As part of mental health week, pupils have been to an assembly led by Mrs Price and some of our
wellbeing ambassadors, the assembly falls in line with the theme this year which is movement…

Today members of Etone Colleges CCF contingent joined other Matrix Trust CCF units at RAF museum at RAF Cosford. The cadets got the opportunity to view the extensive exhibits some of which were from the 2nd War. There were special presentations about the RAF’s involvement in D-Day.

After lunch all contingents gathered for a Remembrance parade where the cadets were reminded of the ultimate sacrifice many military personnel made on that fateful day.

On Tuesday, 4th July, Etone Exceeding Excellence welcomed Dr Frank Simons, an Assyriologist from Trinity Collrge, Dublin to speak in person to pupils and parents.  

Dr Simons explained the nature of Assyriology and the work of an Assyriologist. He explained the dozens of languages across 3,000 years in a wide area of the Middle East centring around Iraq, all of which were written in cuneiform on clay tablets which are preserved in vast numbers in museums across the world. Assyriology’s source base dwarfs that of Egyptology, and the classical world in both size and variety. 

The audience were taken in the quest to define samānu, tracking specific words through medical cures, ancient dictionaries, omens, divination texts, incantations, agricultural manuals and even ancient children’s schoolwork! They were the first in the world to see which animal the samānu was, which will be published in due course. 

Huge curiosity and engagement were shown in the focus and range of questions Dr Simons answered at the end of his talk. 

The lecture series resumes in September with a musicologist, a world famous Astronomer, a trip to Warwick University science lectures and more to be revealed. 

This week in KS3 History, students have been looking at the key causes and consequences of the D-Day landings, which took place eighty years ago on 6^th June 1944. 

In lessons students started by considering the context of 1944 – how Western Europe was occupied by Nazi Germany and how the Allies planned to build on the momentum achieved through 1943 by starting the process of liberating France. The Normandy landings would prove to be the largest seaborne invasion in history, with over 150,000 Allied troops crossing the English Channel to take Northern France. 

Students looked at the invasion plan for the 6^th June – how the Allies used elaborate deceptions to prevent the Nazis from determining the timing and location of the invasion, and how ground troops would land across five assault beaches – Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. By the end of the 6^th June, the Allies had established a foothold right across the coast and were ready to advance further into France. 

Students also looked at the commemorative events planned for D-Day and how King Charles III planned to mark the anniversary with other world leaders. They also reflected on why it is so important to remember the sacrifices that people made in World War Two, to protect our British Values of Democracy and the Rule of Law against Nazi tyranny. 

On Tuesday our Community Champions met to discuss their next big event. The Big Olympic Challenge, this rowing marathon looks set to raise as much as possible for our House Charities. However, the other agenda item for our pupils was the awarding of their Community Champion badges. These bespoke badges are only available to those who are part of the Charity Committee and help to recognise the efforts they put into leading the way for Etone and all of our community initiatives. Mr Bowley was very proud having the following to say: “This really is something to shout about. The Community Champions are something so special at Etone and really underline our Etone Values and lead our way in the community.” A big thank you to all of our champions and a reminder to everyone else – Get applications ready for next year.

Read more about our Big Olympic Challenge here

Monday saw the last set of workshops by Gaby Songui to create material for Nuneaton Library’s ‘Body in the Library’ project.  Pupils in years 7, 8, and 9 fleshed out the details of the characters, chose the victim and read, evaluated and re-wrote chunks of script.  We can’t give too many details away but between the creative setting, the engaging characters and, of course, the murder, this will be a performance not to be missed.

As you are aware we are proud to support our local community at Etone College. Through our engagement in community projects, such as our recent visits to the Nuneaton Library and our fund raising initiatives.

