On 13th January, Etone Exceeding Excellence welcomed our first lecturer for 2026, Prof Dr Gill Cooke from Warwick University delivered an inspiring talk about the breadth of engineering, her unconventional career journey and quality assurance engineering. 

Her talk was packed full of career advice and information, especially with regards to apprenticeship routes. Gill repeatedly reminded our pupils and carers of her roots in Nuneaton and the winding nature of her journey into academia. 

Gill left listeners with clear top tips for a career in engineering:

1) Be an early adopter to maximise training opportunities and to build your reputation.

2) Be reliable, collaborative and deliver when you say you will. 

3) Take every and all opportunities to build your transferable skills to maximise future options. 

4) Create a LinkedIn profile and follow people whose careers you aspire to to build a network and develop your career aspirations. 

5) If you’re not sure then research options.  

6) Be prepared to adapt and weave and wind through your career to find your niche.

On Monday, 12^th January, we were delighted to offer Year 8 pupils fantastic sessions with author, Harriet Goodwin.  During her creative writing workshops, Harriet taught 'top tips' to make your writing jump off of the page using examples from novels which inspire her.  She said:

• At the heart of every great story is a proble which needs to be solved.
• The main character must care about solving the problem.
• The start of the story needs to be as close to the key point of change as possible.

She then gave an other array of great tips for starting stories based on 'show not tell'.

In the afternoon, Harriet gave an author talk to the whole year group explaining the process of becoming an author; drafting and proofing; cover design and her inspiration from a dream, to treasure hauls, to Britain's Got Talent.  As usual, Year 8 were courteous and curious, asking an array of interesting questions.  The session culminated in harriet giving a demontration of operatic singing from her first career.

A competition inspired by Harriet's visit will launch this week in the library enabling pupils to practise their creative writing skills.  Exciting prizes are available, including books signed by Harriet.

On Friday 12th December, our Sixth Form students organised a festive Christmas Fayre for Year 7 students, raising money for their chosen charity, Nuneaton Food Bank.
All Year 7 forms came along to show their support, and thanks to their enthusiasm and generosity, the event raised an impressive £293.
Pupils enjoyed visiting a wide range of stalls, including Guess the Teddy, Guess the Number of Sweets in the Jar, a raffle for a McDonald’s voucher, Knock the Tins, Hook a Bauble, and a popular hot chocolate stand. There was something for everyone, and the atmosphere was full of festive cheer.
The event gave all Year 7 forms the opportunity to participate, have fun, and contribute to a fantastic cause that supports people in need over the Christmas period. Well done to our Sixth Form students for organising such a successful and meaningful event, and thank you to everyone who took part.

On Tuesday we welcomed over 100 year 7 and 8 parents to the Etone College to attend our annual Mince Pies and Carols event. The performance is always well attended and this year was no different. With the choir singing some festive treats along with an audience rendition of Last Christmas there was fun aplenty. Whilst the joys of the singing were going on our Community Champions were being their amazing selves and delivering mince pies and yule logs to our guests, all the while raising funds for Save the Children. Bringing our total raised to over £400 for the charity this year. The event is an important aspect of our calendar as it helps to support our pupils and parents whilst raising funds and festive cheer all around. Thank you to all of those in attendance.

Our pupils in BTEC and Cambridge Nationals this week have been working hard despite the festive season as they build up to their January exams. This is an extremely important moment for our Y11 pupils, as it provides them with 40% of their overall grade and supports them in achieving their best possible progress.

The pupils have studied hard and these final sessions, of high quality revision strategies and practice have been the finishing touches to prepare them for what will be a challenge in the new year. We are so proud of the integrity our pupils have shown throughout the process. Stay tuned for our results success follow-up.