This year we have been thrilled by the response to our Parental Support Sessions. These events have been well intended with the purpose of the programme to provide key information to parents and carers on key themes or areas around the school. So far we have covered; Careers, Work Experience, UCAS, Literacy and Numeracy, Revision Strategies and many more. 

On Wednesday it was the final support session of the year, Supporting your child with SEND. As part of the virtual event Mrs Smith our SENDCO and assistant SENDCO Miss Sandilands shared some key information about how we support all of our pupils at Etone to ensure they received the same enriched and balanced curriculum as everyone else. 

The session was an opportunity to promote our values that every child deserves to achieve the best they can and underline our vision of ‘Progress for All’. At Etone College we make sure every child is treated as an individual and to that end we endeavour to meet their needs wherever these are presented. In the changing times since the COVID 19 Pandemic the needs of pupils have differed vastly to prior and working hard with our research advocates and organisations such as the EEF we have developed our responses.

The session was well attended and it was a great opportunity for Mrs Smith to share our vision for all pupils and answers any questions parents may have had. 

We would like to thank everyone in attendance and particularly Mrs Smith and Miss Sandilands for their work in preparing and presenting the session.

To find out more or see the materials for this event or any of our previous events check out our Parent Support Page: https://www.etonecollege.co.uk/parent-carer-support-workshops/

You may have heard that the Knife Angel has made it’s way to Nuneaton. The Knife Angel is a sculpture created in 2018 from knives collected through 200 amnesty Knife Banks in the UK along with some seized by the police force.  The contemporary sculpture formed of 100,000 knives was created by artist Alfie Bradley and the British Ironworks Centre, based in Oswestry, England.^[1]

The aim of the sculpture is to raise awareness of knife crime and provide education that looks to prevent further crimes from happening. The sculpture has been in Nuneaton for the month of June and those who have visited it have found the impact to be quite striking.

With this terms Etone Value being Supportive it was great to consider how we as a community can support the aims and values of the project. To highlight this we were thrilled to receive a visit from Stephen Crowshaw, Community Safety Project Manager for Warwickshire County Council and the Nuneaton Justice Centre. As part of the workshop Stephen was able to give an overall explanation of the Knife Angel, it’s importance and ask pupils about what they felt after visiting it. After a brief history of what the Knife Angel stood for and how it was mad, welded onto a steel structure so they cannot be removed and will remain in perpetuity. 

Following this Stephen was kind enough to give our Criminology pupils a separate session discussing his own experiences as an ex police officer dealing with knife crime cases including how social media and peer pressure is often used in joint enterprise cases. 

We would like to thank Stephen for his involvement and for providing our pupils with an opportunity to find out more about the impacts of knife crime. If you would like to find out more about the Knife Angel or visit it check it out here: https://shorturl.at/avA19

On Monday our Year 10 historians travelled Worcester to visit the Worcester Infirmary and Medical Museum. The aim of the visit was to broaden their understanding of Health and the People the first topic in their History GCSE.

Across the day pupils were given a tour of a Georgian infirmary, including the old site of a morgue, spotting graffiti from as far back as 1867 - a testament to the age of the infirmary.

Following this pupils explored the interactive history of Worcester's contributions to medical developments in Britain. To see the developments that have occurred was incredible and striking to our pupils, the historic dress up was a particular hit with the year ten boys.

After the initial look around the days main event took place. Pupils partook in a Victorian surgery workshop by recreating a surgery before and after the development of anaesthetics in 1847. Students acted as patients, surgeons, dressers (to hold the un-anaesthetised patient still!) and eventually anaesthetists which was fantastic. It was great to see them really getting involved and showing the values we expect from our Etone Learners. With a final chance to learn about the role of criminals' bodies in the development of anatomy and saw close up real death masks of such criminals, it was time for our pupils and staff to depart back to Etone.

As always behaviour was outstanding and our group was complimented by members of the museum, with plenty of volunteers and pupils eager to ask questions and get involved it was an extremely enjoyable day.. Well done to all!

