March 2008

Dear Parents,

Thank you very much for your continued strong support of so much that goes on at the school. Please also visit our web site at www.exeterschool.org.uk for regular news.

ACADEMIC

We were delighted with this winter's Oxbridge success:

OXFORD
	Sophia Gibber	English (New College 2009)
	Richard Hobson	Physics & Philosophy (Balliol College)
	Rachel Holden	Experimental Psychology (New College)
	Signe Hulbert	Engineering (St Hugh's College)
	Jack McFarlane-Shopes	Physics & Philosophy (Somerville College)
	Ash McNamara	Fine Art (St Hilda's/Ruskin College)
	Chris Rowell	Engineering  (Exeter College)
	Aidan Smallwood	Medicine (St Hugh's College)
CAMBRIDGE
	Will Blackshaw	Geography  (Clare College)
	Emily Dixon	Archaeology & Anthropology (Homerton College)
	Sam Freeman	Medicine (Emmanuel College)
	Tom Leger	Natural Sciences (Clare College)
	Ben Lewis	Economics (St Catharine's College)
	Oliver Mattos	Computer Science (Fitzwilliam College)
	Harriet Trayler-Clarke	Mathematics (Newnham College)

MATHEMATICAL CHALLENGE

In the UKMT Senior Mathematics Challenge, our pupils scored four Gold, twenty-two Silver and twenty-four Bronze awards. The top Gold performer, Chris Rowell, qualified for the British Mathematical Olympiad. His fellow Gold winners were Harriet Trayler-Clarke, Richard Hobson and Max Taylor. It was most impressive that 3rd former Morgan Rayner-Philipson attained a Bronze award.

PHYSICS OLYMPIAD

In the British Physics Olympiad, 12 U6 formers received awards. Thomas Leger and Christopher Rowell won Silver. Harriet Trayler-Clarke won a Bronze 1 and Kristina Pill, Signe Hulbert, Charlie Palmer, Sam Freeman. Richard Hobson, David Bird, Sebastian Helliar, Aidan Smallwood and Bob Sibley all won Bronze.

BIOLOGY OLYMPIAD

In this recent national competition, James Puddicombe won a Bronze Award, Rosanna Hignett and Luke McLennan were highly commended and Tom Layland and Aidan Smallwood were commended.

ENGLISH

Lulu Chrupek's short story was one of the 12 winning entries published in the World Book Day Schools' Short Story Competition book. There were over 3,000 entries.

110 of our pupils had their poems published in an anthology entitled Talkin 'Bout My Generation, the 17th book in the Young Writers series.

The Lawrence Sail Poetry Prizes 2008 have been awarded to: Jack McFarlane-Shopes (6th Form) and Seb Sutcliffe (Middle School).

CROSSING CLUB

The Crossing Club welcomed local poet Mr Luke Kennard. He read poems from a forthcoming collection and led a workshop.

Mr Jonathan Pearce, the Radio 5 Live and Match of the Day commentator (and former pupil of Mr Edwards), was another interesting speaker, who addressed a large audience on the topic of journalism.

Max Taylor has been awarded an Anglo-German Fellowship by the British Council.

THE ARTS

DRAMA

February saw two very energetic and stimulating performances of Exetera! (the Middle School Revue). There was something for everyone, performed by a huge cast. The first half consisted of a colourful and fast-moving set of circus-themed pieces, ably compered by ringmasters Richard Robbins and Charles Pidgeon. Mr Strugnell wrote six thought-provoking, elegantly crafted scenes, which he directed with Mrs Daybell and Miss Jakes. We saw the world views of various members of the troupe: tigers and tamers, a tame multi-headed jabberwock, some philosophical clowns, who struggled to find suitably politically correct comic material for modern times, a group of intellectually challenged but muscle-bound strong men, some emotionally taut tightrope artistes and a feisty set of bearded ladies! The second half featured three dance items: the young Street Dance crew, the winning House dance item, reprised by Acland, and a very slick and professional finale of All That Jazz, choreographed and led by Miss Jakes.  Mrs Chrupek's M5 GCSE Theatre Studies group provided two polished pieces: an amusing extract from Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes and a fast-paced version of Tom Stoppard's Dogg's Hamlet, in which Seb Sutcliffe particularly impressed. Mr Strugnell scripted and directed two clever re-workings of Lord of the Flies and Earthsea, the former staged by members of L5A and the latter predominantly by 4B. Leander Crocker-Digby was a memorable Piggy and in the latter Tyler Wootton and Austin Robison showed particular talent.

