On Friday 18th November, Etone College supported Children in Need along with the rest of the nation. 
To start the day off we held our annual non-school uniform day. There is always a buzz of excitement whenever we host charity events and this was no exception. There were some really spot-tacular outfits as pupils fully embraced the theme of Spottiness. From pupils bringing in £1 to wear non-uniform we raised a total over £900.

Not to be outdone by the lower schools fantastic efforts our Sixth Formers led by the Etone Elect were out in force to improve their total raised for charity so far this year. First of all the pupils hosted a fancy dress competition with the theme being pyjama party. However, no one had to drag themselves out of bed as the offer of some amazing prizes in the Etone raffle and the call of some delicious treats in the bake sale was more than enough to tempt our students into action. 

The day, as usual, was a tremendous success and a special shout-out has to go to out Charity Committee for the fantastic work they have done in raising the profile across the school. We are really excited to start the next set of charitable initiatives with our Foodbank, Toy-drive and Christmas Jumper Days upcoming in December.

In total we have raised:£968.35 total amount for the day and added this to our total raised so far this year to give us a whopping: £1549.15.

Every year, the Salvation Army organise a toy drive within Nuneaton community to collect and distribute presents for disadvantaged children, to help them celebrate Christmas. All donations are gratefully received and ensure Christmas joy is spread to those who are experiencing hardship. Children aged between 0 to 16 years of age are supported in this toy drive.

Etone College are actively participating in this by challenging forms to co-ordinate and donate as much as they can. There is no expectation to buy new goods, although this is welcome. Still boxed and packaged toys, nearly new books and boxed toiletry gifts are being donated by both students and staff to support the Salvation Army and to show students what a difference they can make to the community by engaging in active citizenship. All unwanted gifts are in perfect condition to become the perfect present for a child or teenager in our community. 

All form members and form representatives will be given house points for donations and organisation of donations. House point records will be made by form tutors and Heads of House and the winning form in each year group will win a class prize. Most importantly, our toy drive will show how positive an Etone Learner is in engaging with active citizenship via teamwork, communication, organisation, initiative and showing how caring and supportive they can be. Donations need to be taken to the stage on Thursday 8^th and Friday 9^th December to ensure they are taken to the Salvation Army.

This term Etone College students have really shown Active Citizenship and highlighted the Etone Values with; raising money for Children in Need, and celebrating remembrance. However, it hasn’t stopped there. Each year we collect food on behalf of a local food bank to provide some basic essentials and festive treats to those around Nuneaton who are in need of a little Christmas spirit.

It is at this time of year that we are incredibly thankful for what we have and spend time considering those in less fortunate positions. So we are asking for donations to the Nuneaton Foodbank, which do a fantastic job of serving the community and making sure the food and items get to the people who need it most.

If you are able to take part please bring your food in on Thursday 8^th and Friday 9^th December and give it in at reception. The list of accepted items are on the poster. Our fantastic Charity Committees will be taking the food on Monday 12^th December to the foodbank to do the handover.

Thank you to all of our amazing Etone pupils, parents and staff in advance.

After the success of the KS4 Help Your Child Revise session on 2^nd November we are delighted to announce our next session on 23^rd November – Supporting Year 10 and 12 with Work Experience.

Over the course of this session, we are looking to share some key information regarding what support is on offer in securing work experience placements, what makes an effective placement and how we provide support for pupils during a placement.

The session will take place on teams on Wednesday 23^rd November at 5:30pm – 6:30pm. If you would like to join please inform the school

We look forward to seeing you there!

On a blustery autumn morning, over one hundred cadets and staff from four of our schools braved the high winds and cold to pay their respects to those who have given the most to our communities and country within the armed forces and emergency services. At this time, we also remembered those innocent civilians who lost their lives in the crossfire of conflict.

This year, our Armistice Day parade was held at Barr Beacon School in Walsall and was attended by the Headteachers from Barr Beacon School, Bloxwich Academy, Dame Elizabeth Cadbury School, Etone College and Turves Green Boys’ School. Major (Ret) Simon Cuthbert of the West Midlands Cadet Expansion Programme attended as the inspecting officer, and our CEO Ms Lynsey Draycott was also in attendance. It was a proud moment for all of the cadets. 

The parade was commanded by Flt Lt Muller. Ms Broome of Barr Beacon School (a Veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq) conducted The Act of Remembrance. All of the cadets and staff marked the two minutes silence before Maj Cuthbert addressed the parade about the importance of remembrance and how smart all of the cadets looked whilst on parade.

