It was a sea of green at Etone College today as staff came together to show their support for World Mental Health Day, which took place on 10th October.

With more staff than ever before getting involved, the corridors were filled with every shade of green imaginable! From bright lime to deep forest green, our staff certainly showed that when it comes to raising awareness, there is no such thing as too much green!

Of course, the timing couldn't have been better, with green becoming something of a theme at Etone recently! Following the publication of our Ofsted report, celebrating six Strong judgements and one Expected, there has already been plenty of green to celebrate. Add to that the recent announcement of our upcoming production of Shrek the Musical, and it seems that being green really is the thing to do at Etone! We're sure Shrek himself would have approved of today's efforts!

However, behind the colourful outfits and amusing coincidences was an important message. At Etone, we recognise that mental health matters, and that looking after our own wellbeing and supporting those around us is something we should all take seriously.

The day was a fantastic reflection of our Etone Values, particularly Caring and Supportive, reminding us that small acts of kindness, checking in on others and taking time to listen can make a real difference.

A huge thank you to everyone who took part. Together, we continue to build a community where everyone feels valued, supported and able to thrive.

Different shades of green, one shared message – mental health matters! 💚

As you know an important part of our organisation is the staff who work incredibly hard to deliver our curriculum to the very highest quality.

Last week was a perfect opportunity to celebrate this work ethic and be thankful of the impact those staff have on our lives.

World Teacher Day was an opportunity for staff and pupils to share thank you’s with those individuals who have made a really impact in their time at Etone. With thank you cards providing a personalised touch to ensure all staff understood the importance they play in Etone’s success.

On Wednesday it was time to celebrate further with a selection of goodies and treats kindly donated by our leadership team as a sincere thank you for the dedicated work our team do.

Education is a busy sector, those who work in it will understand that fully - So THANK YOU to all teachers and staff at Etone and across the world! Happy World Teachers Day!

As part of our new staff induction half termly meetings with the Headteacher is an important feature in the programme. Starting the day of with a pastry and cuppa as we continue to welcome our new members of the Etone Team. This week the sessions was all about the support available, ensuring all members of staff have what they need to enrich minds and provide the high quality education we strive to deliver. The team were unanimously enthusiastic about their start to the school and wholly positive in comparison to other settings. Just one of the small ways we continue to support our staff and their wellbeing.

Bring a plate nibbles’, quizzes and games framed our ECT Graduation and Celebration event this week. 

It is a fantastic achievement to complete the first year and to graduate from the full two year induction process which includes private study, 1:1 mentoring, rigorous quality assurance through observations and book checks. 

Watching the high engagement, passion, and incremental development of our staff makes us incredibly proud.  The induction programme offered to ECTs at Etone is exceptional and feedback continually shows that it develops teachers to be the absolute best for our wonderful pupils. 

Tuesday saw the last ‘Etone Staff Book Club’ of the year discussing Araminta Hall’s ‘Imperfect Women’ in The Middlemarch over a light supper. The whole club enjoyed this novel which started with the discovery of a suspicious death with twists and turns throughout. 

This concludes our first year having read:

My Name is Leon / Kit de Waal

Mythos / Stephen Fry

The Kite Runner / Khaled Hosseini

Murder on Line One / Jeremy Vine

Imperfect Women / Araminta Hall

Our final pick (to be enjoyed over the summer) is Game Changer / Rachel Reid - join us!!

On Thursday we had one of the most successful “Wear it Green” days yet in support of Mental Health Awareness week. This year staff came out on force to show their support by wearing green in their outfits. Be it a tie, shirt or outfit combo it was a see of green to make the Emerald Isle proud!

At the heart is an important message, that by joining together to raise awareness we can tackle the barriers for positive wellbeing and make our community a better place!

On Wednesday we had our half-termly Time to Talk. This event is an opportunity to provide staff with a place to come and catch up after a busy day at school. Whilst being a member of staff at a school is a vocation, we are sure you are aware that life in a school is a busy one. With event underway our leadership team kindly bought in a plethora of goodies which were there for staff to chomp on as they catch up with peers and colleagues that the usual day to day bustle might not allow for. As always some photos here show the happy memories we make at Etone.

Yesterday we were delighted to welcome Rebecca Jennings from RAISE Education to deliver training to staff on the requirements of the new RSHE statutory guidance. This informative and engaging session not only provided staff with outstanding training on how to deliver topics in the new guidance to all pupils but also offer staff the opportunity for consultation.  A fantastic session as always. We were also very pleased that RAISE Education were able to join us earlier in the day to provide catch up sessions for Year 9 RSHE. Feedback for both sessions has been really positive, and we look forward to welcoming Rebecca back next week to support in with our Year 10 Learning for Life Day.

On Friday 17th April 2026, three more members of the Etone College staff took a trip to the Nuneaton Warhammer store for the third workshop on how to paint a Warhammer miniature.  

This initiative continues the drive at Etone College to support the wellbeing of their staff through various activities and events; with this activity being painting Warhammer miniatures.

On this occasion, Miss Hillary, Mr Baggott and Miss Turner joined in with Mr McKenna’s plans for their first experience of the painting workshop.  As with the two previous workshops, this was led by the Nuneaton Warhammer store manager James, and also as with the previous workshops, Mr Gittens made a guest appearance, although this time for moral support.  The session lasted for 1 hour and 15 minutes with two of the staff finishing their miniatures before the store closed.  Mr Baggott chose a green colourscheme for his Space Marine inspired by pop culture, whilst Miss Turner went with red/pink scheme for her Stormcast Eternal and Miss Hillary enjoyed painting with the bronze coloured metallic paint for the armour on her Stormcast Eternal.  The results were all unique and looked fantastic.

By the end of the session, all of the staff taking part said how they had enjoyed the experience, and having the opportunity to try something new.  Being able to take home their miniatures to show what they had accomplished was an added bonus too.

As before, Etone College would like to say thank you to the store manager James for running this session for the staff, and his continued support of the school Warhammer Club.  Also, as with the two previous sessions, the staff feedback was very positive and the results of the time spent painting were amazing.  What is next in store for the hobby of Warhammer at Etone College?  Time will tell.