From the playing fieldsofEton... football’s most unlikely new star (with 11 A)s)

ETON College has produced 20 Prime Ministers in its 582-year history, from William Pitt the Elder to William Gladstone, Harold Macmillan and Boris Johnson.

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.

The 17-year-old forward was selected by former England star Paul Ince to play for EFL Championship club Reading on Tuesday.

With youth on his side, and exceptional pace, it is quite likely to be just the start of a long career in a game rarely associated with the studious atmosphere of Eton.

‘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.

‘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.

Tuma did not score on his debut for Reading in their EFL cup-tie at the Madejski Stadium. But he could certainly be pleased with his performance said club manager Ince, who selected several youngsters for the game, which was 1-1 until visitors Stevenage scored a late winner. ‘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.’

The youngster made an impression on Reading supporters, too. ‘Basil Tuma is rapid,’ tweeted one.

It was a common theme on 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.

Soon though, Tuma will return to classes at Eton to study for A-levels in Theology, Modern History and Spanish while hoping to continue his football dream.

Popular among his peers, he is chairman of the Eton Society, reserved for prefects, whose former members include Johnson and actors 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.

Born in Uganda, he moved to the UK when he was 11 and attended the Dragon prep school in Oxford before entering Eton in 2018.

Tuma – who has played football for Uganda at under-17 level – also excels in athletics. He has run 100 metres in 11.23 seconds and took bronze in the English Schools

Championships in 2019. The turning point for his move into professional football came in January with his stunning appearance for England Independent Schools against Scotland. Santry recalled: ‘That match was the game-changer. He was unreal that day.

‘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.’

The playing fields of Eton are traditionally associated with cricket and rugby.

But in recent years, with the school striving to be more socially inclusive, football has been flourishing. Tuma is not the school’s only footballing prodigy. Tudor Mendel-Idowu plays for Chelsea under-18s and has represented England at under-17 level.

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.