Brittany Harris is performing in Frankenstein in the West End during the first part of the Easter Holidays.

DEVON PERFORMING ARTS FESTIVAL

A number of pupils won prizes in their age groups at this annual event. Tom Grennan-Cruise won prizes in four classes. Matthew Pauley won the Grade 8 Trumpet Class. Lilidh Matthews won Solo Drama, Penny Gunter won Sight Reading, Oliver Shaw and Amelia Hines won the Set Poem. Sam Clarke won Grade 7 piano solo, Lucy Harrison-Prentice won Grade 6 piano solo, Isabella Gibber won Grade 3 cello, Hannah Connolly won Grade 5 violin, Matthew Cole won Grade 5 horn, James Cole won Grade 7 trumpet and Felix Stephenson won Grade 3 trumpet.

MUSIC

The Associated Board music examination results from the December sitting made very good reading. 45 candidates passed, including 22 merits and 5 distinctions. The most notable higher grade passes were: Ollie Stephenson Grade 5 merit 'cello, Fiona Mabin Grade 5 merit 'cello, Eleanor Dawson Grade 5 distinction piano, Alex Wesson Grade 5 distinction trombone, Thomas Horton Grade 6 merit clarinet, John Baldock Grade 6 merit clarinet, Thomas Boother Grade 7 merit trombone, Felicity Clarke Grade 7 merit singing, Artemis Crowley Grade 7 merit singing, and James Cole: Grade 8 pass on the trumpet. James Puddicombe's Grade 8 distinction flute and Michael Dawson's Grade 8 distinction piano were outstanding.

Dr Foxall conducted the Choral Society's performance Fauré's Requiem and Haydn's Mass in Time of War on Thursday 13 March in the cathedral. A choir of over 270 pupils, colleagues, parents and friends put on a wonderful performance which was highly praised by countless members of the audience with professional soloists and a professional orchestra led by Mrs McLean.

The Informal Woodwind Concert in February featured 18 players from Junior School to L6 and there were notable performances by Alice Greenwood, who showed remarkable dexterity on the recorder, Matthew Lines, who displayed great maturity on the oboe and Matthew Clarke, who played a Schubert serenade on the clarinet with fine tone.

The Department hosted two vocal masterclasses, led by the internationally known soprano Miss Evelyn Tubb, with pupils from U2 to Sixth Form involved. Over thirty of our pupils took part in two delightfully energetic and valuable sessions, which were very much enjoyed by all participants.

Seven members of the Upper 6th form set performed to an exceptional standard in the A2 Music Recitals. Richard Hobson played a very demanding Beethoven sonata with impressive expertise. James Cole gave a powerful performance on the trumpet; Gaby Watson showed what remarkable progress she has made on the violin. Richard Hills-Ingyon gave a stylish performance of songs from contemporary musicals. Grace Hardy gave a beautiful recital of songs based on flower poems. Richard Robbins and Harrie Dumenil gave stunning recitals of English and French song.

VISITORS TO THE SCHOOL AND EDUCATIONAL EXCURSIONS

A group of our senior geographers atended a Geographical Association lecture by Dr Robert Bradnock on climate change. The Geography department and Mrs Price took the L5 on a Geography Field Trip, visiting Nettlecombe Court in the Quantocks to carry out microclimate measurements, a hydrological cycle game, a mapping exercise and other field work. The senior Geographers attended a Geographical Association lectures given by Mr Michael Bradford on "Inner City issues" and Dr Chris Keylock (OE) about the hazards of snow avalanches. The A2 group visited London to study urban redevelopment projects. The M5 geographers went to Bristol to carry out GCSE studies upon the docks and Cribbs Causeway.

Our team of Ben Lewis, Harriet Trayler Clarke, Kate Mead (Captain) and Charlie Palmer acquitted itself well in the Bank of England Interest Rate Challenge competition.

Mr Moon took several of last summer's Costa Rica adventurers to visit The Duchy School, Bradninch, where they gave an assembly and led a workshop session with the pupils.

