For Year 8 their Enrichment Week started with the fantastic opportunity to explore what life as an author is like when they were visited by Matt Gantry. 

Whilst Matt is a published author his inspirational story began in 2007 when his life changed forever following a serious HGV accident, resulting in multiple surgery and server nerve damage. In the following eighteen months Matt had to re-learn how to speak, walk and most importantly write again. 

Showing resilience and self belief, like our Etone Learners, Matt did not let his accident become the defining moment in his life and in 2012 he released his first novel on Kindle. With critical success and particular interest tin his story Matt decided his future would be as a writer. Starting to research his first paperback novel, The Gamer in 2018, Matt made contact with the US and UK law enforcement agencies to develop the themes of his story. Finally in 2021 Matt released his first paperback novel to success. 

Most recently Matt is working on his sequel, The Gamers whilst delivering inspirational talks to schools and colleges. It really was a fantastic opportunity for our pupils to hear such a heartfelt story and consider what a career as an author could be like.

Sweden, Italy, Peru

We are delighted to announce that, for the third year running, Matrix Academy Trust has had another successful Turing bid.

The Turing Scheme is the UK government’s programme to provide funding for international opportunities in education and training across the world. It supports Global Britain by providing an opportunity for UK organisations from the higher education, further education, vocational education and training and schools sectors to offer young people  life-changing experiences.

This year, pupils in Year 8 from across Matrix schools will be visiting Sweden. Year 10 will be exploring ancient history in Italy. Year 12 students will be travelling around the world to Peru.

We chose ‘Far From Home’ as the name of our 2023-24 Turing project because we are committed to promoting an international outlook with our pupils. For our young people to be successful, we need to do whatever we can to broaden their horizons – and one way of doing this is to take them ‘far from home’. We will be making sure the pupils who are selected to go on these visits will be those that will benefit most from them.

More information about these opportunities will be shared in September.

Read our report on last year’s Matrix visit to Japan here: https://matrixacademytrust.co.uk/japan/

Find out more about the Turing scheme here: https://www.turing-scheme.org.uk

On Tuesday part of our Maths Enrichment Week activities involved our Year 7 pupils showing their Resilience and Numeracy Employability Skills as they took part in a challenge to build the tallest towers out of straws and masking tape.

The groups were very competitive with House Points on offer and Mathematics glory. As a result there were some extremely impressive efforts including our very own ‘Etone State Building’ inspired by the ‘Empire State Building’. With the clear winner below it was great to see the enthusiasm for Maths our pupils have. We can’t wait for the tomorrow.

As part of Enrichment Week our pupils have been working on the “four chord trick” in Music. Did you know a large number of the most popular songs are made up of the same four notes/ chords. A trick made popular by the band Axis of Awesome some of the worlds finest including ‘It’s My Life’ by Bon Jovi, ‘Paparazzi’ by Lady Gaga and of course Disney’s ‘Let It Go’. Whilst trying out a full range of hits our pupils also had the chance to  work on their on Teamwork and Resilience Employability Skills as they have tweaked their performances to deliver the best. 

On Thursday 13^th July our Year 10 pupils were given the opportunity to celebrate the end of the year with our annual trip to Drayton Manor. At Etone College pupils get the opportunity to earn House Points in everything they do. By achieving in lessons, attending extra-curricular clubs or taking part in student leadership roles there is a chance for everyone to earn success. For this year where our pupils had exceeded expectations and have had extremely positive inputs into their House and the school they received the chance to attend the trip as a reward for their efforts. With discounted rates for other pupils there was the chance for everyone to attend as a year group as they said goodbye to their last days as Year 10.

During the day there was fun a plenty and despite a packed out park our pupils were able to enjoy the full experience, get on all of the rides and relax in the sunshine. It was lovely to see our pupils interacting both with each other and the wider community and showing all Etone Values in the process. Particularly poignant is how supportive our pupils were of each other throughout the day, ensuring no person was left alone on a ride and everyone was having a good time.

