Group of children in bright vests (green, yellow, blue, red) standing and sitting in a sunny schoolyard, supervised by adults, with large trees behind them.

Pre-Prep Reflections 3 July 2026

Dear parents,

Our final full week of the school year has been great fun! We have all been enjoying the less extreme sunny weather and reflecting on the year gone by with the children. Rehearsals for the summer showcase next Tuesday are well underway and it is shaping up to be a lovely event.

Transition Afternoon

On Wednesday, the children moved up a class for our transition afternoon. They all enjoyed spending time in their new classrooms with their new teachers and TAs, taking part in fun activities and finding out more about next year. We were also joined by new pupils who are joining the school in September. At the end of the day, parents were invited in for informal ‘meet the teacher’ sessions, where we shared copies of the new parent handbook, class timetables, class lists, staff contact lists, and some key dates for the autumn term (also shown below). If you were unable to attend, this information will have been sent home with your child. Our new co-deputy head and Year 1 teacher, Mrs Howe, will be visiting next week.

Sports Day

Well done to all the children for their excellent participation and team spirit at this afternoon’s Sports Day, and many congratulations to the winning house, Brixham. Special thanks to Mrs Smyth for leading the event, Mr Harris for preparing the children in their PE lessons, Mrs Dray for providing the ice creams, and the whole team for making it another unforgettable experience for the children.

End of year reports

We hope you enjoyed reading your child’s end of year report this week. Thank you for all the kind feedback we have received. If you have not yet returned the A5 feedback slip that was in your child’s bookbag, please could you do so by the end of term.

Next week

The final three days of term are no less action packed than the rest of them! Please see the article below with further details of our last few events, which we hope to see you at. On Monday, we are holding interviews for a teaching assistant to cover Mrs Titchin’s maternity leave, and I hope to have an update for you on that next week. Remember that there will be no after school clubs next week, except for Drama Club on Monday. Late Room will be running every evening as usual.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

Mr Daniel Ayling

Diary Dates

6 July – Year 2 trip to the National Marine Aquarium 

6 July 3pm – Informal parent drop-in 

7 July 2.30pm – Summer showcase 

8 July – End of term at 3.30pm 

Autumn Term 2026

2-4 September – Staff INSET days (school closed) 

Mon 7 September – Start of term for all pupils 

Tue 8 September – 6pm Welcome evening for parents 

Sun 13 September – Heritage open day 

Mon 14 September – Open morning for prospective families 

Tue 15 September – Individual pupil and sibling photos 

Sat 19 September – Exeter School Fête 

Tue 22 September – Phonics/reading parent workshop  

Wed 30 September – Mathematics parent workshop 

Fri 2 October – Grandparents’ afternoon 

Thu 15 October – Year 2 taster day at Exeter School 

Fri 16 October – Harvest assembly for parents 

19 to 30 Oct – Half term (two weeks) 

Wed 4 November – Nasal flu immunisations 

Tue 10 November – Entry to Year 3 parent meeting 

Tue 24 November – Exeter School open morning 

Wed 25 November – Parents’ evening 

9 & 10 December – 2.30pm Nativity performances 

Mon 14 December – 3pm Informal parent drop-in 

Fri 18 December – End of term (12 noon) 

 

Term dates for 2026-27 are available to download here.

Term dates for 2027-28 are available to download here.

Spotlight on Year 1

It is hard to believe that we are almost at the end of Year 1! We have had another very busy week. In our non-fiction English topic, we worked with a partner to create informative posters about tigers. Learning the correct order for the months of the year and telling the time to the hour and half hour has been our focus in mathematics. We have enjoyed learning about the Great Fire of London this half term and look forward to sharing some of our knowledge and our fabulous artwork during the summer showcase next week. Computing concluded this week by creating algorithms for sprites using ScratchJr, recognising that if the sprite does not do what we expect, we need to debug our algorithm and try again. In PE, we have been practising for Sports Day and had great fun putting what we had learnt into practice during the different races and events this afternoon. We have really enjoyed teaching Year 1 this year and we are very proud of all that the children have achieved. 

Mr Lovett, Mrs Goodwill, Mrs Thomas and Mrs Higgins 

End of Year Events

Parent drop-in

On Monday 6 July, we will be holding our final parent drop-in of the year from 3pm. All parents are welcome to come into your child’s classroom and look at a selection of their work from this year. You will then be able to take most of their books and folders home, so please bring a strong carrier bag that can hold heavy items. This is the same day as the Year 2 trip to National Marine Aquarium; the coach is due back between 3.00-3.30pm, but parents are still welcome to come in and look at your child’s work while you wait.

Summer showcase and prize giving

On Tuesday 7 July, all children will be taking part in our annual summer showcase in the hall, which parents are invited to attend. This starts at 2.30pm and will include performances from each class, soloists and whole school singing. We will also be presenting every child with a personalised certificate recognising their individual achievements this year, as well as saying farewell to our Year 2 pupils. This event is not to be missed!

Final day of term

On the last day of term, Wednesday 8 July, our drama club leader Ruth Lawrence will be running her usual end of year party for all children in the morning. In the afternoon, Mr Ben Stretton, who many of you will know as Finley and Sadie’s dad, has offered to run a storytelling session with Nursery and Reception, followed by a disco and games with Years 1 and 2! Families are then welcome to stay in the school grounds for a picnic and outdoor play from 3.30-4.30pm.

Please note that there will be no clubs in the final week of term (6-8 July) with the exception of drama club on Monday 6 July. However, Late Room will be running as normal until 5.30pm every evening. 

Stars of the Week

Five smiling children sit in a row, each holding a 'Star of the Week' certificate in a library classroom setting with bookshelves behind them.

Nursery

BenBen 

For confidently identifying, naming and describing a wide range of 2D shapes. Well done!  

Mrs Dray 

Reception

Cassius  

For amazing progress with his reading this term and for always being a kind friend to others. Well done! 

Mrs Rickard & Mrs Smyth 

Year 1

Max F 

For his amazing writing of tiger facts in English and his excellent understanding of o’clock and half past in mathematics. Well done! 

Mr Lovett & Mrs Goodwill  

Year 2

Emilia  

For her consistently outstanding reading and for using imaginative similes in her poetry writing this week. Well done! 

Miss Wheller 

Head’s Star

Jack (Year 2) 

For all his amazing help with settling the new Nursery children on transition afternoon. Well done!  

Mr Ayling 

Schoolblazer

Summer uniform is now available to purchase from Schoolblazer. Please note, there will also be a free delivery period happening now until 12 July. More information on the shopping and ordering process is available via here.

Visit the Schoolblazer website

News

Do you have a story or pupil achievement to share with our community?

If you have a couple of lines of information and a photograph that you and your child are happy to be shared we will try to post these at relevant times through the year.
Email our communications team
Thank you for all your support this year.

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Our PE teacher Mr Harris is running tennis coaching at Exeter School this August! Book your places now! 🎾

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School is open and we continue to take sensible precautions to keep everybody cool and calm in the heat! 😎

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