On Monday 19th June our Attendance May-tters Rewards Breakfasts kicked off with our winners from Year 7.

7P1 were the lucky group to snatch the prize of highest attendance in Year 7 for the final two weeks of term between May 15th - May 26th. Joining Mr Kitching the pupils had the chance to enjoy their special breakfast treat of hot chocolate and toast whilst discussing the importance and the reason they all attend school.

Whilst the group clearly enjoyed the breakfast treat, we were proud to hear our pupils answers were focused on the importance of school, education and enriching their life opportunities. At Etone College the emphasis of our curriculum is on the skills and values that our pupils develop as lifelong learners. 

This term our Etone Value is to be Supportive and through the support 7P1 have shown as a form group they have demonstrated this skill brilliantly. Both Mr Kitching and Mr Baggot, Phoenix Head of House, were proud of the group and it was a lovely start to the week of rewards. 8P1 - Don’t forget your treat tomorrow!

The Etone Create faculty lead a Celebration and Concert in the Etone hall on Thursday 15th June to share with our families our incredible students have been working on this year in Art, Photography, Technology and Music. A crowd of 200 joined us to enjoy a curated art exhibit from our students, including a display of work from Miss Fernandes, as our resident artist for the evening along with some of our very talented pupils, a showcase of photography, a display of products from technology and a showcase of musical talent (as well as a few ice lollies to enjoy in the heat!).

The Etone Choir took to the stage to show a mix of what we had learned working with Armonico Consort and The King’s Singers ranging to the 4 Chord Song by the Axis of Awesome (which had been added to by Mrs Kaye-Shepheard to include a few of their favourites). A wide range of solo singers took to the stage as well as lots of our in-house bands including the Tuesday Rock Band, the Mega Band and our year 10 group the M.L.W.D.S. (pronounced “Mulwoods”) showing all of our Etone values in the process.

Mrs Beasley, head of the Create faculty, also gave out certificates for dedication to the creative subjects to a number of our students (we need to get those 10,000 hours for mastery in!).

In true Etone College style, our students had barely taken their bows before checking that rehearsal was on tomorrow and asking when the next event was!

It was a fantastic evening for both the school and our dedicated Create department, made up from subjects including Art, Design and Technology, Music and Photography. These subjects play an important role in developing our pupils to be creative learners. In exploring what it takes to be an artist, designer or composer the curriculum offered to all pupils is broad and give our learners the chance to experience the best of the creative industries. 

All that is left to say it a big thank you again to everyone who attended and thank you to the following staff in particular: Mrs Beasley, Ms Byrne, Miss Hyland, Miss Fernandes, Mr Davis, Mr Lochab, Mr Barclay-Elliot, Mr Hodgson, Miss Foxon and Mrs Kaye-Shepheard.

We are delighted to be involved with Active in Mind Athlete Mentor Programme. This programme is  designed to help promote the importance of staying active in helping to improve and keep positive mental health.

On Monday 12^th June Etones' Active in Mind programme got underway with the Sixth Form Mental Health Champions working with our professional athlete mentor, Yasmin Clark.  Yasmin is a former professional tennis player who competed at Junior Wimbledon in 2005/2006. She now coaches tennis to people of all ages and abilities in Derbyshire.

The Mental Health Champions took part in a number of tasks throughout the morning including learning all about what it takes to become a mentor and planning activities ready to deliver to our year 7 - 9 students. During the afternoon the sixth formers worked alongside Yasmin to teach the lower school pupils the importance of good physical health and maintaining a healthy lifestyle to support positive mental wellbeing. 

Our sixth formers are looking forward to continuing this programme and leading a series of sessions with our pupils, aiming to give them lots of knowledge about keeping active and leading healthy lifestyles. Taking part in this programme is an important aspect for use at Etone College as staying active is one of our 5 Top Tips for taking care of your wellbeing. We would like to thank Active in Mind for the fantastic day enjoyed by all involved.

