We're excited to remind you about our upcoming virtual work experience opportunities with HSBC, taking place next week for students in year groups 7-9 (First Step) and 10-13 (Next Step). Our events take place outside of school hours, making them easily accessible for all students.

Please share the details below with your students. 

FIRST STEP - Student year groups 7-9 England & Wales, S1-S3 Scotland, 8-10 Northern Ireland

Wednesday 1st October May at 4.30pm (virtual session hosted on MS Teams)

“Pitch for a Purpose: Plan the Ultimate Charity Event with HSBC”

• A 45-minute briefing with the HSBC team
• Complete the career challenge at their own pace
• Certification awarded on completion
• Register now! (students)

NEXT STEP - Student year groups 10-13 England & Wales, S4-S6 Scotland, 11-14 Northern Ireland

Thursday 2nd October at 5pm (virtual session hosted on MS Teams)

"HSBC the National Trust - Nature Projects That Make a Difference"

• A 45-minute virtual briefing with the HSBC team
• Complete the career challenge at their own pace
• Certification awarded on completion
• Register now! (students)

On Thursday it was time for our annual Open Evening event. Like all schools, the aim of the evening is to share the goals and hopes for the pupils of our school with perspective Year 7 parents and families. However, unlike other schools Etone is an extremely special place and our open evenings are unlike any other.

Each year our team of dedicated staff along with pupil helpers deliver a truly fantastic showcase of all the school has to offer. Not only do we share our curriculum, but we show just how much we care about our community and wellbeing of all Etone stakeholders.

There was no exception this year as the place was abuzz. First, our prospective parents were welcomed into the hall with a rendition of Stand by me by the Etone Choir. After a few more numbers, it was time for Mr Smith to share the values of Etone and the importance this has in everyday life at the school.

It was particularly nice for Mr Smith to be able to share with parents our achievements in being awarded Community School of the Year and SuperKind Secondary School of the Year. Something we are incredibly proud of as it shows our full range of values.

With some old time Etone classics including Businesses’ taste testing, where a packet of McVities Bourbon Creams costs 180% more than their Asda alternatives, then of course our delicacies from Modern Language and our canteen.

On Friday 4^th October Etone College hosted our biggest Coffee Morning yet. The event was held to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support as our first Charity event of this academic year.  As you are aware, Etone with the help of our Community Champions, take part in lots of events and initiatives to raise fund and show support to a number of local and national causes. Last year we were proud to take our total to beyond £20,000 since 2021 and take the title as Community School of the Year and Superkind Secondary School of the Year.

As a staple of our Autumn term we like to invite our Year 7 parents into the school to join in with the fun as they eat cake and drink coffee whilst getting a chance to catch up with their child in the school environment. It was lovely to see how our pupils were able to convey the importance of the event and how it showed active citizenship, underpinning our Etone Values including caring. One parent describe the event as “a great way to introduce ourselves to the school. Supporting a very worthy cause and giving us a chance to see how good it is here for my son.” With plenty of cakes on offer our parents were also generous with their donations and we are pleased to say we raised a total of over £450 and counting, a record for this event.

During the morning two other special events took place. First of all, it was the first full performance of our Etone Choir and School Band. The pupils had been busy rehearsing and played a full set list including some classics form the Beatles, a very heartfelt rendition of Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen followed by their finale, a performance of their rendition of the Four Chord Song as made famous by the Axis of Awesome.  

The other event which has to be mentioned was the Etone Bake-Off, we are so proud of our staff entries and we can’t wait to find out the result.

On Thursday we were delighted to receive a visit from the Mayor of Nuneaton, Buim Saru.

On his second visit to Etone and first as Mayor, Mayor Saru came to discuss Etone Values and our recent successes in being named Superkind Secondary School of the Year. Along with wishing us luck for our upcoming Open Morning for MacMillan Cancer Research.

In an intriguing discussion our community leaders had the chance to discuss what the life of a mayor was like, whilst hearing the unique challenges our mayor faces in his year in office.

The pupils were extremely proud to receive the visit and find out about the role of local politics, being invited to attend the Mayoral chambers at Nuneaton Town Hall.

The work the Mayor is doing in the local community is of prime importance, bringing together groups of people from diverse backgrounds to help improve Nuneaton even more.

This month we have had a fantastic start to the year. The wellbeing ambassadors have assembled and welcomed new year 7 volunteers into the fold. We have elected our 2 lead Wellbeing Ambassadors, a huge congratulations to Olaf (y11) and Ashton (Y8).

Our first events of this academic year have been Youth Mental Health Day (19^th September) and our first Brew Monday. For Youth Mental Health day we raised awareness with support slides on the screens over break and lunch this week along with our mental health stand in the café at break time, here pupils were able to pick up leaflets with ideas for support and suggestions for how to check in on those we care about. Our Wellbeing Ambassadors have kicked this off this week by visiting our year 7 forms to see how they are all settling in and invite them to our upcoming events. It was lovely to see new year 7s at our Brew Monday in T04, enjoying a hot chocolate or milkshake with some biscuits while catching up with friends, this week the play doh and playing cards proved very popular. If you would like to come to our next Brew Monday, it is free to attend and we would love to see you there. We will be in T04 at 3.15 on Monday 13^th October.

Year 11 and your exam periods can be a very stressful time, Kooth is a support network designed for 11-25 year olds, offering advice and support when you need it.

Kooth is a free safe and anonymous online platform for young people to find online support with their mental health and wellbeing. It is there if you are looking for advice or aren’t feeling yourself.

Kooth has a lot of different features available:

• You can access the magazine to read creative pieces, personal experiences and different opinions.
• Kooth’s moderated discussion boards have lots ideas for relaxing and dealing with stress
• You can set goals and tracking your achievement towards these.
• You can use their journals, designed to be like a personal diary to help you track your mood and identify behaviours or events that make you feel good or less positive.
• Kooth chat and messenger are available to chat to one of the team about how you are feeling.

To sign up to Kooth you just need to fill in a few details, these are not details that can be used to identify you, just overview details such as general location, year and month of birth.

Staying connected with our community is a top priority, and we want to make it as easy as possible for you to stay in the loop. While our website continues to be a hub for important news and detailed updates, we also recognize that many parents and families prefer to receive information quickly and conveniently. That’s why we are very active on our social media channels, where we share reminders, highlights, and behind-the-scenes moments from our programs and events. By following us online, you’ll have instant access to announcements, upcoming opportunities, and celebrations of our students’ successes—all in one convenient place. We encourage you to join our growing online community and stay connected with everything happening here by clicking the links below.

Facebook - @FollowEtoneCollege

Instagram - @etone.college

Twitter - @EtoneCollege