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!

Our Parent Support Workshops have been a really successful aspect of our parental communication strategy at Etone College. As you will be aware we ensure that wherever support is required, it is there to be accessed. 

In our first session of 2023 we continued this success with our annual KS4/5 Help Your Child Revise Workshop. With mock exams on the horizon and our incoming Year 10 and 12’s starting their next chapter, it is always important to provide pupils and parents with the very best information with plenty of time to embed practices.

One of the interesting facts from our research in this years session, was the impact that early revision can have on a pupil. From a recent study where a pupil engages in effective revision at the start of their study, this increases their overall results by between 1 ½ – 3 grades. In discussions with our parents this was perhaps the most surprising highlight of the evening. It is therefore, of course, imperative that we support pupils to revise throughout their time with us.

Additionally it was an opportunity for parents to be aware of the support we provide pupils with effective revision. This is something we are proud of at Etone and through assemblies pupils get the chance to explore revision strategies, the importance of revising and how to access support for exam stress. Following this pupils develop their revision skills through tasks during their Form Time activities and create their own personalised revision timetable.

There was also an opportunity to share some fantastic resources that are available to all parents in supporting their children with revision: 

• Effective Study Strategies by Kate Jones – Webinar session for parents in supporting pupils at home, well reviewed and extremely useful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FLodJngqFc&t=157s&pp=2AGdAZACAQ%3D%3D
• Coping with exam pressure: A guide for students by Department for Education – Sharing the research and support on offer for pupils and how families can support: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coping-with-exam-pressure-a-guide-for-students/coping-with-exam-pressure-a-guide-for-students

Whilst the focus was clearly on supporting our pupils and families there was even an opportunity to take part in some fun activities including the below task. Why not try it?

1. Write down the letters of the alphabet
2. Circle the vowels
3. Underline all the consonants
4. Find the letter that comes before R
5. Work out what is special about this phrase – the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog
6. Don’t do any of the above except for the first one

The aim of their exercise is to understand how important it is for pupils to read questions/ criteria carefully before carrying out the task – We hope you got it right!

All of the information on the evening along with our video recording is available on our website, so please have a look and use the information to support yourselves and your families:

Parent Support Sessions: https://www.etonecollege.co.uk/parent-carer-support-workshops/

Etone College Revision Website: https://www.etonecollege.co.uk/help-your-child-revise/ 

On Thursday 26^th October we are excited to be hosting our annual Careers Fair. This event is one of the cornerstones of our Careers Curriculum at Etone College and was a key factor in being awarded the Quality in Careers Standard in 2021.

During the event each pupil across the school and sixth form will have the opportunity to visit our fair with over 40 exhibitors from across all sectors including; further education, apprenticeships and businesses.

Each year our pupils get a chance to explore potential careers and network, picking up contacts in the industries of their choice, in preparation for their next steps. 

Additionally parents are also invited to attend 2:00pm-3:30pm. 

Each year at Etone College we celebrate National Teacher Day. This event allows pupils past and present across the country to thank the educators who have had a major impact on our lives.

It is estimated that we spend around a fifth of our lives in education. That means that our teachers are an incredibly large element of our upbringing. 

As a result it was heartwarming to see our staff and pupils sharing kind hearted messages of thanks, as a token towards the work their teachers have done to support them.

Additionally we would be nowhere with out our dedicated team of support staff who work tirelessly to ensure the school runs like clockwork. These individuals are the lynchpin’s to making everything we do a success.

During the day pupils will share Postcards of Thanks with staff across the school for the support they have been given this year and in previous ones. All of our staff will also receive special treats and lunch as a personal thank you for everything they do.

So as we show our caring values, why don’t you reach out to an old teacher and thank them? 

On Thursday 28^th September the time arrived for Etone to once again throw open our doors as we welcomed perspective pupils to have a look around and explore what Etone has to offer.

Each year we share how successful the event was along with lots of pictures across the evening. We always have such an amazing time we often wonder how we can top it year on year.

