After 6 weeks of intensive rehearsal, the Etone Choir performed at a concert alongside the Grammy Award winning group the King’s Singers at St Mary’s Collegiate Church in Warwick on Thursday 16^th March. The opportunity came via Warwickshire Music who put Etone College in contact with Armonico Consort.

Armonico Consort is a Warwickshire based music group, founded by conductor Christopher Monks and, as part of their Choir Creation programme, musicians Caius Lee and Richard Hughes came in to work both with our Etone Choir and our staff. In sessions students were able to learn a selection of African choral pieces as well as the “Suitcase of Songs” by British composer Toby Young with lyrics by Jennifer Thorpe. “A Suitcase of Full of Songs” tells the story of how it feels to move to a new country and explores the emotions that are experienced at such a challenging time. Aidan B in year 10 said that “this has given us the chance to do something we wouldn’t normally do - the type of music we are learning thorough the project isn’t what we’d usually learn anywhere else and it’s pushed us out of our comfort zones”. Elliott in year 9 said “This project has given use the opportunity to be more than just our choir – we’ve got to meet so many other awesome people in the music community.

On the day of the concert itself our students travelled by coach to Warwick in our smart matching t-shirts to take part in the rehearsal directed by Christopher Monks and alongside the King’s Singers. The tone of the day was set when the King’s Singers began their warm up and rehearsal by treating all the students to a performance of “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from the Lion King as well as some other pieces from their repertoire. The rehearsal took most of the day and Etone students worked alongside students from Nuneaton and Armonico Consort’s own chamber choirs. The concert itself took place at 5pm with Etone students proudly standing in the Choir stalls and also being given the prime role of Djembe drumming!

For a number of the students it was the first concert that they had performed it and, we were made to feel extremely special when the King’s Singers took the time to come and talk to our students (there were a few high fives too!) after the concert. Students have commented on the programme giving them an opportunity to work on teamwork, communication skills and their resilience – as well as feeling a boost to self-confidence and to their mental health. Students also commented on how good it was to meet professional musicians as it shows that you can do music as a full time career.

To quote from our performance piece, “A Suitcase of Full of Songs; “What is sweeter that this choir?” – nothing! They were already asking about the next concert on the way home!

On Tuesday 21^st March our year 7 and 8 students had the opportunity to experience this year's BAE Systems workshop. This year the theme was 'From the depths of the oceans to outer space'.

Students enjoyed a series of interactive activities throughout the hour, including racing to put planets in order and testing their communication skills. Overall the workshop was a fantastic way to engage students about the world of engineering and how it links into their Science lessons.

After the big launch of the exciting football activators role we now have a team of our girls working hard each week and taking part in workshops that develop important skills. We have our marketeers who are working hard to develop skills on how to design and promote girl's football. We also have our deliverers who are working hard to develop the skills required to successfully lead and deliver to others. All of them have a key role to play and we are looking forward to seeing what they create.

On Tuesday 14th March a group of Etone pupils along with welsh champion Mr Kitching paid a visit to the All England Badminton Championship, the “Wimbledon of badminton”.

As the worlds oldest and most prestigious tournament our pupils were in awe of the talent displayed as they watched a mixture of doubles, singles and high stakes matches with pride and titles on offer for the successful players.

Not only was it fantastic for our pupils to see sporting at its peak level but it was also an opportunity to see what sporting events had in offer with stalls, interviews and of course some excellent freebies on offer. 

Underpinning our Etone Values and Employability Skills, the championship consolidates the need for pupils to develop this skills and resilience and show the integrity expected of sporting professionals.

The event was enjoyed by all and we can’t wait for the next one!

On Monday 20^th March – 31^st March we start our Easter themed attendance competition – EGGcelent Attendance Fortnight. During the two weeks we have issued the challenge to all pupils to achieve a full two weeks of attendance to propel themselves and their Houses to glory. 

As you will be aware, the best way for your child to make use of the opportunities at school is for them to be present each and every day. By being in school they are exposed to our enriched curriculum that ensures each pupil makes progress and prepares them for a successful future. As a school, our expectation remains that pupils attend 100% of the time they are scheduled to. Imagine education as a jigsaw puzzle, easy day at school is another piece earned. Without excellent attendance, the picture will never be complete.

Therefore over the course of the fortnight, we will be promoting why attending each and every day is important. Those who are able to achieve the challenge will then receive a choc-tastic prize and an entry into an end-of-term prize draw.