LEST WE FORGET.  

On Friday 18^th November Etone will be supporting Children in Need this year through our annual non-school uniform day. We would like to invite our pupils to wear non-uniform with a suggested donation of £1. 

The theme for this year is ‘Spotty’ and whilst clothing should be appropriate it is not compulsory that pupils should purchase spotty clothing specifically for the day. However, there are some great ideas on the Children in Need website to really get you in the mood for the event.

We will be presenting a prize for the best costume/ outfit on the day.

Over in our Sixth Form our students will be taking part in a ‘Pyjama’ themed dress up event and cake bake sale at break. We are very proud of how our pupils show their active citizenship throughout and our Charity Committee are dedicated to making sure they do their best to promote the good causes we aim to support at Etone.

Thank you in advance for all the support you give us in all of our citizenship programmes.

On Thursday 10^th November 2022, Year 12 & 13 Psychologists and Criminologists attended a True Life Conference at the Birmingham and Midlands Institute, alongside many other schools.

To start the day students had to design their own prison by considering carefully whether prisoners should be entitled to essential or luxury items. The host also asked students to consider whether prisons really rehabilitate criminals or whether they are there simply for retribution.

Shortly after this introduction, students heard from the first of the speakers, a man who had served time in an open prison having been convicted of multi-million pound Fraud. Students were shocked to hear that he changed his plea to guilty in a bid to receive a shorter sentence.

The second speaker was a serial thief and burglar who spoke about what it was like to be caught and his experience of the prison system. He also showcased some of the uniforms that prisoners are expected to wear.

The third speaker was a practicing Forensic Psychologist who explained their role within the criminal justice system. They also detailed some of the criminals they have worked with and the shocking confessions they had heard. It was interesting to hear how de-sensitised they were to hearing the most gruesome of criminal acts!

Finally, students were presented with a criminal case and asked to decide whether they were charged with manslaughter or murder. The speaker then revealed that the convicted murderer was present at the conference that day! The fourth speaker then explained the case and the charges brought against them. Students were shocked to be in the presence of a real life murderer but had many questions that they wanted to ask!

The day came to a close with a question and answer session, in which students could present their questions to any of the offenders they had heard from earlier in the day. It is safe to say that the students left buzzing about their real life criminal encounters. It was a truly memorable and humbling experience!

Friday 11^th November marked a sombre moment for Etone, as like many we took part in the national silence for Remembrance Day. On the day our Cadets took part in two services. One on the Etone campus with pupils completing a short parade before lowering their flags and taking part in a minute silence. Simultaneously a small number of our cadets made the journey to Barr Beacon to take part in the Matrix Academy Trusts Parade where all schools were represented. A sombre affair that was made more poignant by the playing of the last post in the presence of trust headteachers including our own Mr Smith.

However, this would all be part of the practice for Etone as they took part in their first parade in Nuneaton on Sunday 13^th November. Despite nerves underneath our Cadets performed tremendously as they marched and held a guard of honour as the whole town turned out to show their respects and ensure we all remember those who sacrificed so much for us. Mr Hodgson was extremely proud and had the following to say “This marks the first time for our Cadets at a public parade, but you couldn’t tell. They have done a fantastic job.”

Well done all and thank you to all of those who have supported us in the past few weeks with donations and parade practices. We will see you next year.

Last week our focus shifted towards being kind to each other as we took part in World Kindness Week. Across the week pupils were encouraged to show the Etone Values of being courteous, caring and kind. With assemblies and form time activities showing how important it is to be kind, especially in the modern day it was a joy to see pupils and staff going the extra mile to with: random acts/ gestures of kindness and ensuring throughout the week we had a positive impact on each other.

Whilst we know at Etone out pupils show this every day, we were pleased to be able to shine a spotlight on this across the week.

Monday 14^th November marks the first day of Anti-Bullying week which is an initiative to encourage us all to join together in supporting various organisations that do fantastic work in eliminating bullying from our society. We believe strongly that no child should ever feel bullied and work hard to develop an environment where kindness and positivity thrive at Etone. To show our support across the week pupils will take part in various activities starting on Monday with Odd Socks Day where students and teachers will wear odd socks with a view to supporting those who are targeted for standing out/ being different. We look forward to seeing what a fantastic show of support we have this year.