On Thursday, 27^th June, Gaby Songui and her actors came to Etone for the final performance of 'Body in the Library', all pupils (years 7,8,9,12) who had been involved in the creation of the performance and some of their parents fully engaged in the interactive show.  Pupils enjoyed playing the role of the investogator when invited to the stage and Mr Botham even made a guest appearance!  There were 'ooohs' of delight as pupils saw their own characters come to life in from of them, and much excitement when they found bags of evidence under their chairs to investigate.  At key moments, pupils wrote down 'who dunnit' with book prizes at the end for those who had successfully identified the murderer!  We would like to thank Nuneaton Library for this amazing opportunity.

Well we finally made it to the Big Olympic Rowing Challenge 2024.

At the start of this year we set out to achieve the biggest donation to our House Charities so far this year. Each House Charity supports a local causes and does a lot to aid our local area (you can read about these below.)

As part of this initiative we decided to set up the BIG OLYMPIC ROWING CHALLENGE - With each House racing the distance between Dover to Calais and back (40.8km) in preparation for the Summer 2024 Olympics in Paris, France.

Across the weeks our Community Champions have been supporting with the build up until finally the day was upon us. As the event began Phoenix took an early leave with Mr Baggot (the only sport teacher at the start) storming ahead. Mr Bowley did well to keep second place and build a short distance between Dragon and Griffin with Mrs Price, although a valiant effort, take fourth place. However with change overs and cool downs this soon changed with a complete change up of the bottom three places. Miss Greenhalgh working a double shift put Centaur back on the road to glory, taking second position as we neared the end of the first session. 

Following this despite a SPOTY worthy effort from Mr Smith, Mr Hodgson and Mrs Harris the team were not able to derail Phoenix’s impressive force with Mr Key taking it home for the flamed bird at 12:20pm representing the journey from Dover to Calais and back again. With Mr Hodgson bringing the silver medal home for Centaur just 6 minuets later. As we entered the afternoon pupils cheered on the efforts of Griffin and finally Dragon as they reached the finish line. It was a really lovely event and feedback form all is overwhelmingly supportive. A big thank you from Mr Bowley for all of the efforts from all areas.

In total so far we have raised £1,013 in donations with an additional £217.14 in Gift Aid donations for charity. This is a truly amazing amount but we are hoping for a little bit more. With all House Charities set to receive more than £250 towards their efforts and good causes. We are truly astounded by your support and thank you.

If you are able to give a little more to the campaign please do by following the link: https://www.justgiving.com/team/etonerowing

Centaur - George Elliot Diabetes Support Group

Formed in 1996 the GEDSG aim to deliver support for people with diabetes and their families through a full range of activities and provision. The group also carries out some really important fundraising work and it is our pleasure to be able to add to this by naming them the Centaur House Charity for 2021/2022.

At Etone we pride ourselves in supporting each other no matter the situation and this is something that is mirrored by the GEDSG. In Centaur particularly we strongly promote the values of aiding your peers no matter what and offering a helping hand wherever you can. Therefor it is fitting that group receive our support for the next academic year.

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Dragon - Guy's Gift

Guy’s Gift delivers bereavement support for children and young people throughout Coventry and Warwickshire. Our early intervention service is open to 5- to 25-year-olds and tackles a range of emotional concerns, preventing them from escalating and helping individuals to achieve their potential and continue their lives in a meaningful way.

Dragon have selected this charity in solidarity with all of our pupils that have suffered bereavement, especially given the current climate.  Something that is close to our hearts.

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Griffin - Doorway

Doorway is an independent charity based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, working with young people aged 16 – 25 years who are homeless or threatened with homelessness. Their short-term aim is to help young people solve the immediate crisis of “no home, no money”.

Their long-term aim is to improve life chances through learning to live independently and accessing training, education and employment.

We have selected Doorway as Griffin’s charity as it’s local to Nuneaton and has supported some of our students in the past through difficult personal circumstances.

Our House Motto is Aspiration, Determination and Success and we recognise that sometimes we need to support others in order for them to achieve this. Therefore Doorway is exactly the kind of charity we feel we should support.

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Phoenix - Mary Ann Evans Hospice

MAEH strive to enhance the quality of life of people who have a life limiting illness, by offering physical, emotional, social and spirtual support to them, their families and those caring for them.

