Etone College choir were invited to perform at the North Area Music Service concert on Wednesday 27th November at Holy Trinity Church. As well as getting to perform a few pieces of our own (Only You, Gaudete and Stay Another Day) we had the chance to listen to all of the other bands, choirs and even the North Area Orchestra who performed wonderful pieces including film music from Harry Potter and Star Wars. It was great to see a few of our students in the orchestra too – including Lemar P who is the deputy leader of the orchestra!

We even got to meet the Mayor and Mayoress of Nuneaton and Bedworth. The Mayor spoke at the concert about how important music education is and how great it is to see so many of our young people taking part in music. 

For more photos and videos of the performances, please visit Warwickshire music’s Facebook page.

On Tuesday our Community Champions led by Mr Bowley met to discuss the successes of the first term along with some initiatives for the rest of the academic year.

Our Community Champions have now reached an impressive figure of 50 pupils across all years of the school community, who are dedicated to leading the way and supporting Etone College to be the best it can be. Created in 2021 the team has been an integral part of helping the school to raise over £10,000 since 2021 and take us well on the way to raising £15,000 within five years.

The meeting looked back on our Macmillan, Poppy Selling and Children in Need day events that have raised nearly £2,000 since September. This marks the most amount in a term so far and the hope is with more to follow. We discussed the upcoming events on the charity calendar as well with pupils eager to come up with ideas post-Christmas to find a cost effective way to help other people in the local area.

To find our more about our Community Champions follow the link to our Charity Page: https://www.etonecollege.co.uk/charity-counter/

Ben Davis is an author currently living and working in Staffordshire with his wife, son, and wimpy dog. Ben Davis writes funny books for older children and teenagers including the Joe Cowley series, My Embarrassing Dad’s Gone Viral and Make Me Awesome.   On Tuesday, 26th November, pupils in Years 8 and 9 were treated to workshops with him in the Hall.  

Alongside book readings, and creating characters with Ben, Etone pupils asked inciteful questions including How old were you when you started writing?  Would you like to make a play of one of your books?  What is your favourite book for teenagers? And Who inspires you?

They particularly enjoyed Ben telling them about including his embarrassing family members and weaving them into the stories he writes, as well as hearing about how an author is paid.

This month our Year 7 students had the opportunity to attend an engaging and informative presentation about puberty, designed to help them navigate this important stage of life with confidence and understanding. The session was tailored to address the physical, emotional, and social changes that students are likely to experience as they move through adolescence.

A Safe Space for Questions and Learning

The presentation was led by a trained health educator, who created a supportive and open environment where students felt comfortable asking questions and sharing their thoughts. Topics covered included physical growth, hormonal changes, emotional fluctuations, and the development of personal identity.

Students learned about the changes that happen during puberty, such as growth spurts, changes in skin and hair, and the onset of menstruation and voice deepening. They were also educated about the importance of hygiene, self-care, and maintaining a positive body image during this transformative time.

Engaging and Interactive Learning

To make the session as engaging as possible, the educator used a mix of multimedia and interactive discussions. Students participated in activities that helped them reflect on their own experiences and feelings, while also learning about the experiences of others. This allowed students to better understand and empathise with their peers, fostering a sense of community and support.

Encouraging Open Dialogue

One of the key objectives of the presentation was to encourage open communication about puberty. Many students expressed relief in knowing they weren’t alone in their experiences, and some felt more at ease asking questions they might have previously found awkward.

Why This Matters

As children enter puberty, they face a wide range of physical and emotional challenges. Educating them early on about what to expect can help reduce anxiety and confusion, empower them with knowledge, and foster a healthy attitude toward their bodies. The puberty presentation aimed to equip our Year 7 students with the tools they need to navigate this stage with greater understanding and self-assurance.

We’re proud of our students for their active participation and respectful engagement in this important session, and we look forward to continuing to support them on their journey through adolescence

Our very own Mrs Kaye-Shepheard in the music department has been shortlisted for the Inspiration Award at the Music and Drama Education Awards 2025 in recognition of her work at Etone College.