Across the year pupils raise awareness and money for various charities, four of which are our Etone House Charities. Selected by our Head of House and pupils, these are local organisations to look to have an impact in Nuneaton and the surrounding area:

Centaur – University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire

Dragon – Guy’s Gift

Griffin – Doorway

Phoenix – Mary Ann Evans Hospice

On Friday 28^th June, our staff will be taking part in Etone’s Big Olympic Challenge to row the distance between Dover to Calais and cross the Channel. Each staff member taking part will be working in rotation with others in their affiliated House to be the first across our virtual finish line.

Set to raise funds for our charities and celebrate the run up to the Paris 2024 Olympics in France. The challenge encompasses a distance of 39 kilometres and will be taking place across the day in our Main Hall.

In order to support us, we would welcome any and all donations to our Just Giving page. All donations will be split equally between our House Charities to support the initiatives mentioned above. If you would prefer to give cash donations, these will be collected in sealed buckets on the day of the event.

To read more about our House Charities follow this link: https://bit.ly/3VcrK7Y

To donate to our JustGiving page follow this link: https://bit.ly/3KoBu8q

A fieldcraft event was held at Barr Beacon last weekend. Two members of the adult staff within the CCF were able to be taught how to us and gain their weapon handling tests on the Cadet Scorpion Air rifle.

This means that they are able to handle and fire the air rifle on any of the CCF run rifle ranges. They were able to take part in a shooting practice on Saturday also. The next step for them is to attend a course which will teach them how to teach the cadets how to use and fire the Air Rifle.

Well Done to Mr Watts and Mr White.

On Thursday, 16th May, 30 Etone pupils accompanied by two staff, experienced a day as a pupil at one of England’s most regarded schools, Eton College. 

Starting the day exploring the architecture in Europe’s oldest classroom (just under 600 years old), they learnt about the history of Eton and its foundation to serve less affluent boys. They then stepped through the doors of the College Library, which houses a vast collection of rare books, maps, artefacts and paintings. They examined one of the first books, complete with the hole through which a chain was fed to secure it to a desk before hearing an interesting presentation about some of the library’s collection. Pupils learnt that the oldest book was a 9th century leaf of the Qur’an; the collections themselves are arranged by donar, and the library holds copies of the first folio editions of Shakespeare and special editions of all of George Orwell’s books. Iren, year 12 reported that “being in the main college library felt like being in a capsule of historical knowledge and innovation.”

Pupils moved then through the windy streets of Eton to the Bekynton Marquee to socialise with current pupils and ask them about daily life at Eton. 

Learning a new sport was next on the cards under the instruction of the Eton Fives Lead Coach, Mr Perry. Based on a traditional game created by boys using the chapel walls to play ball, Mr Berry challenged pupils using a variety of drills embedding the importance of hand-eye coordination.  

The highly decorative, specially created CIRL Obs School Room was their next stop, engaging in a highly aspirational lecture by Mr Noakes, Director of Teaching and Learning, on Self-Leadership. With a focus on seven key principles, pupils were guided to self-reflect, set goals, and revisit their views of themselves and how to achieve Ikigai, a Japanese model for how to live life to the fullest. Amaan, year 10 particularly enjoyed, “the focus on entrepreneurship which was different from a traditional approach.”

Lunchtime enabled the opportunity for more socialising, and chatting, alongside sampling a range of delicious foods including Eton Mess! Alise, year 10 “enjoyed hearing the Eton Pupils’ ideas and opinions about life, careers, and education.”

Their last lecture of the day focussed on Careers Education with Mr Fussey, Director of Education. Pupils shared their own ideas about employability, drawing strongly on Etone’s careers model, and explored how to choose and enable their ideal career paths. 

They finished the day with views from the balcony and a tour of the main Chapel, an awe inspiring building which is the venue for Eton assemblies and worship. They admired the stained glass windows, wall paintings and pipe organ, before rejoining the coach for their homeward journey. Year 10 pupil, Makae, reflected that his day was, “inciteful and inspiring”, Madiha added, “I left the room feeling empowered; my day was aspirational.”