 At Etone College, we are committed to making sure we deliver the very best curriculum to our pupils. To that end, we are extremely proud to play our part in engaging with the latest educational research, supporting our external partners with training educator and sharing our practices across other schools.

On Wednesday 8th March we were delighted to host a visit from the Department for Education for them to explore best practices within schools which can then be shared across the country.

The day started with our guests touring the school as they looked to see what a day in the life of Etone College would hold. Just like a normal day, there was a real buzz in school with an environment that was focused on learning. The visitors were extremely impressed and commented on how engaged pupils were in their learning. Whilst we would always expect this, it was great to show external visitors what being an Etone Learner is all about.

As part of the day, our visitors met with Matrix Academy Trust CEO - Lynsey Draycott, Headteacher Mr Smith and Etone staff to share some of those fantastic practices from both Etone and the Trust and consider how these could impact other schools.

Finally, our guests met with Etone pupils to explore what life at Etone was like for our learners. Whilst already complimentary of Etone, the visitors were overwhelmingly impressed with our pupils and commented particularly on their “dedication to learning and the intrinsic value they see in their education”.

With such positive praise for both Etone college and Matrix Academy Trust, it is clear to see why we are so proud of Etone and particularly our amazing pupils.

Etone College have created an event which was open to year 10s and 11 who are interested specifically in the Armed forces as a career prospect. We had 25 participants including all the Year 10 and 11 RAF Cadets from Etone, 2 Cadets from the local area of Nuneaton that attend Etone and a group of year 10 who had volunteered to find out more about the Army and RAF.

This particular week was the Army Surge week programme. This involved 3 outreach teams from different cap badges in the Army coming together to put together an excellent programme for out group. They started off with the Infantry regiment creating Satalight towers with MKa STEM Kits, They received a talk about what the infantry does and all the different roles you can do in the Infantry E.g., Guarding the Royal Family, Frontline and the Parachute regiment. They then moved onto to a brief from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical engineers. They had to build a Car out of kenex pieces that will hold an air tube. The Reme LCpl would fill the tube up with compressed air for it to travel across the hall at some speed. Some groups where successful and some fell apart but the groups got time to rectify the problems before trying again. After that they received an In-depth brief which was really interactive all about the 7 career sections of the Army and the pathway in which to gain this career.

In the Afternoon the RAF Careers advisor Sgt Chambers did an excellent Personal development session in which the 25 Students had to work as a team to complete simple tasks. The tasks increased in complexity as we went along and this created Team Cohesion within the group and developed their communication skills. We will be inviting Sgt Chambers back in the future for More career's sessions with our Year 10s and 11s as we do have a lot of students who are interested in Piloting and engineering in the RAF. 

On Thursday 2^nd March Etone celebrated World Book Day. As is tradition the day started with the greeting of a wonderful selection of characters from the staff including Dr Suess’s Thing 1 and 2, Wednesday from the Adam’s Family, and of course our very own BFG. 

Following this our pupils were then challenged to take part in some investigative work as they looked to identify the secret readers behind the books. Check them out here and see if you can name which members of staff are enjoying each book.

With the return of our ‘Guess the Book Shelf’ competition and the chance to use their World Book Day voucher it has been wonderful to share the joys of reading with our pupils and promote the importance of reading for fun.

Alongside World Book Day, each tutor group in KS3 has been challenged to see how many texts they can read from around the world. They will be travelling around the world through a variety of texts; from America, Asia, Europe, England and Australia. This will hopefully give pupils a wider understanding of different countries. They can do this through a variety of texts (and audio books!).

This year we are excepted to be holding our Comic Relief fund raising events on Friday 24th March. This is to ensure that all of our pupils get the chance to be involved in some of the great events we are holding.

Since September 2021 we have raised over £5,000 for good causes, £2000 since September 2022. With the current climate being what it is, the donations we can make are even more important. That is why we are asking, if you are able to, support these initiatives in any way possible:

- Non-uniform day, the theme for the day is Bright Colours and the more red the better. We are suggesting a donation of £1, whatever you can afford to give would be greatly appreciated. Donations will be collected on the gate upon entry to school.

- Bake Sale, at break time in the Hall a selection of Kiplings, Cadburys and others will be on sale for donations to be made by pupils, all funds going to the cause.

- Staff vs Students Basket Ball, with the record 2-0 the Sixth Form are looking to avenge their previous efforts and get on the score board. We invite all pupils to donate and join us on Friday 24th in the Sports Hall at 3pm.

In addition to the event we will be raising awareness, sharing some Red Nose Recipes and giving pupils the chance to engage in challenges and activities across the day.

All support is greatly received.