It was an especially sunny day on Friday as Etone College got ready for the joys of a three-day, Coronation filled weekend. As part of our active citizenship and celebrating our British Values our pupils have been exploring this week what the Coronation means and the importance of it on our nation. With the last one being over 70 years ago for some, it really would be a once in a lifetime event.

In Learning for Life lessons pupils had the opportunity to explore the rituals and scope of the ceremony along with the magnitude of what it means to the UK with once again, the worlds eyes upon us. Pupils also got the chance to take part in the Coronation Quiz where we will be announcing the winners shortly.

Over in the café our catering team cooked up some sublime treats for us including the very Best of British Fish and Chips and some traditional British desserts as we celebrate the crowning of King Charles III. However you are spending your weekend we hope it is a good one and you enjoy to the max.

Students from four Matrix schools visited Tokyo to learn about Japanese culture – and themselves

As a travel destination, Japan remains impossibly out of reach in many people’s minds, despite us here – in the UK – being surrounded by Japanese culture. You can find sushi in your local supermarket; you can watch anime on Netflix; you can find t-shirts featuring famous prints by the artist Hokusai in high street clothing stores like New Look and Primark. Many of the most well known international brands are Japanese in origin: Sony, Toyota, Panasonic, Casio, Honda, Mitsubishi, Nintendo.

And yet, only around 300,000 people from the UK visit Japan each year. This may sound like a lot, but compare this with the 4,300,000 annual UK visitors to Spain.

Whenever we asked teenagers across our schools which country they have most wanted to visit, most had picked Japan. When we asked them why, they listed some of their favourite cultural artefacts: books, films, games. Some cited Japanese history; a fascination with samurai or geisha. But when pushed to think about their answers (as teachers, we never just settle for the first thing that comes to mind!) some of our young people have also talked about imagining it to feel different to what they are used to.

Read more: https://matrixacademytrust.co.uk/japan/

At Etone we pride ourselves in developing skills and values that in turn make up the Etone Learner. Part of this means we like to celebrate our pupils.

This week we have been celebrating the achievements of our Etone Learners who have maintained 100% attendance since the start of the year. These pupils have shown their determination to make the most of their education and this is no small achievement. Despite short and wet days these pupils make sure they are present and contribute positively to Etone life.

As a well done to all of these pupils they have received a break time treat and were entered into prize draws to win a voucher. Whilst just a small token of our appreciation it is important that we recognise all of our pupils. Keep it up folks.

On Friday our Sixth Form students and Etone Staff came together to host the first annual Badminton Staff vs Students tournament. Building on from the successes of the football last year the hopes were high for the students to retain their current crown and ensure the staff suffered a second consecutive defeat. 

Out of the 12 matches, each participant took part in 4 matches a piece. Despite being outnumbered the staff put in a stellar performance and a special shout out has to go to being Mr Kitching and Mr Khan who won all of their matches by at least 10 points. Well done to you both.

The overall score was 264 for the teachers and 184 for the students, even though the teachers were outnumbered. Bringing the tally to 1-1.

A total £55 pounds was raised and it was very fun!