Eton College’s 582-year-old history has seen 20 Prime Ministers from William Pitt The Elder through Harold Macmillan, Boris Johnson, William Gladstone and William Gladstone.
Pupils at the elite school – whose old boys also include princes William and Harry – frequently target a career in law or finance, if not politics.
But its deputy head boy, Basil Tuma, is boldly going where few Etonians have succeeded before – into the world of professional football.
Former England player star Paul Ince selected the forward at 17 to represent Reading in EFL Championship.
He has youth to his credit and a great pace. It’s likely this will only be the beginning of an extended career in a sport rarely associated with Eton’s scholarly atmosphere.
‘He’s frighteningly quick. Over the first ten metres, his acceleration is phenomenal,’ said coach Jono Santry, after seeing Tuma play earlier this year for the England Independent Schools under-18s team that he trains.
Deputy head boy, Basil Tuma, is boldly going where few Etonians have succeeded before – into the world of professional football
‘He likes the ball at his feet too, and when he scored a header we all thought, flipping heck, he can head the ball as well!’ Santry added.
Reading’s EFL cup tie at the Madejski Stadium saw Tuma fail to score his first goal for Reading. However, he can be satisfied with his performance, said Ince, the club manager. He selected several young players for the match, which ended at 1-1, until Stevenage won late.
‘It was a good experience for the boys who played, I am proud of them,’ said Ince. ‘They’ve had a great experience of what proper football is like.’
Reading supporters were impressed too by this youngster. ‘Basil Tuma is rapid,’ tweeted one.
Reading fans were impressed when the youngster was chosen to play for their club.
This was an all-too-common theme in social media.
The Etonian had clearly made an impression on the Reading boss over the summer because last weekend Ince named him as a substitute for the club’s game against Cardiff City in the EFL Championship.
Tuma plans to return to Eton soon to complete A-levels of Spanish, Modern History, Theology and Spanish. While he hopes to keep his dream football,
He is well-known among his peers as chairman of Eton Society. This society, which was established for prefects and whose members included Johnson, Eddie Redmayne, and Tom Hiddleston.
Tuma – who gained 11 A* equivalent grades in his GCSEs last year in subjects including English Literature, Physics and Latin – is also secretary of Eton’s Afro-Caribbean Society.
He was born in Uganda and moved to England at the age of 11. After attending the Dragon prep school in Oxford, he entered Eton in 2018.
Tuma – who has played football for Uganda at under-17 level – also excels in athletics. In 2019, he ran 100m in 11.23 seconds. He also won bronze in the English Schools Championships.
With his spectacular appearance against Scotland for England Independent Schools in January, it was his turning point to professional football.
Santry recalled: ‘That match was the game-changer. That day, he was unreal.
‘The phone and email did not stop for days from agents and clubs galore. I think he had just gone into Reading for a trial and even they realised something was about to happen.’
Eton’s playing fields are often associated with rugby and cricket.
Eton College’s 582-year-old history has seen 20 Prime Ministers from William Pitt The Elder through Harold Macmillan and Boris Johnson.
In recent years, however, as the school strives to become more socially inclusive of its students, football has flourished.
Tuma is not the school’s only footballing prodigy. Tudor Mendel-Idowu is a Chelsea Under-18 player and represented England under-17.
Having finished second in the Child Genius of the Year on Channel 4 in 2014, Mendel-Idowu entered Eton on a King’s Scholarship.
Two other young Etonians have just signed for Arsenal’s academy, while Will Donkin, 21, played for the academy teams at Chelsea and Crystal Palace, and now plays for Mosta in Malta.