On Monday 12^th June we said our bittersweet farewell to our current Year 11 cohort as we held our Leavers Assembly. During this term we have been incredibly proud of our Year 11 cohort who have truly shown all of our Etone Values and Employability Skills throughout their examinations. Whilst the focus is on achieving the best results possible to give our pupils the most options for them in their futures, we know just how much effort goes into each exam season from our pupils. To that end it is especially impressive considering the interruption of the previous years and we are confident our pupils will have achieved the very best that is possible.

During the event our pupils were met with an emotional presentation from our Pastoral and House team which looked to highlight the past five years at Etone as they look forward to what the future may hold for them. There was also an opportunity to share their final ever Progress Praise following Progress Report 3 with our winners receiving entry into their final prize draw. It was a lovely moment to reward those in the cohort who have put their very most efforts into achieving all they could in their exams.

Finally with the formal aspects out of the way there was the opportunity for our pupils to collect their leavers hoodies, sign their shirts and get stuck into the plethora of goodies provided by Mr Smith. All that was left was for the obligatory group picture. It has been a delight to see our Class of 2023 as they have flourished from the bright eyed Year 7’s into well rounded Year 11 students ready for what their futures will hold. All that is left for us to say is… See you on PROM NIGHT!

This year June 21st marks the National Thank a Teacher Day. This is an event which gives the opportunity for pupils, parents and fellow staff to share their gratitude to individuals or collectives of teachers and thank them for the support over the years.

We have all have that story of that one teacher who inspired you to achieve all that you could achieve. Whether that was the subject they taught or just the values and ambition they installed thin you. Be they school teachers or from external clubs, the role of a teacher in life is an extremely rewarding, yet understandably difficult vocation.

This year we would like to encourage you to reach out to all of your educators; teachers, learning support assistants and other support staff who have given you the support that enables you to succeed.

You can send a thank-you card to your teacher, win some fantastic prizes for your school and enter some amazing competitions for yourself.

To find out more follow this link here: https://thankateacher.co.uk/national-thank-a-teacher-day-parentsandpupils/

This week (7th June) a group of Year 9 and 10 pupils were able to visit Symphony Hall Birmingham to watch the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra perform a programme of Holst, Beethoven and Rachmaninov. It was the first time that all the students had ever attended a classical concert and they all enjoyed the experience. Following the performance the group were eager to know what they could see next before leaving the auditorium! We've also had a lovely message from one of the Trustees of the CBSO, Chris Loughran who said it was great to see so many young people in the audience.

An important part of our curriculum is to give our pupils varied opportunities and the chance to explore all walks of life. So far this year our pupils have had a chance to showcase in concerts, lead award ceremonies and even perform with award winning artists. We are incredibly proud of our music pupils and cannot wait for their next performance as part of the Create Gala this term

As part of our provision at Etone College we have a broad and balanced curriculum that involves giving pupils the chance to experience the full wonders of the world. Whilst the classroom is an important arena for learning we are passionate about our pupils getting to explore the world first hand and as part of this have a full program of trips and visits to support our pupils.

This week our year 7 Geographers were taken to Twycross Zoo on the first Monday back after half term. 

The theme of the day was Biodiversity and to that end they had the opportunity to undertake a biodiversity workshop, guided tour from a zoologist and supervised exploration of key animal enclosures. 

Not only did pupils get the chance to experience the regular zoo but the access backstage gave them an opportunity to get up close to the animals in a way that would not have been possible usually. With some of the most beautiful butterflies and an extremely old tortoise to the gigantic giraffes and rhinos there was something to interest all.

From a geographical perspective, the trip emphasised the importance of conservation and the protection of critically endangered species and considering our termly value of ‘Being Supportive’ it was a great opportunity for our pupils to consider how we can support our environment and do our bit to help.

As always, our pupils were complimented on how well they behaved and continued to build a strong name for Etone College. Well done to all.