A big shout out to George in Year 7 who took part in the National Cadet Division 5 Championship on Sunday. He performed amazingly with his team making it through to the final with ease and going on to take the top spot and win the Gold Medal.
This is a very prestigious win for him and allows the team to be promoted to Division 4 with Division 3 already in his sites. A major well done to this future Olympian – You’ve made us all very proud!
On Friday 13th March 2026, another group of Etone College staff ventured to the Nuneaton Warhammer store for a workshop on how to paint a Warhammer miniature.
At Etone College, there is a continual drive to support their wellbeing through various initiatives and events; one such activity is painting Warhammer miniatures.
For this event Mr Hope, Mr Monro and Miss Streza were having their first experience of the painting workshop, again led by store manager James, with Mr Gittens returning to make further progress with his previously started miniature. The session lasted for 1 hour and 15 minutes with the staff surprised at how quickly the time had gone by as the store was reaching its closing time. Mr Hope and Mr Monro enjoyed the use of the Contrast paints, with the instructions from James about how to paint larger areas with this type of paint particularly useful. Each member of staff chose a very different colour scheme, ranging from purples to teals to greens to using a variety of colour scheme, despite them all starting with the same miniature, with Manager James making positive comments about all of them but saying how he liked the colour scheme that Mr Hope had decided on as it was unusual for a Space Marine to be seen in those colours.
By the time the session had come to a close, all of the staff that took part said how much they had enjoyed the experience, with Mr Monro echoing the sentiments from the previous workshop and saying how therapeutic it was as well as feeling inspired to paint some more.
The results from the session were each a fantastic achievement, with the Etone College staff having the miniature that they had painted to take home as a reminder of the event.
Etone College would again like to say a massive thank you to the store manager James for running this session for the staff, and his continued support of the school Warhammer Club. As with the previous session, the staff feedback was very positive and the painting results were great to see. The question that remains though…will there be a part 3 to these adventures?
As you are aware, at Etone we are always looking to forge strong friendships within the community. Over the past year we have built particularly strong links with the Nuneaton Council and Parliament mostly through our working relationships with Bhim Saru, Mayor of Nuneaton and Jodie Gosling MP for Nuneaton.
These friendships have been an important aspect for us in our mission to work together as a community and drive aspirations of the pupils at Etone College.
This week we were delighted to receive these two testimonials from their respective offices, as they nominate us for an award at the “Oscars of Teaching” TES Awards and share some touching sentiments about how our support within the community has helped them.
Take a second to read the wonderful words. We are truly grateful to both the Mayors Office and Jodie’s for the time they have taken to write this.
On Thursday our Year 9 were incredibly excited as Jodie Gosling, MP for Nuneaton once again came to Etone to talk to the pupils about the role of an MP, the importance of voting and what a week in an MP’s life looks like.
It was incredibly interesting to heart how varied each day is for Jodie, as she shared how she had held meetings with the Trussell Trust in support of Foodbanks, voted on key legislation for UK laws on farmers, held discussions regarding an upcoming bill sponsored by herself – This before she travelled back to Nuneaton on Thursday to start on her consistency work with meetings, visits and important events.
On feedback pupils were particularly impressed with the passion that Jodie showed in her commitment to improving the Nuneaton area. It was really nice to hear of some of the most recent developments that Jodie has worked on including:
Jodie was very clear, it didn’t matter which personal party affiliation a person has – It is their commitment to being an active citizen which is what makes the impact as an MP.
There was then an opportunity for questions and a chance for pupils to share their views on some of the developing topics for their age including:
It was a wonderful session and we are really grateful to Jodie for coming in to talk to our puipls.
Last week a group of our Year 10 girls took part in the first session of our 4-week strength training programme with Pod Personal Training at Indigo Fitness.
The session focused on learning the fundamentals of strength training and developing confidence in a gym environment. Chloe and Molly from Pod Personal Training guided the students through a variety of exercises including deadlifts, chest press, lunges and resistance band work, taking time to carefully teach the correct technique for each movement. The girls also learnt why good form is important for both performance and injury prevention.
The atmosphere in the gym was fantastic, with students supporting and encouraging each other throughout the session. It was brilliant to see them step out of their comfort zones and demonstrate great self-belief as they tried new exercises and challenged themselves with weights. The session also highlighted the importance of resilience, as the girls pushed through the exercises and worked hard to improve their technique. Many of them even reported being a little achy the next day, which is always a sign that they worked hard and challenged their muscles! Most importantly, the students showed excellent integrity, listening carefully to coaching points, respecting the gym environment and representing the school brilliantly.
