Eton's blocked lavatories delay start of term
Eton College has delayed the start of term because sewage drains flooded with rainwater have blocked lavatories in boarding houses.
The school, where fees are £50,000 a year, told parents that children will have to work remotely while the problem is fixed.
In correspondence with parents, the school said lavatories were backing up because of sewerage problems following floods.
“I am very sorry to say that Thames Water has just alerted us to the fact that their sewage drains are back filling due to flood water,” an email to parents and guardians said, according to Bloomberg.
“The sewers in the centre of Eton won’t cope with the arrival of nearly 1,350 boys.”
Pupils were due to return to school after the Christmas break on Tuesday and start lessons on Wednesday.
A spokesman for the school said: “Following extensive flooding in the region, the Thames Water sewers which serve the town of Eton flooded.
“Therefore boys could not return for the scheduled start of term on Jan 9 and the College has moved to remote teaching.
“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.”
A Thames Water spokesperson said: “Our engineers are responding to reported sewerage issues at Eton College, Windsor.
“In this instance, the recent heavy rainfall, along with high groundwater levels and river flooding, caused our local sewer system to overload.
“We are sorry to staff and students who have been impacted. Our teams will be carrying out a clean-up in the coming days once the river levels recede.”
The delayed start of term at Eton comes as more than 100 flood warnings remained in place in England on Wednesday following last week’s Storm Henk deluge.
People living in nearby Cookham have also suffered from sewer flooding after flood defences next to Lightlands Lane Sewage Pumping Station were overwhelmed, according to Thames Water.
The firm added that it is using tankers to remove excess sewage, ensuring that customers can continue to use their facilities at home.
Much of the UK will remain cool and dry for the rest of the week with daytime maximum temperatures set to remain in the low single figures in the south, according to the Met Office.
An amber cold health alert for the north west of England, the Midlands, the south west of England and the south east of England is in place until noon on Friday.
The amber alert, issued by the UK Health Security Agency, means “cold weather impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service for an extended period of time”.
