Senior Reflections Week 33 June 2025
Dear parents,
Last weekend was a very busy one; on Saturday evening we hosted more than 100 alumni here for the anniversary dinner. It is always a great pleasure to talk to former pupils and staff about their experiences and memories from Exeter School and I very much enjoyed engaging with past pupils, as I always do, over both drinks and dinner. I was lucky to be seated with our 1965 leavers (six of these gentlemen came along) and their recollections of school life in the sixties were both fascinating and very entertaining. They have gone on to have varied, rewarding and interesting lives, but what is so remarkable is that the connections that they made at school remain true and firm today. I hope that will be the case for your own children when they leave us, and also that they leave some of their spirit here at school, just as these alumni have.
Fete on Saturday – pretty damp but full of Exonian spirit!
During the day we had a slightly soggy school summer fete, but nonetheless there were plenty of people here and the atmosphere was wonderful – with games and sideshows, stalls and refreshments to entertain and keep everyone busy and well fed. Enormous thanks to the operations team for all their hard work in making the logistics come together (including some very necessary last minute shelters!) and to all those who ran stalls and helped us to raise money for the school’s charities. Special thanks to the family society committee, who had worked tirelessly on signing up stalls, and making sure that it all ran brilliantly on the day. It was wonderful to see so many of your children here, some of them running stalls on their own initiative; they were super impressive!
Canoe trip to River Wye
Last weekend’s paddling trip on the River Wye was hugely enjoyable for the group of 30 Lower Fifth pupils involved. My apologies for not acknowledging the contributions by Mr Jamie Brough who also accompanied the expedition. This was a great trip, by all accounts, and I think that, despite being on the water, the group stayed drier than we did at the fete on Saturday afternoon!
School uniform – second hand shop
We are aware that some parents are concerned about the availability of current school uniform through the second hand shop. We have listened to the concerns and decided to keep the second hand shop going for the moment. This will, we hope, ensure that current families can source second hand goods as they have done in the past. We continue to ask you to support us with ensuring that your children comply with the school uniform guidelines, as outlined in last week’s newsletter. New school uniform will be available to purchase very soon and we hope that many of you will decide to buy the new stock which is much better quality and will help pupils to look very smart.
HMC – the Heads Conference.
We are a member of HMC, an association of heads of independent schools like Exeter School. With association membership comes many benefits, not least the collegiality of being part of a group of like minded professionals and the opportunity to share ideas and good practice. Today, we welcome the SW group of heads for our final meeting of the year and a workshop from Claire Harvey, Paralympian and EDI and culture advocate. Claire spent the morning working with your children, so please do ask them about their day. She has a fascinating story to tell about her journey both before and after the accident that put her into a wheelchair and her message is always inspirational, focusing on kindness and collaboration as well as grit and resilience.
After last weekend’s fixtures were cancelled due to the weather, I am hopeful of some sunshine tomorrow and wish you all a great weekend.