Of course there was also the opportunity for pupils to ‘encourage’ staff to join them on a ride. For some reason the most popular ride the pupils requested were the water rides, with the Splashtastic Log Flume the ‘people’s choice’. Despite the name the teachers were surprised by just how drenched they got, although there were no cross faces – Well not form the pupils at least. 

The trip was another great success and it was a lovely treat for the pupils as they prepare to enter their final year in KS4 and with that the build up to their final exams. We would like to take this time to wish our Year 10’s a happy summer, to stay safe and remind them we are excited to see them again as we start their journey through Year 11 together.

On Wednesday our Go Lead girls football team continued their program as part of the Disney Festival of Football. During this section of the course, our pupils delivered their caching sessions to pupils in KS1. Leading and coaching Disney-based football activities as part of a Football Festival our pupils showed Employability Skills by working as a Team and Communicating the strategies that pupils would be using to play football. 

The program is dedicated to increasing the involvement of girls in football from an early age, providing playing and coaching opportunities for them which will build them for a successful future in and setting. We were immensely impressed by our team who put the effort in to ensure the sessions planned were engaging and pitched just right to our young hopefuls. The event is an important part of Etones’ strong links with our primary schools, so it was fantastic to see the hard work pay off.

The staff from the primary schools complimented the girls on how well they did, showing the full range of our Etone Values with an emphasis on this terms focus of ‘Being Supportive’. The team was amazing and we are very proud of them all. We can’t wait for the next one!

·        Connie R

·        Layla B

·        Eunice O

·        Maggie K

·        Poppy C

·        Isabelle M

·        Hollie K

·        Summer M

·        Diya P

·        Evie U

·        Constance N

As the first full academic year of the Warhammer Club comes to a close, it is time for reflection on what has been a fantastic time.  The attendees at the club have grown in number, with many students trying the hobby of Warhammer for the first time and others being able to practice their hobby at school.

At the end of the previous academic year, we, as a club, contacted White Dwarf Magazine, the official Warhammer magazine to let them know how we had progressed as a club during our first year.  At the start of this academic year, White Dwarf got in contact with us to ask if we would like to be featured in the August issue of the magazine.  We then sent an explanation and some photos of the club and the miniatures that the students have been working on.  Following the efforts of staff and students, we are very proud to say that the Etone College Warhammer Club are to be featured in the August issue of White Dwarf.  Well done to all of those involved with the club, this is an incredible opportunity to be featured in an internationally distributed magazine.

This year has seen the students playing games of Warhammer 40,000; Kill Team, a skirmish game where at least two different factions engage in a battle to control the battlefield by rolling dice to determine the success of various actions.  The club provides different prebuilt Kill Teams for the students to use, covering a number of different factions across the Warhammer 40,000 universe.  The students have grown in confidence with the game mechanics over the year, and have started setting up games when they arrive to make sure they have as much time as possible to play.

Over the previous summer, we set up a library section of the classroom, and this has been actively used throughout the year with students using the previous issues of White Dwarf for painting scheme references and some have borrowed the reading books to learn more about the Warhammer lore.

In May, we launched a staff painting competition where all of the staff at Etone College were offered the opportunity to build and paint a Warhammer miniature, specifically a Stormcast Eternal.  12 miniatures were submitted by the deadline of 30^th June 2023, with names for the miniatures, and then the students and staff were then asked to vote on their favourite design.  In total, 453 votes were cast, with a number of the positions changing over the course of the week.  By the time voting closed the following positions were finalised; third place being awarded to Mr Barnes, second place being awarded to Mrs Geddes, and the winning miniature being painted by Miss Phillips.  A massive congratulations to them and to all that took part, the Warhammer Club are looking forward to what can be produced next year…

To summarise, the Warhammer Club would like to say a massive thank you to all of the staff and students that have taken part in some aspect of the Warhammer Club this year, be it attending the club or taking part in the painting competition.  We look forward to starting a fresh in the new academic year, with new adventures to be had in the worlds of Warhammer.  We hope that you have a restful Summer break.

