Senior Reflections 24 April 2026

Dear parents,

Welcome back to the summer term. It has been a delight to return to such wonderful weather, with pupils making the most of our beautiful outdoor spaces at break and lunch. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Lee and our outstanding grounds team who always go the extra mile to ensure the school site looks so spectacular.

Before we broke up for the Easter holiday, there was one final piece of sporting success to celebrate. Huge congratulations to Mr Dutch and our U14 rugby team, who became Devon County Champions on the final day of term in truly impressive fashion. It was a tremendous achievement and a wonderful reward for all their hard work.

The Easter break also saw senior pupils benefit from two memorable trips. Pupils returned full of enthusiasm from an extraordinary visit to Morocco, where they experienced both the physical geography of the desert and the rich human geography of North African culture. My thanks go to Ms Roff and the team for leading such an inspiring trip. Meanwhile, our Middle Fifth (Year 10) CCF cadets enjoyed a week of adventure training in Snowdonia, taking part in gorge scrambling, abseiling, climbing and raft building, amongst other things. It sounds to have been an exceptional week, with pupils rising superbly to every challenge. Thank you to Mr Jones and the whole team, with a special mention to Mr O’Rooke for his impressive culinary skills – who knew?

Another outstanding success over Easter came from our Lower Sixth team of two pupils, who took part in the national final of the IEA essay competition — and won! This is an extraordinary achievement in a competition involving more than 190 schools. Having begun the process in December 2025, the team progressed through the regional finals at the University of Buckingham in March before competing in the national finals in London this month, where they presented an alternative budget proposal. To emerge victorious against such a strong field, including some of the most selective schools in the country, is a remarkable accomplishment. Congratulations to both pupils, and to Head of Economics, Mr Mackintosh.

This week, our Upper Sixth have enjoyed a few traditional non-uniform days before turning their full attention to the examination season. We have also had GCSE Art examinations and the beginning of MFL oral examinations, which continue into next week alongside A Level Art.

There have been two cultural highlights this week. On Thursday, our Germanists enjoyed a special screening of Balloon in the Sixth Form Centre, and this evening we look forward to our Chamber Concert in Sidbury. It is always a pleasure to hear our pupils perform.

Looking ahead to the weekend, the boys’ and girls’ cricket fixtures begin. With a little luck, the warm spring weather will continue, and I do encourage parents to come along to support the teams and enjoy that unmistakable sound of leather on willow. We also have our final Ten Tors training weekend, led by Mr Hall, while Ms Roff is taking our Lower Fifth Duke of Edinburgh pupils on their practice expedition along the Jurassic Coast. Good luck to all.

Finally, as many of you will know, the London Marathon takes place this weekend. Mr Munday and Mrs Van will both be running, and we wish them every success. Mrs Van is raising money for the NSPCC and I know she would be very grateful for your support: [JustGiving link here]. When I visited the pre-prep this week it was a joy to see the children bouncing on trampolines throughout the day in support of her fundraising efforts. Please do consider donating if you are able.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend.