On Monday 20^th March – 31^st March we start our Easter themed attendance competition – EGGcelent Attendance Fortnight. During the two weeks we have issued the challenge to all pupils to achieve a full two weeks of attendance to propel themselves and their Houses to glory. 

As you will be aware, the best way for your child to make use of the opportunities at school is for them to be present each and every day. By being in school they are exposed to our enriched curriculum that ensures each pupil makes progress and prepares them for a successful future. As a school, our expectation remains that pupils attend 100% of the time they are scheduled to. Imagine education as a jigsaw puzzle, easy day at school is another piece earned. Without excellent attendance, the picture will never be complete.

Therefore over the course of the fortnight, we will be promoting why attending each and every day is important. Those who are able to achieve the challenge will then receive a choc-tastic prize and an entry into an end-of-term prize draw.

 At Etone College, we are committed to making sure we deliver the very best curriculum to our pupils. To that end, we are extremely proud to play our part in engaging with the latest educational research, supporting our external partners with training educator and sharing our practices across other schools.

On Wednesday 8th March we were delighted to host a visit from the Department for Education for them to explore best practices within schools which can then be shared across the country.

The day started with our guests touring the school as they looked to see what a day in the life of Etone College would hold. Just like a normal day, there was a real buzz in school with an environment that was focused on learning. The visitors were extremely impressed and commented on how engaged pupils were in their learning. Whilst we would always expect this, it was great to show external visitors what being an Etone Learner is all about.

As part of the day, our visitors met with Matrix Academy Trust CEO - Lynsey Draycott, Headteacher Mr Smith and Etone staff to share some of those fantastic practices from both Etone and the Trust and consider how these could impact other schools.

Finally, our guests met with Etone pupils to explore what life at Etone was like for our learners. Whilst already complimentary of Etone, the visitors were overwhelmingly impressed with our pupils and commented particularly on their “dedication to learning and the intrinsic value they see in their education”.

With such positive praise for both Etone college and Matrix Academy Trust, it is clear to see why we are so proud of Etone and particularly our amazing pupils.

Etone College have created an event which was open to year 10s and 11 who are interested specifically in the Armed forces as a career prospect. We had 25 participants including all the Year 10 and 11 RAF Cadets from Etone, 2 Cadets from the local area of Nuneaton that attend Etone and a group of year 10 who had volunteered to find out more about the Army and RAF.

This particular week was the Army Surge week programme. This involved 3 outreach teams from different cap badges in the Army coming together to put together an excellent programme for out group. They started off with the Infantry regiment creating Satalight towers with MKa STEM Kits, They received a talk about what the infantry does and all the different roles you can do in the Infantry E.g., Guarding the Royal Family, Frontline and the Parachute regiment. They then moved onto to a brief from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical engineers. They had to build a Car out of kenex pieces that will hold an air tube. The Reme LCpl would fill the tube up with compressed air for it to travel across the hall at some speed. Some groups where successful and some fell apart but the groups got time to rectify the problems before trying again. After that they received an In-depth brief which was really interactive all about the 7 career sections of the Army and the pathway in which to gain this career.

In the Afternoon the RAF Careers advisor Sgt Chambers did an excellent Personal development session in which the 25 Students had to work as a team to complete simple tasks. The tasks increased in complexity as we went along and this created Team Cohesion within the group and developed their communication skills. We will be inviting Sgt Chambers back in the future for More career's sessions with our Year 10s and 11s as we do have a lot of students who are interested in Piloting and engineering in the RAF. 

On Thursday 2^nd March Etone celebrated World Book Day. As is tradition the day started with the greeting of a wonderful selection of characters from the staff including Dr Suess’s Thing 1 and 2, Wednesday from the Adam’s Family, and of course our very own BFG. 

Following this our pupils were then challenged to take part in some investigative work as they looked to identify the secret readers behind the books. Check them out here and see if you can name which members of staff are enjoying each book.

With the return of our ‘Guess the Book Shelf’ competition and the chance to use their World Book Day voucher it has been wonderful to share the joys of reading with our pupils and promote the importance of reading for fun.

Alongside World Book Day, each tutor group in KS3 has been challenged to see how many texts they can read from around the world. They will be travelling around the world through a variety of texts; from America, Asia, Europe, England and Australia. This will hopefully give pupils a wider understanding of different countries. They can do this through a variety of texts (and audio books!).

This year we are excepted to be holding our Comic Relief fund raising events on Friday 24th March. This is to ensure that all of our pupils get the chance to be involved in some of the great events we are holding.