At Etone College we pride ourselves in prioritising attendance. As you will be aware we see each day as a piece in the jigsaw of a pupils education. If they achieve full attendance this completes the picture and sets them up for the best possible start in their future careers.

On Wednesday 12^th July we were thrilled to have the opportunity to celebrate the pupils in school who have achieved 100% attendance across the year. Whilst we have the highest expectations of our pupils it is a significant achievement that they have attended each and every day, even when they perhaps have felt under the weather. Putting their education and future chances at the forefront of everything. With an increase in the number of pupils since 2021/22 it was also a lovely way for our pupils to complete their year with the ‘Invite Only’ event.

As pupils entered the hall they had the chance to get a first look of our updated Charity Video showcasing the hard work our pupils and staff have put in to raising nearly £6,000 since September 2021. Find out more about that here: https://www.etonecollege.co.uk/charity-committee/

After their arrival it was time for our Attendance Lead – Mr Bowley to welcome the pupils and highlight the importance of their achievement in attending 100% of their session. It was particularly striking to realise across nearly 190 days of school pupils have taken part in over 900 lessons with over 30,000 minutes of education covered. A large portion of the welcome focused on how the support our pupils provide inn attending not only helps themselves but also helps Etone College be the best it can be. With that it was time to sit back and reflect on our ‘Review of the Year’ video highlighting some of the significant successes our school and pupils have achieved over the year.

Following this it was time for some key congratulations from across our Pastoral Team as each House paid tribute to those who have achieve 100% under their banner:

• Miss Harris wanted to particularly thank the pupils for their support in attending as she takes the reins of Centaur, continuing the great work Mr Astall has done in ensuring the House achieves success.
• Mr Baggot was thankful that Phoenix remain top of the leaderboard for attendance in no small part down to the efforts of those pupils in his House who achieved 100%.
• Miss Bali on behalf of Mr Khan focused on the achievements the pupils have made both academically and in extra-curricular activities due to the fact their attendance has afford them these opportunities.
• Mrs Wood provided a message through Mr Bowley which highlighted how the support of these pupils would have enabled them to make the most of all opportunities and ensure they are ‘Aspirational, Determined and ready for Success’

With a positive vibe in the air it was time for our pupils to collect their reward with each pupil receiving a Love 2 Shop gift voucher and certificate along with being entered into the prize draw to win an Amazon Echo Show, won by one person in each year group.

Finally all that was left was for Headteacher, Mr Smith to personally congratulate and thank the pupils for their efforts and support with the school – Highlighting the importance of attendance as we move forward to next year.

Well done to all of our attendance successes and we look forward to even more next year.

‘Your children will have noticed the activities on the school site for the start of the build of the new teaching block.  The foundations are in, and the ground laid, as you can see, ready for the structure to start appearing during the summer recess. 

Alcema Ltd, Principal Contractors, are in charge of the build from beginning to end; their professional, friendly team have vast experience in the education sector, and are working with us to produce a range of engagements with students, staff, parents and the local community.  

The students and staff will have the potential to view the build close up, from a specially designed viewing platform, and watch our new facility grow before our very eyes.  Watch out for more news and developments throughout the year!’  Paul Reeve, Alcema’s Project Director adds ‘It is wonderful to be working with a energised team at Etone College, collaborating on ideas to encourage students to be inspired by this project with potential futures in the construction industry, and to deliver this beautiful facility that will benefit generations to come.’  

We are extremely excited to be working closely with Alcema Ltd as we forge a strong partnership underlined by our Employability Skills and Etone Values shared by the business and our pupils. As we continue on this project we are looking forward to the opportunities we will have to work together to help not just Etone but the wider community.