This week Etone College was featured in the Nuneaton News once again, this time to share the success of our Music Mark Award and for raising over £470 for Macmillan. Check out the latest edition to read more.

In a historical moment for the Etone Football Education Academy in partnership with West Bromwich Albion the female side started their first game together on Thursday 12^th October. Before the match the team were asked to start on the front foot and show a very attacking approach. Make the pitch as big as they could and use the space created effectively. A fantastic start saw the ladies 2-0 up in the first 10 minutes. Understandably the intensity dropped as the ladies became more comfortable which in turn allowed the opposition to break and pull a goal back. However conceding reignited that intensity and seen the ladies go back on the attack adding another 3 goals before the break to go in 5-1 up. 

The message at half time was clear…. keep up the intensity but remember to stay focused defensively. The ladies stuck to their task adding a 6th early in the second half before settling down, keeping possession and being more patient. A little rotation in player positions to test the ladies adaptability didn’t alter the flow of the game and a 7th goal was added. A lapse in concentration allowed the opposition a second but was met almost instantly with an 8th for a newly formed girls side.

Full time 8-2 and a happy start to the season

A very good attacking display from our young ladies that on another day could of scored even more!

Goalscorers-

Tara x4

Libby x2

Molly x1

Ava x1

If you please see any of the players around College please congratulate them on a very mature performance 😊

In celebration for World Mental Health Day our pupils had the chance to take part in sessions such as; mindful colouring, making twiddle mits, postcards and bookmarks for the local hospital and care homes and getting the chance to have a catch up with friends and staff.

After school our staff took part by attending our Tea and Talk event complete with cake where staff were able to enjoy a drink and some sweet treats after a successful Tuesday.

Remember to stay on top of your mental health and check out our mental health page: Student Wellbeing

Monday 23^rd October – Friday 27^th October marks the first of our Attendance competitions of the year. We are passionate about ensuring pupils recognise the importance of excellent attendance. Recently a report published by the Department for Education showed that where pupils had excellent attendance across KS3 and KS4 their progress was one average double those who would be classed as consistently persistently absent (less than 90%).

As the cold weather comes in we aim to motivate all of our pupils to ensure they are attending each and every day. As a result we are sharing our attendance competition now to encourage pupils to dig deep, no matter what and make the most of their educational experience.

To that end we have three ways that pupils can be rewarded during the final week of term:

1. Form Time Competition: Highest average attendance for a Form across the week will receive a special breakfast with Mr Smith during the first week back after half term.
2. 100% Attenders: All pupils with 100% for the Half Term will get a free breaktime snack, so the final week will be imperative to achieving this reward.
3. Last Week 100%: Everyone with 100% attendance across the final week will be entered into a prize draw for vouchers which will be drawn on the first week back.

Our attendance competitions are always extremely successful and we would like this one to be no different. So make sure you are part of the competition and gaining your jigsaw piece each and every day.

At Etone College we strive to ensure that pupils get rich cultural experiences in all areas of the curriculum. Therefore, it is very pleasing to announce that we have been invited to join Music Mark as a Music Mark School for 2023-2024. This prestigious association strives towards helping schools to provide the very best in music education. Something that we at Etone are deeply passionate about.

As you will be aware there are a number of hugely talented musicians at Etone including; singers, guitarists and even a harpist1 these pupils have opportunities to engage in their love of music both in high quality lessons, extensive extracurricular opportunities and supporting professional music lessons. 

In order to be invited, a school it is expected to deliver high quality music education CEO Bridget Whyte has informed us “

Our vision is for there to be accessible and excellent musical learning and engagement in and out of school, for all children and young people, which inspires and enriches their lives.”

We are further delighted to discover that Warwickshire Music were the nominators for the entry, who we have worked with on multiple projects including for a concert with the King’s Singers/Armonico Consort.

We are very proud of this success and would just like to thank all of our pupils, staff and families for their support with music and the wider school life.

We are delighted to launch our themed menus for 2023/24 off the back of our very successful new menu for the academic year. 

These special days are an opportunity to celebrate events, festivals and cultures from around the world across all of the Matrix Academy Trust schools. Not only will these provide pupils with a wide range of food experiences but will also compliment our Personal Development curriculum and Theme of the Week.

Watch this space for more updates on our menus and the wonderful food that we will be offering as part of these events.

On Thursday evening our Year 11 pupils had the amazing opportunity to go and watch Macbeth, performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Coventry.

This was a special event for our Year 11 pupils as they work towards their mock exams and ultimately their GCSE exams. Seeing the play live from the RSC was a real treat and the best thing to help the story to come alive.