Major Norman-Walker, of the Army Liaison Team, gave a talk on Human Rights in Sierra Leone to the M5. He then answered a range of questions about the situation there and upon Afghanistan. He also gave a presentation on the Kashmir earthquake to the Sixth Form Geographers and World Development pupils.

The U5 Religious Studies set visited The Church of the Blessed Sacrament, Heavitree.

On Wednesday 23 January the 3rd Form watched an interactive PSE presentation on alcohol, which chronicled the downward spiral of underage drinking, covering such issues as its effects on health, relationships and studies/career.  The pupils were engaged throughout by Mr Paul Stevens and enjoyed learning about the strengths of alcohol; they are now experts on 'safe' levels for adults.

Our M5 and U5 Spanish pupils participated in a GCSE topic-based conference at Bristol University

The English department took a trip to see Invisible Bonfires, a piece based around concerns about global warming, by the Forkbeard Fantasy Company at the Northcott Theatre.

Field Day was busy, as ever. The Army CCF was on manoeuvres around school, the RAF went flying at Chivenor and the Navy was doing map navigation on Dartmoor. The Duke of Edinburgh group either walked from Sandy Bay to Exmouth or undertook First Aid at school. Mr Trelawny led the 3rd Form on a History visit to Medieval Exeter, including the Underground passages and the cathedral. The 4th Form went to Paignton Zoo and the L5 were either involved in dry ski-ing at Plymouth or in London visiting galleries and the London Eye. The Middle School Revue cast ran a full dress rehearsal. Dr Foxall took a group of musicians to perform at the West of England School for Young people with little or no sight.

Mr Chrupek, Mrs Chrupek and Mrs Francis had a good trip to Paris with a Sixth Form French and Theatre Studies group at the beginning of half-term, in fantastic weather. They visited the Musée d'Orsay, the Louvre, the Musées Carnavalet and Rodin and the Centre Pompidou, as well as the Tour Eiffel, and had a boat trip. They enjoyed a fascinating guided tour of the Opéra Garnier. They saw L'Ecole des Femmes with Daniel Auteuil at the Odéon and Bérénice at the Bouffes du Nord, a spellbinding performance by Lambert Wilson and Carole Bouquet. The brave members of the group went to lunch at "Dans le noir", a restaurant in total darkness where they had to guess what they were eating.

The school's Hildesheim exchange partners were with us for a week after half-term and enjoyed attending lessons, a Devon cream tea and several excursions.

A 6th Form RS group attended a useful Ethics Conference at Yeovil with Miss Pegg.

The M5 Theatre Studies set went to see Looking for JJ at the Northcott Theatre on Wednesday 5 March.

Mr Boddington took a Sixth Form Biology group to a conference at the Peninsula Medical School.

On Tuesday 11 March, we welcomed OE Mr Bob Wigley, European Chairman of Merrill Lynch, to open the Social Studies suite and to speak afterwards to an audience of pupils, staff and parents on the topic "From Exeter School (boy) to the board room". He was very well received and it was most appropriate for us to have such a distinguished alumnus here to open a new facility.

HOUSE TOURNAMENT

The House Dance competition, whose heats were fiercely contested, was finally won by Acland. The dancers put a great deal of effort into preparing their entries and the standard was high.

In the intermediate House football competition, the winners were Acland, followed by Raleigh and Goff. In the Senior House Hockey competition, the winning House was Crossing, followed by Goff and Drake. In the 4th Form House hockey competition, the results were as follows: 1st Collins, 2nd Drake, 3rd Raleigh. In the 3rd Form House hockey competition, the results were: 1st Acland, 2nd Buller, 3rd Collins.

The House Cross-Country races were run in pretty fine weather. The overall winners were Crossing, with Acland 2nd and Collins 3rd.

SPORT

CANOEING

The M5 kayaking group had its first white-water trip down the River Dart, in near zero temperatures. Mr Scott reported that they all did very well and showed lots of potential and great team spirit! To raise funds for Peru's Challenge, a group of 14 paddlers completed a 50km marathon descent of the river Dart from Dartmeet to Dartmouth. They started early in freezing conditions up on Dartmoor and arrived in the dark at Dartmouth 9h 45m later, to a celebratory welcome by jumping salmon and a by a seal popping its head up next to Ross MacLeod's kayak! This was a very impressive achievement, requiring huge determination and perseverance. The kayaking group also had a profitable weekend in North Wales, taking on the Aberglaslyn Gorge and the Upper and Middle Conwy which offered them opportunities to learn about river leadership and personal decision making. Plans are moving ahead for the Summer 2009 expedition to the Zanskar River in Ladakh.

