On Thursday 10^th November 2022, Year 12 & 13 Psychologists and Criminologists attended a True Life Conference at the Birmingham and Midlands Institute, alongside many other schools.

To start the day students had to design their own prison by considering carefully whether prisoners should be entitled to essential or luxury items. The host also asked students to consider whether prisons really rehabilitate criminals or whether they are there simply for retribution.

Shortly after this introduction, students heard from the first of the speakers, a man who had served time in an open prison having been convicted of multi-million pound Fraud. Students were shocked to hear that he changed his plea to guilty in a bid to receive a shorter sentence.

The second speaker was a serial thief and burglar who spoke about what it was like to be caught and his experience of the prison system. He also showcased some of the uniforms that prisoners are expected to wear.

The third speaker was a practicing Forensic Psychologist who explained their role within the criminal justice system. They also detailed some of the criminals they have worked with and the shocking confessions they had heard. It was interesting to hear how de-sensitised they were to hearing the most gruesome of criminal acts!

Finally, students were presented with a criminal case and asked to decide whether they were charged with manslaughter or murder. The speaker then revealed that the convicted murderer was present at the conference that day! The fourth speaker then explained the case and the charges brought against them. Students were shocked to be in the presence of a real life murderer but had many questions that they wanted to ask!

The day came to a close with a question and answer session, in which students could present their questions to any of the offenders they had heard from earlier in the day. It is safe to say that the students left buzzing about their real life criminal encounters. It was a truly memorable and humbling experience!

Friday 11^th November marked a sombre moment for Etone, as like many we took part in the national silence for Remembrance Day. On the day our Cadets took part in two services. One on the Etone campus with pupils completing a short parade before lowering their flags and taking part in a minute silence. Simultaneously a small number of our cadets made the journey to Barr Beacon to take part in the Matrix Academy Trusts Parade where all schools were represented. A sombre affair that was made more poignant by the playing of the last post in the presence of trust headteachers including our own Mr Smith.

However, this would all be part of the practice for Etone as they took part in their first parade in Nuneaton on Sunday 13^th November. Despite nerves underneath our Cadets performed tremendously as they marched and held a guard of honour as the whole town turned out to show their respects and ensure we all remember those who sacrificed so much for us. Mr Hodgson was extremely proud and had the following to say “This marks the first time for our Cadets at a public parade, but you couldn’t tell. They have done a fantastic job.”

Well done all and thank you to all of those who have supported us in the past few weeks with donations and parade practices. We will see you next year.

Last week our focus shifted towards being kind to each other as we took part in World Kindness Week. Across the week pupils were encouraged to show the Etone Values of being courteous, caring and kind. With assemblies and form time activities showing how important it is to be kind, especially in the modern day it was a joy to see pupils and staff going the extra mile to with: random acts/ gestures of kindness and ensuring throughout the week we had a positive impact on each other.

Whilst we know at Etone out pupils show this every day, we were pleased to be able to shine a spotlight on this across the week.

Monday 14^th November marks the first day of Anti-Bullying week which is an initiative to encourage us all to join together in supporting various organisations that do fantastic work in eliminating bullying from our society. We believe strongly that no child should ever feel bullied and work hard to develop an environment where kindness and positivity thrive at Etone. To show our support across the week pupils will take part in various activities starting on Monday with Odd Socks Day where students and teachers will wear odd socks with a view to supporting those who are targeted for standing out/ being different. We look forward to seeing what a fantastic show of support we have this year.

Etone Football Education Academy 13  V 0 Birmingham City 

A huge congratulations goes to our Football Academy team who from the first whistle till the last Etone were dominant scoring 5 goals in 20 mins. 

The players showed good attitude and high standards to continue to play and do the right things despite being on top and the game being very one-sided. 

In the second half, scoring 7 goals amplifies the application and ruthlessness the players showed to score even though we should have scored 20+ goals. 

