On Wednesday a group of Year 7,8 and 9 pupils travelled to our capital city, London for a jam packed journey through time as part of the History Departments Enrichment Week provision. 

First up was the coach ride, whilst it was clearly an early start for some, as the sun rose it was great to see the landmarks across the country as we headed nearer to the ‘Hub of Britain’. 

Arriving in the big city, our pupils departed the coach and stretched their legs before heading to our first stop, The Natural History Museum. As the pupils delved into the delights of the natural world they were amazed to see first hand how the world around them has developed so drastically. A particular highlight being the mammals on display. Whilst the elephant was impressive the whales were gigantic and the pupils were able to make links between History and Science, something we know Mr Clinton and the Science team would be proud off. 

Next up on day 1 was a visit to Buckingham Palace, the official residence of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. The pupils were in awe of the splendour of it all and very impressed by the dedication and resilience shown by the guardsmen. One pupil considered “They would make a good Etone Learner with their skills.” Something that of course would delight Mr Smith back at Etone, as pupils reflect on the skills and values of Etone and how they fit within the wider world.

In the afternoon the pupils enjoyed a walk in the park and an ice cream courtesy of Miss Kelly-Smith before heading to Bella Itallia where the group enjoyed a two course dinner. We were particularly pleased to be complimented on the way our pupils upheld themselves once again showing our Etone Values in action.

With pupils excited and energised from their meal there was just enough time for a very competitive game of bowling, before heading back to the hotel for a well deserved rest. 

Day 2 – The Tower

After a hearty breakfast with the sun shining down, our group of ‘Londoners’ for the week arrived at the Tower of London where they explored the history of the building and it’s importance in our country’s foundations. Whilst there the group were encouraged to take part in an impromptu performance by the Tower Players who shared the story of trials and monarchs of old.

In the afternoon our pupils had the chance for some more sight seeing with Tower Bridge on the map for a final group photo before getting back on the bus for the journey home. Thank you London for such an amazing time.

On the last week of the Spring Half Term 1 we issued a challenge to all Form Groups to achieve the best attendance over that week in their Key Stage. As we announced last week this was achieved by:

• 8P1 for KS3, led by Mr Bishop
• 11P1 for KS4, led by Mr Randall and Mr Griffiths
• 12G1 for KS5, led by Miss Taylor

As part of their reward, they received their special breakfast celebration on Monday complete with toast, hot chocolate, treats and a special guest appearance by Mr Smith. During the event, there was the opportunity to share the school’s gratitude to our pupils who diligently attend and make sure that they are making the most of their chances. It was good to share some stories with the pupils about how excellent attendance leads to success and praise those who deserve it.

The pupils really enjoyed the session and the chance to catch up across the key stages. One Year 12 pupil had the following to say “I am so proud that we had the best attendance. I know that attending school is important and I had 100% all throughout Covid and still have it now in Year 12. It’s nice to be rewarded and to get our opportunity to share it with the younger years.”

Mr Bowley had the following message for the pupils “Across the school, our pupils know how important it is to attend school. Whilst they might like the treats and rewards, they attend not for these but for the intrinsic value of education, for their futures. I want to congratulate all of our excellent attendees and this is a great opportunity to do this.”

On Monday 7^th November the Charity Committee held their inaugural meeting. The committee is made up of pupils from across the school, from Year 7 to Year 13 at its core are those individuals who are particularly committed to raising funds and awareness for good causes and charities globally, nationally and locally. 

With the first meeting, pupils were treated to toast and juice as they talked about what the plan would be in raising funds for this academic year. Last year the school raised £2,500 in total and was featured in the Nuneaton News several times as a reward for their strong efforts. In addition to the funds over 300 items of food were donated to the Nuneaton Foodbank and nearly 200 toys and games as part of the Salvation Army’s annual Toy Drive. 

This year so far the school has raised nearly £400 with over £350 raised for Macmillan Cancer Support and over £30 raised for the Sixth Form Charity. The committee is charged with adding to that figure and was excited to discuss their first assignment. Children in Need. On Friday 18th November the school will be holding a Non-School Uniform Day in a bid to raise £1000 towards the national event. Over in the Sixth Form, our committee and the elect are hoping to host a bake sale along with a ‘Pyjama’ themed fancy dress with the aim of raising more than £100 for the cause.

