On Monday, 12^th January, we were delighted to offer Year 8 pupils fantastic sessions with author, Harriet Goodwin.  During her creative writing workshops, Harriet taught 'top tips' to make your writing jump off of the page using examples from novels which inspire her.  She said:

• At the heart of every great story is a proble which needs to be solved.
• The main character must care about solving the problem.
• The start of the story needs to be as close to the key point of change as possible.

She then gave an other array of great tips for starting stories based on 'show not tell'.

In the afternoon, Harriet gave an author talk to the whole year group explaining the process of becoming an author; drafting and proofing; cover design and her inspiration from a dream, to treasure hauls, to Britain's Got Talent.  As usual, Year 8 were courteous and curious, asking an array of interesting questions.  The session culminated in harriet giving a demontration of operatic singing from her first career.

A competition inspired by Harriet's visit will launch this week in the library enabling pupils to practise their creative writing skills.  Exciting prizes are available, including books signed by Harriet.

On Wednesday 10^th December our group, who have been reading and voting on the Warwickshire Teen Book Awards, had the privilege of participating in the online award ceremony. This was an amazing opportunity with our group getting to meet the authors of the shortlisted books over Teams and hear the winner of this award announced live.  This year’s winner, to the delight of our group, was The Vulpine.

The four authors who joined the ceremony gave inspirational speeches to the pupils covering many topics, including the importance of reading and libraries, how we are all good at something, we may just not yet know what this is yet and how we can often overcome adversity and difficult times.  

Following the ceremony, to recognise the hard work and enjoyment our group has gained from this experience we held a small celebration with each of the pupils who have been involved receiving a certificate and a reading inspired goodie bag. What a wonderful way to come to the end of this award.

Tuesday 4^th November, we had the pleasure of welcoming Emma from CosyCorners to host our first book fair of this academic year. During the day Emma was able to showcase a collection of Usborne books to our pupils for them to purchase or order.

The day was a great success with over £320 of purchases being made so far, earning us over £70 worth of free books for Etone's Library.

Pupils can continue to order up until 4pm on Saturday 8^th November using the attached shopping link.

Many thanks to all parents/carers and pupils who have supported the fair so far. It is greatly appreciated.

Emma has commented on how respectful and polite Etone pupils are and that they are a credit to the School.

On Tuesday 4^th November we are excited to announce that we are hosting our first book fair of this academic year.

On display at the fair will be a variety of books for various reading experiences, showcasing titles that cater to every age (predominately secondary aged pupils) and interest. The diverse selection on offer will ensure there is something for everyone and offer a real celebration of reading.

Payments can be made via cash, card or by ordering in person on the day.

Come along and take a look, any purchases made will help earn rewards towards new titles for the library.

Years 7 and 8 will visit the fair during one of their lessons during the day. All years are welcome to visit before and after school and at break.

Parents and carers are invited to attend between 3.15-5pm, with refreshments being provided.

On Friday 3rd October, Etone College were delighted to welcome poet Damani Dennisur to Etone College.

Damani Dennisur is a local poet based in Birmingham.  He started his poetry journey aged 12, writing for black history month, nationwide poetry slams and local rap/writing competitions, within a few short years he was Birmingham's 7th Young Poet Laureate and his talent would put him in rooms he could only dream of.

Damani was so popular last year with Etone pupils that we asked him to return this year.  After an exciting, interactive assembly with Year 11, Damani delivered hour long sessions to all pupils in Years 9 and 10.  He performed some of his poems and talked about his authorial intent, a critical skill for English literature.  There was also the opportunity for pupils to ask questions, and meet him and obtain his autograph on a specially designed bookmark to celebrate his visit.

Today, we had the privilege of attending the final award ceremony for the Warwickshire Secondary Book Award.  A group of those students who have been taking part travelled to Kings High Hall at Warwick School to see the winning author announced. This year’s winner was Kimberly Whittam for her book ‘Quiet Storm’. Our pupils were extremely pleased as this was the author we had selected as our winner here at Etone.

 The four authors who attended gave inspirational speeches to the pupils covering many topics. Etone pupils really did our school proud with both the attention they gave to each of the authors and their impeccable behaviour. Well done! To top this event off they our pupils were also able to speak to the authors and get copies of their books signed for Etone Library. What a wonderful way to come to the end of this award.