Well, we are proud to say we have once again done it as we have hosted what may be our most successful event yet. Scores of parents and perspective pupils flocked to our school to be welcomed by our pristine prefects fresh out of their prefect training to provide support and information to parents as the navigated the campus. It was a particularly proud moment when one parent shared “I will defiantly be sending my son to Etone. The pupils hear are so polite, it really is unlike anywhere else.” After collecting their tickets for the welcoming talk parents were offered a chance to taste some of the delights on offer form our brand new Etone Bistro menu, with exotic tastes and homemade classics the flapjacks were a particular favourite. 

Next it was time for the welcoming talk as our choir opened with some show-stoppers including a personal crow pleaser Pompei as made famous by Bastille. Mr Smith then shared his vision for the school along with the many success we have enjoyed including; being shortlisted for TES Wellbeing School of the Year, Schools Games Gold Mark and our staff being published in national research.

Once parents had a chance to discuss questions and explore their understanding with the leadership team it was time to visit our departments. As always there was an ever so slight competitive vibe as all subjects strived to show off why their topics at Etone are the best. With the classic taste testing in Business a real crowd pleaser to the interesting displays in Criminology and the Social Sciences there was no end to studying what the wider school might have in store at KS4 and beyond. 

At KS3 all subjects wanted to show our pupils what they could expect next year as they went into Year 7. With the usual debate between History vs Geography there was a common ground found as all members of the team agree that Etone has the best Humanities Department around. Create were busy showing off their talents with clay, printing and some delicious pieces form the food room. Science as always were blowing our minds with the tricks of the trade including ‘Fire Hands’, Maths were busy collecting data to analyse the correlations of our pupils through shoe-size and height. MFL delivered some delicacies form around the world and of course English offered us a chance to explore the wonderful world of Roald Dhal. As if all of that wasn’t exercise enough Sport were doing their best to get Nuneaton active by taking part in games.

All in all it was a record turn out and further more there was a record number of pupils helpers with around 200 volunteers supporting the Etone Community and showing our Etone Values. Thank you to everyone in attendance, we can’t wait for next year.

Roald Dahl Day is celebrated every year on his birthday, the 13th of September, and people all over the world come together to celebrate the magic he brought to, and continues to bring through his work.

Etone pupils had the opportunity to create their own front cover of one of Roald Dahl’s famous stories.

We had a plethora of fantastic creations from many pupils across KS3. It was very difficult to pick the top three. With some careful consideration and discussion, we finally picked the top three!

Every pupil who submitted a piece of work were rewarded with house points, and the winners were given the delicious prize of chocolate!

Take a look at our “Marvellous Creations”!

Well done to the Year 11 Netball team who took part in the annual tournament on Tuesday after school. They all worked so hard and played well together which resulted in them achieving 2^nd place out of 7 schools. They also had the best goal difference out of all of the teams in the tournament. Well done girls, what an incredible achievement, you should all be proud of yourselves, just as proud as I am of you all. – Miss Lower

As a recipient of the International Schools award, Etone College strives to provide pupils with a rich knowledge and understanding of the world and the importance of languages. 

With this in mind we were delighted to be able to celebrate ‘European Day of Languages 2023’ on Tuesday. Since the end of the ‘Year of European Languages’ in 2001 this event has been held on the 26^th September as an opportunity to:

·       Alert the public to the importance of language learning, diversity and the range of languages learned in order to increase plurilingualism and intercultural understanding

·       Promote the rich linguistic and cultural diversity of Europe

·       Encourage lifelong language learning in and out of school

Each year our pupils look forward to the exciting and enriching activities and this year was no exception. The Modern Languages provided lots of fun things for pupils to do both in lessons and outside of them. First off, our pupils completed a language style escape room as they looked to put their knowledge and skills to the test. Each Form had the chance to win ultimate glory by making sure they were the first to escape as they showcase their Teamwork ability.

Following this Year 9 pupils had the chance to take par tin our annual Postcard Project, where pupils write to a foreign country in the native language to develop a ‘Pen Pal Partnership’. This is a great chance for pupils to practice Communication skills and Caring values which underline what it takes to be an Etone Learner.

Our Year 7 and 8 pupils had the chance to practice conversations in the top 10 European Languages giving them a better understanding of what the international community in 2023 looks like.

And not to be left out even our staff got involved showing the ‘Etone Spirit’ as pupils worked to find out what languages our very talented team speak.

To top it off some of our pupils took staring roles as they shared the languages that they speak from across the globe in a show of International Etone.