked boarders’ toilets.

The exclusive public school, where fees are £50,000 a year, has told parents their children must do their school work remotely until the problem is fixed.

In correspondence with parents, the school, situated on the banks of the Thames near Windsor, said the toilet system was backing up because of sewerage problems following recent floods.

“I am very sorry to say that Thames Water has just alerted us to the fact that their sewerage drains are back-filling due to flood water,” said an email to parents and guardians quoted by Bloomberg.

“The sewers in the centre of Eton won’t cope with the arrival of nearly 1,350 boys,” it said.

Pupils were due to return to school after the Christmas break on Tuesday and start lessons yesterday. A spokesman for the school said: “Following extensive flooding in the region, the Thames Water sewers which serve the town of Eton flooded.

“We are in regular contact with Thames Water as they seek to resolve the situation, and we look forward to welcoming boys back as soon as possible,” it added.

Earlier, on its website, the water company said: “The heavy rainfall of recent weeks and a high water table, have put huge pressure on our sewers and pumping stations ... water is entering our network above and below ground, and flows from flooded rivers are adding to the problem in some areas.”

The delayed start of term at Eton cames as more than 100 flood warnings remained in place in England yesterday after last week’s storm Henk. People living in Cookham, Berkshire, have also suffered from sewer flooding, according to Thames Water.

Ahandwritten list of rules for Eton boys taking baths is displayed in the college’s Museum of Eton Life. The first rule is: “No boy may have more than three baths a week.” But no boy is having any baths at all this week. The school is closed because water from the sewers has backed up in the lavatories. “The sewers in the centre of Eton won’t cope with the arrival of nearly 1,350 boys,” said an email to parents delaying the beginning of Lent Half or term. It gives an entirely new connotation to wet bob, the Eton argot for a boy who takes to the water instead of playing cricket. Thames Water is now being blamed, or possibly climate change. Yet if the Duke of Wellington declared that Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton, what would he say about Eton conceding defeat by the water in the loos?