Junior Reflections Week 23 March 2025

Dear parents,

It has been a joyful and busy week, with plenty of excitement across the school. The pupils have thoroughly enjoyed playing outside, and there’s growing anticipation about when the grass field will open. Hopefully, it won’t be long before cricket bats are making an appearance, and the field is buzzing with activity.

Learning about honesty

This week, I led an assembly at the pre-prep, focusing on the importance of honesty and the tricky situations we can find ourselves in when we tell lies. There was much laughter when I used a toilet roll to demonstrate a ’tissue of lies’—a light-hearted moment that led to some very thoughtful and honest answers from the pupils. I later shared the same assembly with the upper school and it was interesting to hear similar reflections. We all know that sometimes little white lies slip through, but it’s so important to be truthful from the outset, as one small lie can quickly grow into something bigger.

Author visit

We were delighted to welcome author Fleur Hitchcock this week. She shared her journey to becoming an author and brought a wave of nostalgia as she recounted memories from her childhood—like landline phones, “Wacky Races” on TV, and the days when television shut down at certain times to be replaced with the test card! The pupils were engaged and asked thoughtful questions, and I know many left excited to dive into their new books.

Musical moments

Congratulations to Henry and Sophie, our two junior school representatives who performed in the informal Woodwind Concert on Wednesday. It’s always a pleasure to see both the junior and senior pupils showcasing their talents and it was a lovely way to end my day.

Sporting highlights

It’s been an action-packed week for sport! On Tuesday, we hosted St Leonards Primary School for a fantastic series of football matches. Wednesday saw our boys travel to Taunton for a triangular fixture with Taunton and Blundell’s, while the girls played at Wellington in another exciting triangular fixture. Our U8 and U9 teams showed great progress during their matches at King’s College Prep and Blundell’s. And yes, the lemon drizzle cake was certainly a highlight, too! Finally, we wish our cross-country runners the best of luck in the Blundells’ Larkman Cup this afternoon.

Upcoming events

There’s a flurry of fairy excitement in Upper One as they prepare for their performance of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ next Friday. I know they’ve been working hard, and I’m very much looking forward to the play. Meanwhile, the annual Virgin Money event is fast approaching; our young entrepreneurs in Upper Two have been busy perfecting their products, and the buzz is palpable!

Wishing you all a restful and enjoyable weekend.

Mrs Saskia van Schalkwyk

Playground people of the week

Mabel W U2C

Junior School News

Junior Sport News

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

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New term, new league campaign, new kit! The 1st XI started their league season with a great performance and 4-0 victory. Let’s hope it’s the start of a superb season! @exeterschooluk @officialecfc @limitlesskit 

#exeterschoolsport #exeterschoolfootball #football #schoolofgreatcharacter

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We are pleased to share that we have been named among Talk Education’s Top 250 Prep and Senior Schools in the UK.

This places Exeter School within a select group of schools recognised for their exceptional quality, academic excellence and rich opportunities beyond the classroom.

Thank you to all our pupils, staff and families who help make our school such a special place where pupils are able to aspire and flourish 💫

@talkeducation #ExeterSchool #IndependentEducation #TalkEducation #AspireAndFlourish #DevonSchools

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Cambridge success for Max, Henry and Cadan 👏 

A huge congratulations to all three pupils for receiving offers from the University of Cambridge. Max has an offer to study Engineering, while Henry has an offer for Law, and Cadan has an offer for Natural Sciences.

Well done to all those who applied and reached the interview stage. We hope you join us in congratulating Max, Henry and Cadan on such an impressive achievement 🙌 

@cambridgeuniversity #ExeterSchool #CambridgeOffers #IndependentSchoolsUK #PupilAchievement #AcademicExcellence #Oxbridge

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U2 Leadership lessons 2025

Abstract art workshop by Liese Webley - February 2025

Informal Woodwind Concert - 12 March 2025

World Book Day 2025 - Junior School Reading Roundabouts

Informal Piano and String Concert - 5 March 2025

Exonians in London - 27 February 2025

M5-U5 Granada trip 2025

EdFest25