On Wednesday 1^st December we were delighted to welcome the Speakers Trust at Etone as they delivered their Climate for Change program to a group of our year 10 pupils. The program is geared towards developing the public speaking, communication and listening skills of young people and empowering them to speak on a number of topics close to their heart.

Across the day pupils were given the chance to look at some of the worlds greatest speakers from Winston Churchill to Greta Thunberg, consider the key principles of delivering a strong speech such as using research and evidence to back up points and the strategies we can all use to tackle nerves and get our points across confidently. The pupils have really enjoyed the event with Declan saying “I feel that I have so much more confidence now in giving a speech. It has really helped me and I think it will be good for all of my subjects, especially MFL, English and Enterprise where I have to talk and give presentations.”

As the result of the day a number of our pupils have been entered into the national ‘Race to Zero’ competition for an opportunity to present their speech at a COP26 affiliated event in the new year. Two pupils Celastina and Amira have been entered into their national final with their speeches on Saving the Planet.

With the final event taking place on 27^th January we are wishing them the very best of Etone luck.

Holocaust Memorial Day is a national commemoration day in the United Kingdom dedicated to the remembrance of the Jews and others who suffered in the Holocaust, under Nazi persecution throughout the Second World War. It was first held in January 2001 and has been on the same date every year since – 27^th January

At Etone College each year we commemorate this day and as a school have; been fortunate enough to be visited by Holocaust survivors, who bravely relived their stories for our benefit, created our memorial which all of our pupils have contributed towards and prior to the pandemic, supported our pupils in becoming Holocaust Ambassadors, travelling to a concentration camp to experience first hand the horrors of the time.

Last week, Dr King and sixth form students (our Holocaust Ambassadors) led House assemblies to raise awareness of Holocaust Memorial Day. It also links into the Fundamental British Value which we promote at school of tolerance and mutual respect for others faiths and beliefs.  Pupils also completed form time activities last week to reflect on the theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2022 and to think about what they could do to remember those that lost their lives.

It is heartwarming to hear the thoughtful words of our pupils as they consider the horrendous conditions, heartbreaking stories of families broken up and the importance of spreading the word to ensure similar events never occur again.

At Etone we know just how important reading is. Not only is it integral to developing our literacy and ensuring that we develop our Employability skills however, reading also allows you to broaden your knowledge, travel across the globe to different lands and time periods as well as discovering more about ourselves. The need to read is something we like to promote and weather that is in a lesson reading an article, case study or text or perhaps getting lost in your favourite read, we want to encourage you to get the most out of it. This term we will be finding out about our pupil and staffs favourite reads and what it is that ignites the passion to delve into literature. Let’s start by looking at Miss Stafford’s entry here.

Captain Correlli’s Mandolin, Louis de Bernières:

This book is set on the idyllic island of Kefalonia (Cephalonia) and I read this whilst on holiday there several years ago. I loved reading about the places that I was visiting and was even lucky enough to sees some of the locations for the film that followed the book.  The book is set in World War 2 and centres around the Italian occupation of the Greek Islands.   I love this book, not only because of its beautiful location and its historical context, but because it is a story about love on all different levels. It deals with the love of a daughter for her father and he for her, unrequited love, love that is against the odds but prevails and the love that people have for their homeland.  It was a book that I could not put down and have read many times since.  It is a book that you can get truly lost in.

At the start of the Christmas break  we launched our Extreme Reading Challenge where we invited pupils and staff to take pictures of themselves whilst on their adventures in the most extreme places possible. Although the competition has yet to be judged we would like to share some of the entries we have had so far:

Don’t forget to keep sharing your extreme reads with us and let us know what your reading.

This term you may have been following Etone pupils as we seek to show our active citizenship. Considering the core Etone Values with a focus on caring out pupils have taken part in lots of charitable and goodwill activities. 

In the run up to Christmas it was no different as we launched drives to collect toys and gifts on behalf of the Nuneaton Salvation Army and Food for Nuneaton Foodbank. 

The Salvation Army are global charity who, within this initiative, provide a little Christmas cheer to those around the world who may otherwise suffer during the festive season. Across the past few weeks pupils have brought in toys, games, books and trinkets that will make fantastic gifts for children and strengthen their belief that Santa never forgets a child. Mrs Elliot has been inundated with goods, even needing an overspill donation point to store them all. The Salvation Army have been especially impressed with Etone efforts describing them as “Truly incredible and heart-warming to see young people care so much about others. It really highlights our own values of caring and showing community spirit.”

The Nuneaton Foodbank are a local charity who provide those in our surrounding area with the basic food and toiletries essentials that we take for granted every day. Throughout our drive we have collected and have been overwhelmed by the amount of goodwill our pupils and parents have shown. Donations have included the essentials such as toilet rolls, tins of food and packets of biscuits but also luxury festive treats such as mince pies, puddings and chocolate which will surely go a small way to helping other feel the seasonal cheer. Quoting the Nuneaton Foodbank “It is heart-breaking to hear the stories of those who need help for the basic we all take for granted on a daily basis. Although we can only provide as much support as possible, we need as much help from others to get the job done. The pupils, parents and staff at Etone have been so generous it is great to see these young people doing their bit for the local area.”

Once again thank you to all of our pupils, parents, carers and staff who have donated and have a very Merry Christmas!

On Thursday 25^th November Etone Sixth Form opened their doors for the first post pandemic Sixth Form Open Evening. Despite the cool temperature we were thrilled to welcome a record breaking attendance to our new market place style format. 

With ever growing numbers in the Sixth Form and a new suite of subjects including; Accounting, Economics, Computer Science, Uniformed Public Services and Forensic Science it was wonderful to see so many prospective students in attendance. 

The new format allowed for teachers to make clear links with each other and in discussions with our guests consider what their next steps might include and which subjects would complement each other. There were also opportunities to see what each subject had to offer with taste testing in Business, a model skeleton in Sport and attractive displays all around. 

It was wonderful to see all of our current Etone year 11 pupils attending with their families as they look to continue their journey at Etone through to apprenticeships, universities and beyond. Two of our prefects commented on the atmosphere of the night with one stating “I can’t wait to come to Etone. The teachers really care about the students and are the experts. It is exactly where I want to study for my A Levels.” And the other focusing on the feel of the evening “The buzz around the place is amazing. It is clear that we are popular and I can’t wait to study Criminology.”

With mock exams upon us and the summer approaching fast don’t forget to check out our prospectus here: https://bit.ly/3rhxbTU

When you have read it download our application form here and send to Rmoore@etonecollege.co.uk: https://bit.ly/3p8Ount