At Etone College we are proud to take our commitment to raising awareness and funds for good causes seriously. Raising over £10,000 since 2021 this year the agents in the Senior Leadership Team are turning their attention to Movember. 

With fathers, partners, brothers and friends facing a health crisis, we can’t afford to stay silent.

Movember is the leading charity changing the face of men’s health. Prostate cancer, testicular cancer , mental health and suicide prevention – the charity is taking them all on, providing support and initiatives across the world.

To be exact since 2003, Movember has funded more than 1,250 men’s health projects around the world, challenging the status quo, and shaking up men’s health research.

To further support our gents on the SLT team at Etone are growing out their moustaches to raise funds, awareness and disguise the rest of their undesirable faces.

To support our efforts donate at the following link! Every little helps: https://www.justgiving.com/page/etone-college-sltmovember?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Fetone-college-sltmovember&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share

At 6pm on Tuesday, 7^th January 2025, Etone Exceeding Excellence will be welcoming a lecture by Astrophysicist, Prof. Ed Guinan focused on his NASA project, ‘The Martian Garden’.  Parents and pupils are invited to attend.

Dr Guinan was one of the team who first observed the rings around Neptune in 1968; he was also involved in building Iran’s first high-powered telescope.  His research interests include black holes, searching for exoplanets, pulsating stars, binary star systems, and the evolution of the sun and solar-like stars.

We are absolutely delighted that Dr Guinan will be talking to Etone pupils live from Philadelphia via Teams, enabling both the opportunity to listen to the lecture and to ask questions.  Following the evening, Etone pupils will be given the opportunity to create their own Martian Garden using soil which Dr Guinan has sent to Mrs Leftwich-Lloyd which was collected last weekend.

This week at Etone joins the rest of the country in supporting Anti Bullying Week. In line with our Theme of the week our pupils will have the opportunity in assemblies, form time and Learning for Life lessons to explore how as a community we can protect against bullying and support those who find themselves victims. 

This year the theme for Anti Bullying is ‘Choose Respect’, which as a theme is very apt with peer pressure on social media playing a big role in young pupils lives. With that we are asking our pupils to be especially complimentary for the next fortnight and provide a kind word or compliment to friends, family and those people you may not usually speak to often. If we all get behind the campaign as a school, we can have a significant impact on our community and ensure that people do not suffer in silence.

Following this we will be asking pupils to take part in random acts of kindness across the week be it; holding the door open for someone, making a gesture or spontaneous, reaching out to old friends or acquaintances and providing help to others. So whatever your act might be make sure you show off the values of the Etone Learner and support your peers.

Finally don’t forget your odd socks on Monday for Odd Socks Day.

On the 12th November, the first half of our Year 10 Geographers headed to Carding Mill Valley in Shropshire to complete their GCSE fieldwork. We managed to find a dry but windy day, with the leaves on the ground and a chill in the air there was a festive feel to the project. Pupils completed investigations into the river depth and width as well as the sediment shape and size, all of this work will help pupils to answer the questions in their Paper 3 for Geography.  It was great to get out into nature and enjoy some fresh air even in November! We had a fantastic day and the pupils joined in with enthusiasm and were a real credit to the school. 

On Tuesday, 5^th November, we launched ‘My Project with Etone Exceeding Excellence participants.  Pupils from Years 7 to 9 were buzzing with ideas and have plans to investigate questions like, ‘Does the truth exist?’ ‘Should cars be electric?’ ‘What do you need to do to publish a book?’ ‘Does your environment impact how you act?’ ‘Does the British prison system prevent crimes?’ and ‘Should footballers earn as much as they do?’  Our next session will be focussed on research and we can’t wait to see what they find out.

Our pupils and staff have been considering remembrance. Each year, as a country, we join to consider the sacrifices and efforts made to protect our British values. Throughout conflicts over the years, the men and women who have given their all to ensure our individual liberty and freedom of speech remain intact.

On Friday 8th November, Matrix Academy Trust held their annual trust wide remembrance service. A small contingent of cadets and staff from each of schools joined together, this year hosted by Wednesfield Academy. Whilst any parade is a spectacle of respect to behold, this one particularly hit home the unity that encompasses Great Britain. All our schools joining together, each represented by model student leaders to show their respects.

As the parade began our CCF commanders were joined by Lord-Lieutenant Derrick Anderson CBE, as the sovereign’s representative for the West Midlands, for the event. Lord-Lieutenant Anderson joined our CEO, Headteachers along with other dignitaries to view the exemplary collection of cadets who had turned out with immaculate uniform.

Following an inspection, the traditional poem ‘In Flanders Field’ was read out as Sixth Form pupils from Wednesfield underlined that ‘We will remember them!’. With the last post playing the attendees, school and Trust observed a two-minute silence to pay respect to all of those who have sacrificed for us.

We are so proud of our cadets, and everyone involved for emphasising the importance of remembrance.

On Sunday 10th November our cadets represented Etone, the CCF and the Matrix Trust at the Nuneaton remembrance parade. The event is always well attended and represented from clubs and military groups all around Nuneaton.

Extra special as it is only the second year our troops have been able to attend, carrying on a new tradition for Etone. As you will be aware, cadets share the same values as those of every other Etone member. By showing their respect, turning up immaculately and laying our reef that y have shown Support, Courtesy, Caring and their own integrity.

As each year passes and other world conflicts continue, it becomes even more important to reflect on those who have fallen for our British Values including Individual Liberty.

A big thank you to all who turned up to support the troops and the parade/ service. We will remember them.