FENCING

This week we have again entered 6 pupils in the Public Schools' Fencing Championships in Nottingham.

FOOTBALL

This term has been a busy term for the U18 XI. It has played six matches. It has had two victories against Shebbear and Wellington and four defeats against QECC, Colyton, King's, Taunton and Blundell's. The B XI has also had one fixture, a defeat against Blundell's. Last term, the team recorded three wins, a draw and one defeat. With no cancellations, it has been the busiest season on record.

BOYS' HOCKEY

The 1st X1 has been plagued by injury and been unable to field a full team for much of the season. James Parkin has been out for some of the season with a broken wrist, Alex Worthington with a broken ankle and the captain Seb Helliar recently with a shoulder injury. The results have still been good and we became U18 Devon Champions again. Even in some fixtures lost, notably against Blundell's and West Buckland, we had numerous chances to win by large scores. The team did not play its best at the Divisional U18 Finals but secured a win, a draw and a loss, missing out on a semi-final place on goal difference.  The team won three matches and drew one match at the Bath Festival.

The U16 Indoor Team played in the National Finals in January, acquitting themselves well but not qualifying for the semi-finals. It was a tremendous achievement in qualifying, beating Millfield on the way. The 2nds have been made up predominantly of U16 players who have played intelligently and secured some good results. Many of them featured in the U16 Indoor team which played in the National Finals in Wolverhampton. The 3rd X1 has been under the stewardship of Mr Smith. They have had some difficult fixtures but are improving. The U15s have responded well to Mr Daws' coaching. Jack Pritchard is a major hockey influence within the group and has been playing some games for the 1st XI. The U14s have been coached by Dr Page and she has moulded together a solid team. Richie Wilkinson played in the U16 National Indoor squad and Alec Wheatley has been a dominant midfield player. The U13s have been coached by Mr Skinner, and have made massive progress under his stewardship. They won the Plymouth Hockey Club mini-hockey final, beating our U12s in the final. They just missed out on semi-final qualification in the Devon mini-hockey Competition. The U12s are an exceptional team and are unbeaten by any school of the same age group. They have scored numerous goals and are playing an exciting style under the watchful eye of Mr Fawkes. Tom Poustie and Mike Walker have been outstanding players for the team. Recently they gained a semi final place in the Devon Mini-Hockey Competition, playing a year above themselves. There have been various B matches to try to involve as many pupils as possible.

In the Old Exonian hockey matches against the school U18 teams, the 1st XI boys lost 1-6 and the 1st XI girls won 4-0

Devon U17: Charles Oxenham, Sean Flynn, Chris Mason, Henry Parkin, Alex Helliar
West of England U15: Henry Parkin                     
Devon U15: Chris Furby, Jack Pritchard
Devon U14 Training Group: Richie Wilkinson, Henry Hoult,  Mike Walker, Tom Poustie

GIRLS' HOCKEY

The Spring term is mainly the netball term, but the girls have played in the End of Season Tournaments and cup competitions in hockey. The U16 National Hockey Plate Competition: the girls played Grenville in the first round winning 7-1. They played Tavistock in the second round winning 3-1. In the third round they beat South Dartmoor in a penalty stroke competition. The U16 Tour team has been practising regularly, played against Exeter College and drew 2-2. The U14 girls played in the End of Season Tournament and beat St Margaret's 3-0, they lost 1-0 to Blundell's and beat The Maynard 1-0. The girls were placed second overall. The U12 and 13 girls played in a triangular tournament as preparation for the Mini Hockey Championships. The U13 team beat Exeter U12s 2-0, they drew 2-2 with Maynard and lost 2-1 to Colyton. The U12 team lost 2-0 to the Exeter U13s, lost 2-3 to Colyton and beat The Maynard 2-0. The U13 girls played in The Devon Mini Hockey Championships on Sunday 10 February. They played Isca in the first match winning 1-0. They drew 0-0 with Ivybridge, and then beat Teignmouth 8-0. They lost 2-1 to Mount House in the fourth match. The girls qualified as runners up and played Exe in the semi finals. They drew 1-1. They won a penalty flick competition. The girls played in the final against Blundell's. The match was very close, but Exeter came out on top and won the Championships after beating Blundell's 2-1. They will represent Devon at The West Finals on Saturday 26 April at Millfield. The squad consisted of Laura Thomas, Becky Glover, Freija Mendrik, Georgia Reece, Eleanor Dawson, Issy Gibber, Katie Taverner, Kitty Howard, Lucy Swiggs and Laura Stacey. The girls continue to play representative hockey throughout this term. Issy Smith was part of the winning squad that have qualified with Devon U17s to play in the national finals in April. Many girls are playing club hockey throughout the county.