Another fantastic trip to the PGL centre for a weekend full on Netball, football and PGL activities. This is the 3^rd year we have taken pupils from years 7-9 to experience a trip that encourages independence, resilience, communication, and self-management. Our pupils again behaved impeccably and showed their ability to adapt to a variety of situations. It was especially nice to get the chance to return following the postponement in recent years due to the pandemic.

Our netballers demonstrated a high level of resilience and were able to improve massively over a very short and intense period. Pupils who had never experienced a netball tournament to those who take part regular in and outside of school had the chance to show other schools what being an Etone Learner is all about. For Year 7 and 8 it was a sharp learning curve as some had not experience this level of competition before. However, they worked together and improved their netball skills and understanding throughout. It was also great to see such lovely friendships developing amongst the younger pupils and their own self-belief and confidence sky rocketing. Year 9 topped their division against 6 other schools taking them through to the semis and with an amazing comeback win in the semis they had to face the one team who had beaten them in the rounds in the final. The year 9’s demonstrated pure grit and determination to push through to the final whistle. They lost by 2 goals coming second overall but were winners with their positive attitudes, teamwork, and tenacity. We are all extremely proud of our Year 9 students.

This year was the first time we tock boys to take part in the football coaching sessions. The coaches were excellent and are based at Swindon Town so are coaching regular at professional level. The boys really enjoyed the coaching and came back to the cabins practicing any skills they had learnt or developed. There activities were Archery, Jacobs Ladder – a team building exercise and abseiling. For some of our students this was the first time they had taken part in Archery or even seen a harness. Like a girls you could see over the space of a weekend the boys develop their independence and for the year 7’s their self-management skills. 

The students always impress us as staff when we take them away on any trip or fixture. We as a department are extremely proud of our sports students and we can not wait to start planning for PGL next year.

What a packed week it has been at Etone College. Not only have we had visits from our House Charities, a very successful Careers Fair but as a school we have also been busy fundraising and supporting Comic Relief.

Over the course of the week our Houses have hosted the annual Rowing Competition, which has been a welcome return post pandemic. Not only have we raised additional funds for our Charity Totaliser but also added hundreds of House Points to our House totals for the year.

We have also been laughing our socks off with the entries to our Joke Competition. Pupils were tasked to come up with a joke, make a small donation and enter with the chance to win a voucher. We will be announcing the winner shortly.

On the day itself our staff joined in with the Comic Relief Cupcake Sweepstake. Each picking their favourite cupcake for the chance to win a voucher. Although completely within the rules, Mr Smith attempted to stack the odds in his favour with two picks. However, the winning cupcake was Double Choc Delight meaning that Mr Astall is the one with the luck of the Irish this time.

Finally on Friday afternoon we held our staff vs students football match to raise funds and settle scores away from the classroom. In a four way title race it was tough however the final scores were:

• 1^st – Palmercacio – Sixth Formers
• 2^nd – Leech United – Sixth Formers
• 3^rd – Priceton North End – Staff
• 4^th – Khanton Athletic – Staff

Meaning that the Sixth Form students have dominated the league and take the title home for another year.

Overall we have raised £431.35 for Comic Relief and add this to our Totaliser making a midyear total of £2116.54. Once again thank you for all of your support. We can’t wait for the next big event: https://www.etonecollege.co.uk/charity-counter/

On Wednesday 1^st December we were delighted to welcome the Speakers Trust at Etone as they delivered their Climate for Change program to a group of our year 10 pupils. The program is geared towards developing the public speaking, communication and listening skills of young people and empowering them to speak on a number of topics close to their heart.

Across the day pupils were given the chance to look at some of the worlds greatest speakers from Winston Churchill to Greta Thunberg, consider the key principles of delivering a strong speech such as using research and evidence to back up points and the strategies we can all use to tackle nerves and get our points across confidently. The pupils have really enjoyed the event with Declan saying “I feel that I have so much more confidence now in giving a speech. It has really helped me and I think it will be good for all of my subjects, especially MFL, English and Enterprise where I have to talk and give presentations.”

As the result of the day a number of our pupils have been entered into the national ‘Race to Zero’ competition for an opportunity to present their speech at a COP26 affiliated event in the new year. We wish them the best of luck and again offer our thanks to Speakers Trust for a really good event. We look forward to hosting more.

More on the race to Zero competition here: https://bit.ly/3xILYZb