CITY PUPIL AT ETON HAS SWINE FLU; Coventry pupil has swine flu.

Byline: Warren Manger

A COVENTRY boy who is a pupil at Eton, one of England's most exclusive schools, has swine flu.

Edward Saunders is one of more than 30 students at the posh school to be struck down by the virus, the Telegraph can reveal.

The 17 year-old from Earlsdon is believed to have caught swine flu from his best friend at Eton, who is the son of a wealthy banker.

He is now at home under quarantine.

The case comes a week after a postgraduate student at Warwick University became the second Coventry person to catch the highly contagious illness.

Edward's family are angry because they claim that city doctors have asked him to pay pounds 10 for a sickness certificate to prove why he was absent from the prestigious Berkshire boarding school..

His mum Teresa said: "When he went down it was just like a serious case of flu, he was so weak he couldn't hold his own weight." "We had the Ghost- -busters round here and we were all given Tamiflu. "The Health Protection Agency have given me a pat on the back for stopping it spreading any further but the surgery is trying to charge me pounds 10 for a certificate. I'm not happy about it." Eton was temporarily closed at the end of May after a 13 year-old boywas confirmed with the H1N1 virus. Edward was confirmed as having swine flu after being sent home. His 18 year-old sister Elizabeth Saunders had to miss some of her A-level exams while under quarantine until she tested negative for swine flu. The family want a certificate of sickness for her to present to the examining board. Jubilee Healthcare, in Westminster Road, Earlsdon, said it had not received a request for a sick note for Edward, only for a sibling who had tested negative for swine flu. Health trust NHS Coventry confirmed an Eton College pupil from the city had been diagnosed with the illness. A spokesman said it was standard for a NHS doctor to charge a small fee for a sick note which was not a statutary requirement. It is believed the Health Protection Agency could now step in to provide the necessary paperwork. A second West Midlands school revealed it had been struck by swine flu yesterday. Hollyhead School, which is less than two miles from the heavily hit Welford Primary School in the Handsworth area of Birmingham, sent letters home to parents saying two pupils had been diagnosed with the virus. Yesterday there were 451 cases of swine flu, including 116 in the region. From Page 1 Eton College FACTFILE * Eton College was founded in 1441 by King Henry VI. * The school for boys is based near Windsor in Berkshire. * A third of the pupils go on to Oxford or Cambridge University. * School fees cost a whopping pounds 28,000 per year, plus a one off entry fee. * Famous Eton alumni include princes William and Harry, Arthur Wellesley, prime ministers including William Gladstone

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EXCLUSIVE... Eton College, popular with the Royal Family - Princes William and Harry both went to school there.