HORSE RIDING

Rob Trobridge has been awarded a Talented Athlete Sports Scholarship under the auspices of the British Equestrian Foundation. Its aim is to support the training of Britain's most talented young athletes and is a stepping stone towards international selection and development.

NETBALL

	P	W	D	L
U18A	7	5	0	2
U18B	6	2	0	4
U15A	6	4	0	2
U15B	4	2	0	2
U14A	13	6	0	7
U14B	6	0	1	5
U13A	13	6	0	6
U13B	5	0	0	5
U12A	11	7	0	4
U12B	5	3	0	2

This has been our most successful netball season in terms of results. We have played 82 matches winning 35 and A teams winning 27 out of 49. We have run A and B teams in U12, U13, U14, U15 and U18 age groups.

The U18 1st VII has trained hard and their athleticism and commitment have led to excellent wins against St. Margaret's, Wellington, Plymouth College, Okehampton and Exeter College 2nd VII. The U12 A team continues to show promise and their enthusiasm and agility have led to impressive wins. The U15 A team has also achieved pleasing results and the U13 A and U14 A teams improved as the term progressed. The U13A and U14 A teams reached the semi finals of their respective end of season tournaments with the U13s finishing 3rd and the U14s finishing 4th out of 8.

Hannah Gee has represented the U16 East Devon Team as Wing Attack.

RUGBY

The U18 team competed in the Kelly College 10-a-side competition. The boys beat the hosts twice, and reached the final, losing 0-12 to Plymouth College. Mr Mason took the U16 squad to the England Invitational Seven-a-Side competition at London Irish RFC on Sunday 9 March. They won one and lost two matches in the group stage, but it was a valuable experience. 

James Harris played for the South-West U18 team. Charlie Taverner played for the South-West U16 team.
Ollie Ellsworth and Tom Howell-Richardson played for the Devon U17 team.

SHOOTING

Michael Snell and Sam Huish have represented the England Schools' shooting A team and Ben Lewis and David Rowell have shot for the reserve team. Michael Snell was selected for the Great Britain 1st team shooting against New Zealand. He scored 196/200 and GB beat New Zealand by 1 point in 2000. He was awarded GB colours. For the next international match, Michael, Sam Huish, Ben Lewis and David Rowell have been selected.

TETRATHLON

Will Cummings entered the GB U21 Tetrathlon at Bath University and finished 4th,  and he has been re-selected for the GB squad for the 2008 season, and should be able to compete at the European Championships in Sweden in July and possibly the World Championships in September.

 

OTHER ACTIVITIES 

CCF

The Inspecting Officer for the biennial CCF  inspection in May will be Colonel Ranald Munro, Deputy Commander 43 (Wessex) Brigade.

At the South West RAF Ground Training Competition at RAF Innsworth, the school's cadet team finished in second place overall, therefore qualifying for the national finals in March. There were seven events: Shooting: 1st place, Aircraft Recognition: 1st place (highest individual score: Andrew Melzer 30/30, for the third year running!), First Aid: 1st place, Leadership: 2nd place, RAF Knowledge: 2nd place (highest individual score: Andrew Melzer), Drill and Fitness. At the national finals at RAF Cranwell, the team finished 6th.

Harriet Trayler-Clarke has been awarded an RAF Powered Flying Scholarship. This is quite an achievement!  She was also in the last six nationally for the Sir John Thomson Memorial Award, which is the Air Cadets' top award for CCF service. It is open to the 9500 cadets involved in CCF RAF sections across the country. She was awarded a Sir Geoffrey de Havilland Flying Foundation medal in recognition of her CCF achievement.