Mary Ann Evans Hospice ethos supports that of Phoenix house. Our motto, ‘Never less than our best’ can be seen in the work carried out by this charity. They provide the best end of life care they possibly can to help make a person with a life limiting illness, as comfortable as possible. This in turn, can provide them and their families, some additional time to make some ever lasting memories.

On Thursday 28^th June, Etone College marked the end of our Class of 2024 celebrations with the Etone 2024 Prom.

Taking place at the Heart of England Conference Centre, the event is always a joyouse one as it celebrate the hard work and efforts of our pupils both during the busy exam period, but also for their five years of being dedicated Etone Learners. 

As the clock struck 6:30pm a large turnout of staff were present to witness some of the elegant, exciting and in some cases bonkers entrances from the pupils. This year the pupil's excelled themselves with; tractors, racers, executive cars and of course some old-time classics. The only thing that could outdo the entrances was the glamour and elegance of the outfits across the board. The effort the pupil's have clearly put into their dress for the evening never ceases to amaze. For the gents, this year particular trends have been; Celtic style waistcoats, Matching tie pins, sunglasses and oddly the "security" pose. 

Of course the dresses and outfits from the ladies were equally stunning and it was lovely to see the individual style of our pupil's really brought out. After arriving to the holding area, there was a chance for pupils to mingle with teachers, staff and each other catching up across the past few weeks and looking forward to the night ahead.

Once the clock struck 7:00pm it was time for the procession to the Prom Hall for the big reveal of the Prom 2024. Pupil's were equally amazed and impressed with the vibe of the party, a mix between Prom Classic and Hollywood Elite. Pupil's were able to fill themselves from the stunning BBQ banquet and enjoy bubble gum ice cream, donuts and brownies for deserts. Before the speeches and surprises. Mrs Price as always had the opportunity to declare Class of 2024 "The Best Ever". Something that really resonates with just how collaborative and compassionate this year group are with each other. Whilst we won't ruin the surprises for our incoming Year 11's (current Year 10's), the event was a spectacular success and we will miss our pupil's dearly. 

See you on results day Class of 2024!

On Wednesday we invited our Year 11’s back into school to celebrate their end of year with the Leavers Assembly 2024.

This event is one of the key parts of our Leavers Celebration and is always filled with laughter and smiles as we look back over the past 5 years of our pupil’s education. As the event went underway our pupil’s entered the café as Year 11 for the very last time, tucking into a banquet of bacon and sausage batches watered down with some delicious juices. As they shared updates on what had filled their time since the last exams, some gave teachers their thank you gifts whilst others were busy catching up on the latest from the walls of Etone. We were particularly thrilled to be inundated with resources, uniform and revision guides kindly donated to us by our pupils. Where donations were particularly large our pupils received a reward of a shopping voucher as a small token of thanks.

Upon entering the hall the pupils were welcomed to a specially created video looking back at some of the times they have had at Etone College over the years. There were particular smiles to see how the sweet smiling faces of Year 7’s morphed into the determined and focused one’s ready for the exam season. Following this there was time to reward pupils for their success with; House Points, Attendance and Progress rewards to boot. With Echo Shows and vouchers around this was a fantastic opportunity to thank they Year 11’s for their input across the school.

With leavers hoodies on and some comical awards, the finale built up to a very heartfelt montage of the Year 11’s final few hours at Etone College as pupils, before waving them goodbye. We now eagerly await the displays of elegance at the Prom 2-24!

We are always shouting out about the success of our pupils therefore we are so happy to share the achievement of Amelia in Phoenix’s result this weekend at the British National Downhill Series.

A downhill mountain bike race is a high-speed competition where riders compete against the clock to descend a steep, rugged course filled with obstacles like rock gardens, jumps, and berms, aiming for the fastest time. The tracks are normally around 3-4 minutes long.

This weekend, Amelia took part in Round 3 of the British National Downhill Series at Antur Stiniog, North Wales. The track is known for being brutal with changeable weather conditions as it’s positioned in a slate quarry which is very exposed to the elements.  The weekend was split into 3 sections: Friday practice and track walk, Saturday seeding and Sunday racing.

Amelia demonstrated exceptional skill and control to secure 2nd place across both seeding and racing in the U16’s Female category, navigating the demanding course’s steep drops and technical sections with precision, despite coming back from a recent injury, the intense competition and difficult weather conditions.

Well done Amelia - You’ve done Phoenix 🐦‍🔥 proud!

Some year 9 classes enjoyed an online author event with LGBTQAI+ writer, Joseph Eliott on Friday, 21^st June.  Joseph's debut novel was Carnegie nominated and a Times Book of the Year as well as having won The Highland Book Prize and his writing promotes acceptance, tolerance, and equality.  They listened attentively as Joseph spoke about his career including performing and script writing for children's television (star and cowriter of CBBC's series, Swashbuckle).  He promoted the values of acceptance, equality, and awareness in his novel, 'The Good Hawk', a teen novel written explicitly to include LBGTQIA+ characters.  Joseph recommended some other novels that pupils may like to read including, Heartstopper, Jamie, The Other Boy, Death in the Spotlight, Eight Pieces of Silva, Wranglestone, and The Black Flamingo before describing key elements of his epic adventure novel.  Agatha, (a 15 year old 'hawk' with down syndrome) and Jaime (a 14 year old 'angler' who is kind and smart) are the only survivors of a tribal attack and must travel across Scotia to rescue their families.  Joseph read an extract of his novel and then gave key tips to aspiring writers:  1) read books that excite you; 2) write without worrying about the quality - just start; and 3) read your own work out loud.

Pupils can order signed copies of 'The Good Hawk' to be delivered to school by 28^th June.

On Tuesday the Year 13’s said their final farewell to Etone College for the end of the year assembly. With some very cute photos of the students not just as Etone youngsters, but toddlers and even babies! Well done Team Year 13 and the Sixth Form team. Whilst their Etone story has all but ended it is the start of an exciting time for them as they enter their summer holidays. With trips, vacations and of course results day we are sure they will be jam packed with joy. Good luck to all.

On Wednesday Mrs Price delivered a fantastic session to support our pupils and parents with Wellbeing at Etone. With such a high-profile role wellbeing is having on society, we are proud to highlight the extensive programme of advice and guidance our Wellbeing and Mental Health team offer here at Etone College. The well attended session marks the final one of our 2023/2024 programme and we are excited to announce our updated programme will be released shortly. Stay tuned.

As Year 11 enter the celebration phase of their Class of 24 programme we are delighted to welcome them back on Wednesday 26^th June. During this short assembly there will be a chance to reward pupils with some final prizes and reflect on some of the moment we have shared together as a community.

Additionally we are asking for support of all Year 11 pupils to provide us with ANY donations to support their peers and the school as we enter the next academic year:

As you know, there are people who could really use your support by donating your unwanted items such as:

• Uniform (blazer, trousers)
• House ties
• PE Kit
• Calculators
• Revision Guides

If you make a significant donation you will be rewarded with either a cinema or shopping voucher.

Please bring these to the Leavers Assembly on Wednesday 26^th June!

Additionally Thursday 27^th June marks the Prom.

Ask yourself. Are you likely to never wear your stunning prom dresses or smart suits again?

Don’t let them lie in storage, donate them us!

All donations will be used to support the school or provide those in need at future proms to dazzle and stun just like you!

If you make a significant donation you will be rewarded with either a cinema or shopping voucher.

Donate any Prom Wear after the event at the main reception.

As the clock ticked towards the end of today it was a Friday to remember. This was to be the last Friday of our Year 11’s in school as they sat their final Physics exam. With our pupils ready to tackle one of the final few hurdles before they have officially left, they entered the sports hall as a full cohort for one last time.

Following the exam our pupils entered the main hall, where they were greeted with doughnuts, cookies and soft drinks as a final well done for their efforts across the exam series. Whilst this was one of the many surprises in store for Year 11 as they enter the celebration phase of the year, the staff themselves were treated to a surprise. In the form of the excellent shirt designs the Year 11’s had created for themselves. Picking up pencils, paintbrushes and stencils our team of artists jumped on the current trend of leavers shirts. The designs are truly exquisite, so much so we couldn’t even begin to decide on a favourite (although the shirt with the Coventry logo clearly lacks style…)

It didn’t take long for the designs to be joined by well wishes, messages of luck and friendship from staff and pupils alike as shirts were signed and pictures taken. After the opportunity to say goodbye to all pupils, there was just one thing left to do – The group photo of Class of 2024! With the final click taken it was time for our Year 11 to depart and rest. Whilst there are still two exams (Maths and Technology) left to go, the majority of pupils can now begin to look forward to the leavers assembly, Prom and of course their results. Well done Year 11!