In her time at Etone College, as well as teaching music, she has worked to create musical opportunities for our students including performances at the school including our upcoming Christmas concert on 19^th December and our Grease musical spectacular in January 2025. Our students have even performed alongside other Matrix schools at Millennium Point in Birmingham, with the Kings Singers in St Mary’s Collegiate Church in Warwick and at The Royal Albert Hall alongside Armonico Consort and The Orchestra Of The Swan. Students at Etone College have an opportunity to get involved in a wide range of different types of music – there really is something for everyone and music here continues to grow!

Outside of Etone, Mrs Kaye-Shepheard works supporting other teachers across the Matrix Trust helping to organise cross trust events and even encouraging the other teachers to get up and perform in our cross-trust staff band. She also works as a moderator and examiner to support teachers across the globe.

Mrs Kaye-Shepheard is also an active musician outside of school – as well as playing in a rock band herself, she is in a number of orchestras as a viola player including the British Police Symphony Orchestra who have been awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service for the charity work they carry out. The orchestra will be performing a family friendly gala concert at Symphony Hall in Birmingham on Saturday 7^th December.

Her first musical opportunity was learning the recorder at primary school and ever since she has continued to learn as much as she can about all different types of music. She studied a BMus at Cardiff University.

On receiving her nomination she said “I became a music teacher because I realised that I wanted to share the joy of making music with a new generation and, here at Etone, I can do just that every day with our students. I always say that the wonderful thing about music is that we all like different things and this makes the world a very interesting place to be. I am very lucky to have students that love music as much as I do!”

If you want to get involved in making music at Etone College, please see our extracurricular timetable and come to P0-1 to find out more about the opportunities on offer.

This year for World Mental Health Day we celebrated with lots of different activities around school. Pupils have all had an assembly by Mrs Price and Dillon R, one of our wellbeing ambassadors, on this year’s theme which is ‘Mental Health in the Workplace’ which included the importance of mental health and ways to look after your own mental health. This has included a more in depth look at Mindfulness, which has been followed up in form time with a daily ‘Mindful Minute’, which pupils have been able to use to practice taking time to ground themselves and be mindful. Year 8 took part in ‘Walk a mile’ to support the ‘connect’ and ‘keep active’ tips from our top tips, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all and despite one day being postponed due to the weather, they still managed to clock up an impressive 874 laps of the astroturf across the week. On Thursday 10^th October we marked the day by wearing yellow accessories and pupils enjoyed visiting the wellbeing stands in the hall and café at break time. After a very successful week, we would also like to do a big shout out to the wellbeing ambassadors who have played a crucial role this week supporting another popular Brew Monday, clocking up all those laps of the astroturf, encouraging and chatting to their peers through ‘Walk a Mile’ and even co-delivering the assembly, they have done us proud. We are very much looking forward to our next events.

The Choir are busy rehearsing for their Christmas shows including the upcoming Mince Pies and Carols, Christmas Concert amongst others.

However, they took a short break to share this photo supporting the schools approach with Movember. We’re very pleased but can’t help but see a little Freddie Mercury in there.

On Wednesday our Computing department was visited by the NCCE and members of our trust to share our fantastic Computing curriculum at Etone.

As part of the visit leaders were able to show the clear and comprehensive vision for Computing at Etone. With it being arguably the most important development area in the world, providing high quality teaching here could take our pupils to new heights.

As part of the visit, the school was able to show evidence as it works towards achieving the NCCE Quality Computing Mark. Providing the best quality computing education within the country.

To find out more about our Computing curriculum click here: https://www.etonecollege.co.uk/curriculum-it/

As we arrive at the end of November there is still time to donate to the good cause of Movember in support of Men’s Health.

With the SLT team making some “questionable” progress in the art of tache’ making it would be great to reach our target.

Donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/etone-college-sltmovember?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Fetone-college-sltmovember&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share