The RAF Section's Nitex involved about 40 cadets camping on Woodbury Common. It was a very successful exercise, in very mild weather.

TEN TORS

Two Ten Tors training days have been held recently, with over 50 participants at three distance levels. The 1633 Challenge will take place on 26 and 27 April and the Ten Tors Challenge on 10 and 11 May.

DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD

On Saturday 5 January, Clare Rogers received her Gold Duke of Edinburgh award from the Deputy Lord Lieutenant, Sir John Evans at County Hall.

A weekend DoE Gold practice expedition had to be curtailed  due to the inclement weather

CHESS

Mr Beckwith and his Chess team of David Bird, Charlie Palmer, Adam Cox and James Rampersad, beat Torquay BGS 3-1 to win the Devon County Chess Association Bloodworth competition. Exeter School's name was on the trophy for every year between 2000 and 2004; it has not been contested since that time.

CHARITIES

The pupils are collecting for two overseas projects during the Spring Term: Pingalawara, India and the School Peru Challenge Project. A Sixth Form girls' football match on 18 March raised funds towards these.

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Our routine visiting elderly local people has continued this term, and in addition a pupil has started helping out at the Charity Shop at the hospital. On Field Day, pupils made extended visits, in several cases taking their assigned people out for lunch or helping them to cook lunch at home. The group looks forward, hoping for fine weather, to the annual summer outing on Field Day in May.

THE DEBATING SOCIETY

A full house was in the Andrews Hall for the motion, "This House would further restrict the UK immigration laws", was proposed by Hattie Davies and Felicity Clarke and opposed by Leela Arshi and Jake Smart. The Chair was Richard Robbins. The motion was carried by a comfortable margin. The Society met to debate the motion "This House believes that Science renders Religion obsolete". The motion was proposed by Nick Littler and Dr Wilson and opposed by Katy Symons and Mr Keyes. Rachel Holden was in the chair. A healthy audience, from 3rd Form upwards, enjoyed the debate and the motion was carried. A Middle School debate was held in early March: the motion "This House would abolish the monarchy" was proposed by Seb Sutcliffe and Joe Hitchcock and opposed by Charlie Taverner and (last-minute stand-in) Mr Edwards, with Charlie Palmer in the chair. The motion was defeated.

OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST

The South Africa Tour 2008 Fundraising Dinner was hosted by the tour party at school on Friday 8 February. Over 200 diners had a very enjoyable evening and were very well looked after by the tour pupils and staff. OE Mark Tyler was the compere and parent Mr Lee was the persuasive auctioneer of various sporting memorabilia. Speakers Tony Roques, David Graveney and Jennifer Saunders were very well received. A total of over £5,000 was raised, which will be divided to support the tour and to assist South African charities.

Jocelyn Trayler-Clarke and Callum Hayes, led the winning Exeter School team, 'Pot Luck' in the IFS Share Challenge. They finished 4th in the South West and Wales regional final. Mr Walker reports that they made a profit of £3400, no mean feat in a steeply falling Stock Market.

FRIENDS OF EXETER SCHOOL

We are most grateful to FOES for providing equipment recently for Ten Tors training, the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme, rowing machines for the gym and a photographic printer. We look forward to the annual quiz night on Friday 18 April.

STAFFING

Mrs Whitton has joined us as a part-time teacher of Modern Languages, to provide maternity teaching cover for Mrs Wilson from the end of January. Mrs Wilson gave birth to her son Joel in late February.

We have enjoyed having Miss McLennan with us as this term's PE and Games Assistant and wish her well for the future.

Mrs Clark succeeded Miss Davey as Admissions and Marketing Assistant. She has recently returned from China, where she worked as Marketing and Alumni Co-ordinator at Shanghai American School.

Dr Tyrer has concluded his very successful tenure as Head of Mathematics after a decade and we thank him for all that he has achieved. He is succeeded from the beginning of next term by Mr Reynolds.

INSPECTION

The visit of the Independent Schools' Inspectorate team from 3-6 March went very well. The full report will be published during the Summer Term and copies will be sent to parents for your information.

May I wish you and your families a restful and happy Easter holiday?

Next term begins on Monday 14 April 2008.

Bob Griffin
March 2008