Elite Boys School Has a Potty Problem

UK's Eton College delays semester start after Thames sewers overflow, flooding toilets
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 11, 2024 10:05 AM CST
Elite Eton Delays Opening Due to Overflowing Toilets
Stock photo of the Eton College campus.   (Getty Images/AmandaLewis)

Students at Eton College started their next semester remotely on Wednesday—not because of COVID or any other contagion, but due to a lavatory issue. Thanks to recent heavy rains in the UK, the Thames has overflowed, which in turn has flooded sewers in Berkshire, where the elite boys boarding school is located, and backed up the toilets there, reports the Guardian. "I am very sorry to say that Thames Water have just alerted us to the fact that their sewerage drains are backfilling due to floodwater," an email from the $60,000-per-year school sent to parents and guardians read, per Bloomberg. Eton's sewers "won't cope with the arrival of nearly 1,350 boys."

It's not yet clear how long Eton students, boys ages 13 to 18, will be kept away from campus, but Thames Water says its engineers are working on the issue. The utility had sent out a red flag days earlier that the deluge of rain over the past few weeks and high groundwater levels placed "huge pressure on our sewers and pumping stations," per the New York Times. "We are sorry to staff and students who have been impacted. Our teams will be carrying out a cleanup in the coming days once the river levels recede," Thames Water noted in a Wednesday statement about the school, founded in 1440 by Henry VI and attended by the likes of Prince William, Prince Harry, and former PMs Boris Johnson and David Cameron. (More Eton College stories.)

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