Since September 2021 we have raised over £5,000 for good causes, £2000 since September 2022. With the current climate being what it is, the donations we can make are even more important. That is why we are asking, if you are able to, support these initiatives in any way possible:

- Non-uniform day, the theme for the day is Bright Colours and the more red the better. We are suggesting a donation of £1, whatever you can afford to give would be greatly appreciated. Donations will be collected on the gate upon entry to school.

- Bake Sale, at break time in the Hall a selection of Kiplings, Cadburys and others will be on sale for donations to be made by pupils, all funds going to the cause.

- Staff vs Students Basket Ball, with the record 2-0 the Sixth Form are looking to avenge their previous efforts and get on the score board. We invite all pupils to donate and join us on Friday 24th in the Sports Hall at 3pm.

In addition to the event we will be raising awareness, sharing some Red Nose Recipes and giving pupils the chance to engage in challenges and activities across the day.

All support is greatly received.

Once again we were humbled to be featured in a recent edition of the Nuneaton News in an article relating to Etone’s efforts in remembering those who have lost their lives and been impacted by the Holocaust as part of Holocaust Memorial Week. It is extremely important to remember the atrocities that occurred during the Second World War as we work together to ensure these events never happen again.

We are therefore proud to be featured with our pupils showing how Etone plays its part in recognising the importance of remembering and educating ourselves in the experiences those who were involved would have suffered through. Keep your eyes out for future news stories in the Nuneaton News and if you want to find out more about our efforts to support National Holocaust Memorial Week read here: https://www.etonecollege.co.uk/holocaust-memorial-week/

Do you have a special talent you wish to showcase at our next big live event.

You will have the chance to perform on stage in front of a live audience in Birmingham at Millennium Point in their state-of-the-art theatre on Thursday 20^th April 2022.  Whether it be singing, dancing, juggling, stand-up comedy or anything and everything in between, we want to see all your wonderful talents.

How to enter:

• Have one of your performing arts teachers record your performance (or film it yourself and email to your teacher). 
• A snippet of your performance can be submitted, please do not worry about submitting a performance in its entirety. 
• Your teacher will be able to submit your performance video to the Matrix judging panel.
• Finalists will have the opportunity to perform at our next big trust event and some school events this year. 
• Solo entries and group entries are welcome. 
• Submit your entry by 4pm on Wednesday 15^th March.  

During the final week of term Etone was a hive of activity. With parent sessions, Options Evening and of course Valentines Day there was no quiet end to term. However, perhaps the most important event was our Love Attendance Week. The challenge issued was for each Form Group to achieve the highest weekly attendance in each key stage. As part of the week our pupils reflected on why it is so important to make sure we are attending school and making the most of our opportunities.

Today we are please to be able to announce the winners of the competition, mid-year update of attendance and most importantly who stands to achieve glory at the end of the year.

Across the week the form with the highest overall attendance was 11P1 with Mr Randall and Mr Griffiths. Across the week the group had excellent attendance and delivered a blow to Griffin’s 11G1 who had held the top spot for the past 6 weeks. Taking the whole school and KS4 title meant that in second place for KS3 was 8P1, led by Mr Bishop. Similarly 8P1 turned the tied on the Griffin KS3 champions (7G1) and maintained Phoenix’s dominance at the top.

However, bucking the trend of the burning red bird was the Sixth Form, whose 12G1 led by Miss Taylor took the ultimate prize at KS5 to ensure some success was bestowed upon Griffin.

As we go to the ‘half time’ mark, Phoenix are leading the way with attendance with an impressive lead, one which has been closed down in recent weeks by Griffin. It is also worth noting that Centaur and Dragon continue to increase their percentages, setting up true battle royale for the ultimate glory. We look forward to reporting on our many more successes upon return but for now enjoy a well earned rest.

On Thursday 16^th February it was once again an important night for Etone as we welcomed out Year 9 pupils and parents for the first face-to-face options evening in over 3 years. As the night began our guests were welcomed by our prefects with refreshments before our official introduction from Deputy Headteacher Mr Chauhan. At Etone, our vision is for a broad curriculum and to underline that we have an extensive range of subjects for our pupils to choose going into their KS4 journey. Whilst we support our pupils to ensure they are on the most suitable course for them, it is important that as parents and learners you all have an opportunity to explore the subjects and talk to the experts in those areas.

As the night progressed this year our format allowed for the visitors to choose which talks to visit, whilst having the opportunity to talk to experts in the main hall to ensure that when leaving the night our Year 9’s and their families have all of the information they need to make the right choice. Options are incredibly important as they will define the next two years of your life and could potentially be the route into your future career.

We would like to thank all who attended for an fantastic event and look forward to seeing our Year 9’s in their options as Year 10’s next year.