As always our pupils were fantastic showing their respect and showcasing all Etone Values, with staff complimenting us on exit.

We look forward to exploring the story more as pupils prepare. Don’t forget to attend your intervention session Class of 2024!

Etone WBA 4 – 2 Wolverhampton Wanderers 

The first real test of the season saw an away trip and early start for Etone WBA at Wolves. A long drive and a short warmup meant Etone struggled to find their feet in the first 20 minutes, sitting in deep and soaking up pressure. However, Atkins scored against the run of play after finding half a yard and shooting low across the box into the bottom right corner. The next 20 minutes Etone began to settle into the game, creating a few half chances from crosses and keeping the play in the Wolves half. Unbalanced and exposed from a counter attack Wolves were able to force a penalty just before half time which was finished at the second time of asking after a smart penalty save from Bheda. 1-1 at the break and an excellent spectacle for the neutrals set the 2nd half up perfectly. The high press from Etone was becoming a lot for wolves to handle and the Etone back 4 did a good job of squeezing the pitch to suffocate the space for wolves. The pressure paid off when Grimes won the ball high and drove to goal slotting in at the near post. A quadruple substitution on the hour mark brought fresh legs and fresh idea for Etone as well as a second goal for Atkins in a fashion not too dissimilar from his first goal. An unfortunate slice into their own goal from the Etone defence brought the game back to 3-2 with 10 minutes to play. Eventually, any nerves were put to rest when Browns header fell to Evans who dragged the ball into the far corner of the goal for a 4-2 win and further 3 points on the board making it 3 wins from 3.

Etone WBA 1 – 1 Sandwell 

A positive start from Etone WBA saw them have a goal disallowed after just 2 minutes, Ferrar headed in a Neale free kick only for the referee to give a foul for a push in the penalty area. Etone were the better team for large parts of the first half creating plenty of chances but struggling to really find a cutting edge in front of goal. A goal line clearance from a Beard header being the closest they came to breaking the deadlock. With Etone failing to be clinical it gave Sandwell and opportunity and they took it well, a quick counter attack finished well have them a 1-0 lead going into half time. After the break there was plenty of positives for Etone as they controlled possession, limited Sandwell to few touches and looked a real threat going forwards. After 78 minutes Tromans was the quickest to react to a loose ball in the box as he finished nicely. The last 10 minutes saw next to nothing in terms of clear cut chances with Sandwell doing their very best to hold onto a 1-1 result and Etone struggling to find a winner.

On Friday 6^th October Etone College hosted their biggest Coffee Morning yet. The event was held to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support as our first Charity event of this academic year.  As you are aware, Etone with the help of our Community Ambassadors take part in lots of events and initiatives to raise fund and show support to a number of local and national causes. Last year we were proud to take our total to £5788.52 since September 2021. 

This year we have set the target of taking our total to over £10,000 by the summer and we are proud to say our success at the Macmillan event has propelled towards achieving it. As a staple of our Autumn term we like to invite our Year 7 parents into the school to join in with the fun as they eat cake and drink coffee whilst getting a chance to catch up with their child in the school environment. It was lovely to see how our pupils were able to convey the importance of the event and how it showed active citizenship, underpinning our Etone Values including caring. One parent describe the event as “a great way to introduce ourselves to the school. Supporting a very worthy cause and giving us a chance to see how good it is here for my son.” With plenty of cakes on offer our parents were also generous with their donations and we are pleased to say we raised a total of over £400 and counting, a record for this event. Whilst we will update you with a final total it takes us past the £6,000 mark.

During the morning two other special events took place. First of all it was the first full performance of our Etone Choir and School Band. The pupils had been busy rehearsing and played a full set list including some classics form the Beatles, a very heartfelt rendition of Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen followed by their finale, a performance of their rendition of the Four Chord Song as made famous by the Axis of Awesome.  

The other event which has to be mentioned was the Etone Bake-Off. With Mr Clinton hoping to clinch the win for a second year in the row the competition was rife. We had a record 14 entries and the competition was the toughest yet with Jammie Dodgers, pumpkin cakes and an exquisite lemon drizzle cake. Despite a valid effort from Mr Clinton coming second with his Sticky Toffee Cake whilst Miss Greenhalugh took the crown with her Victoria’s Secret Sponge, decorated with strawberries and cream. 

We would like to thank all of our parents, staff and pupils for being involved and look forward to the next event.

A big well done to the Year 10 Netball Team who had their tournament on Tuesday 3^rd October. Despite tough competition they managed to win two out of four of their matches, showing the full range of skills and values that we hold dear at Etone. Well done girls, we are very proud of you!