Special mention to C Brown finally getting on the score sheet to get his first EFL goal 

Goal scorers: Ward 2, Heath 2, Stenton 3, Carnevale 3, Sutton 1, Brown 1, Mitchell 1

Each year, like many, Etone College gets behind the British Legions Poppy Appeal to show our support for those who have put their lives on the line for our own freedom and liberty. This week our Theme of the Week has been Remembrance with pupils taking part in form-time activities and assemblies across the week. Throughout that time pupils have had the opportunity to consider why it is so important that we recognise the sacrifices that have been made so we may enjoy the fundamental values we do. Whilst remembrance will always be linked with our own remembrance day it is also an opportunity for us to reflect on the parades and events held across the world in different countries for their fallen heroes. 

Our very own Cadets have shown their support this week by using their break and lunch times to collect donations in exchange for poppies. With last year raising £98 the aim was to raise over £100 to support the important work the British Legion does. On Saturday 5^th November and Sunday 6^th November our cadets ventured into Nuneaton town centre to sell Poppies and other items to members of the public in order to further support the cause. We would like to say a big thank you to all who have supported us.

On Friday 11^th November pupils will take part in a minute silence at 11:00 am and our cadets will hold a small remembrance service on school grounds. Additionally, we are proud to announce our Cadets will be taking part in the Nuneaton Remembrance Parade on Sunday 13^th November for the first time ever. With a lot of practicing going into making sure the parade runs smoothly we know Mr Hodgson and the rest of the troop will not let us down.

A big thank you to all who have supported us so far as we look to increase our totals for this year.

Lest we forget.

On Wednesday 2^nd December we were excited to host our Help Your Child Revise event for KS4 parents. With a packed out hall, the session gave us an opportunity to share with parents and carers the support pupils get at Etone college and explore some of the techniques and strategies that can be used for helping pupils prepare at home. 

It is always a challenging time when pupils reflect on the expectations of exams be that mocks or the summer series for our Year 11,12 and 13 pupils. Using these support sessions the aim is to help provide a route for parents to help support their children in making the best choices possible and guiding them to success.

Whilst it will never be easy there are lots of things we as a school do and you as parents and pupils can do to reduce the pressures of exams. With Year 11 pupils recently receiving workshop assemblies on revision techniques and in the build-up to winter mocks it was an opportune time to provide parents with this session.

The feedback for the session itself was extremely positive and we would like to thank all who attended. We would also like to share the materials of the session and previous sessions here along with links to the revision sections of our website:

Revision Website – HERE

Parent Sessions – HERE

On Wednesday 2^nd November Sixth Form students celebrated Halloween with style by holding a Fancy Dress Competition and spooky cake sale.

Each time the students of the elect host an event they focus on raising funds for a local or national charity or good cause. This year the money raised will go to the Nuneaton Food Bank. Earlier this week it was reported in the Nuneaton News that demand for the foodbank was three times higher than supply allowed for. Therefore, it shows a very real need for support at this moment in time. With challenging times in the economy, it was great to see students give what they could to raise funds for the bank. With the first installment of £30 being added to across the year we look forward to raising even more.

Additionally, the fancy dress costume was a tough battle with bunnies, ghouls and even a modern take on Steve Jobs. However, Josh in Year 13 took the crown with his fantastic dinosaur costume. Needless to say, it was fierce and scary. Particular mention has to go to our runners-up Daphne and Velma although we were slightly disappointed there were no scooby snacks on offer.

Well done to all of our students who got involved with the theme of the day.

This week we were excited to hold the first meeting of the Eco Council. Across the school it is made up of pupils in each key stage who hold environmental values closely in their beliefs.

Whilst Etone as a collective are passionate about preserving the environment and doing what we can to ensure we have minimal impact on this glorious world, these individuals are eager to make an impact. 

This term the council are working towards achieving the Green Flag Award which is granted to schools that uphold the highest values of being ‘Eco Friendly’. In order to achieve this Etone will have to show how through our daily operations we hold environmental issues at the heart of the Etone Values. This is something we have done throughout Etone and hope that this year will mark this with the official awarding of the Green Flag.

We look forward to working with our Eco Council in the future.