The girls thoroughly enjoyed the experience and are already looking forward to the next session as they continue to develop their strength, confidence and knowledge over the coming weeks.
This term, pupils and students at Etone College have been celebrating their excellent attendance and behaviour with a series of special reward trips to DiscoBowl Nuneaton.
Over recent weeks, almost 400 pupils have enjoyed a free rewards experience at the popular bowling and entertainment venue. The trips included a game of bowling, pizza, and time to relax with friends while enjoying pool tables and the venue’s amusements.
The initiative is part of the school’s wider commitment to recognising and celebrating students who consistently demonstrate our Etone Values, strong behaviour, and excellent attendance in school.
Staff at Etone College said the trips were designed to reward students for their dedication while also creating memorable experiences outside the classroom.
Pupils and students who attended the trips have given excellent feedback. They have enjoyed the rewards and been motivated by them.
In addition to the bowling rewards, the college has been actively consulting with every pupil and student about what they would like to see included in this year’s summer rewards trips. Students have been invited to share their ideas and preferences to help shape the options available through a MS Form sent to every child in the school.
The school has confirmed that the new summer rewards trip choices will be launched next week, giving pupils something exciting to aim for as the academic year progresses.
However, staff emphasised that eligibility for these upcoming trips will depend on maintaining the same high standards that earned students the bowling reward.
By continuing to demonstrate our Etone Values, excellent attendance and positive behaviour, pupils will have the opportunity to take part in the summer rewards programme when it is unveiled.
On Tuesday a small group of 5 pupils journeyed to Birmingham on a Business Language Champions trip. They had to research a French speaking country in Africa then design a fairtrade product to market to a panel, including buyers from Oxfam. They also had to do a taster session in Portuguese and two interviews in French. Our group were outstanding and did so well!
We were so proud to have the organisers single out Etone pupils for their confidence and commitment, then at the end four awards were handed out, and Aisha won the one for leadership! There were over 80 pupils there so we are super proud of her, especially as she is so good at French but really lacking in confidence. Well done Team MFL!
With final details still under wraps we’d like to share some of our initial plans for Comic Relief 2026. Taking place on Friday 20th March our Community Champions are planning some fantastically fun events for Etone.
Starting the day off with a chuckle all pupils will get the chance to hear our staffs best jokes as they take part in the “Tell us a joke” competition. Giving us their best (or worst) in a bid to be crowned Comic Relief Champion 2026.
Next pupils get the chance to grab one of our limited edition Comic Relief Nose biscuits at break, donating 50p to go towards the fantastic work the charity does. This alongside three other stalls with opportunities to win prizes and House Points across the day.
Finally pupils get the chance to take on our Comic Relief Funny for Money hunt, raising awareness about Comic Relief whilst being in with the chance to win big prizes.
Don’t forget to watch out for our final details next week!
Etone College students took part in Warwickshire Music’s "Come and Play" event hosted by The George Eliot Academy. 30 musicians including 9 from Etone College put together two pieces in just two hours – and for some of the students this was the first time they have every played in an orchestra! They also performed to the whole of Year 7, who were very impressed!
Every participant will be given a little certificate of participation and a Warwickshire Music flyer. Students have also been invited to join the North Warwickshire Training or Area Orchestra in the Summer Term. The Orchestra meets every Wednesday between 4:15pm and 6:00pm at the Sixth Form Centre at our own Etone College. More details can be found here: Warwickshire Music
Warwickshire Music also support music making by providing instrumental lessons here at Etone College. For further details regarding this, please do make contact with Mrs Kaye-Shepheard to find out more. Mr Pugh, the Head of North Warwickshire Music is also happy to help talk about all musical opportunities available through Warwickshire Music and his contact details can be found on their website.
As a proud part of the Commonwealth we are thrilled to celebrate the upcoming Commonwealth Week beginning on 7th March. The week looks to celebrate the symbolic relationships between all Commonwealth realms and our shared sovereignty. To further celebrate this week pupils will get the chance throughout Geography lessons to complete mini challenges, take part in quizzes and complete research on our Commonwealth partners.
We look forward to spending time exploring our important international community. Many thanks in advance for all of your efforts during the week.
Secondary School
Leicester Road
Nuneaton
Warwickshire
CV11 6AA
T: 024 76 757300
postbox@etonecollege.co.uk
SENDCo - Mrs K Smith
Monday - Thursday: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Friday: 8:00 am - 3:30 pm
(Equivalent to 39.5 hours)
