Junior Reflections 13 February 2026
Dear parents,
I am not going to mention the weather… really I am not!!! I can’t believe that we are now halfway through the academic year. It really is going far too fast and already I can notice how the Upper Twos are growing and coming to the end of their time at the junior school whilst the Form One pupils feel like they have been with us for longer than half a year.
Our pupil librarians have loved creating their Book Bento entries ahead of the World Book Day deadline on 5 March. The competition is open to pupils across Exeter Pre-Prep, the junior school, and the senior school. We can’t wait to follow the entries on our social media and see which books appear and whether we can guess the title from the surrounding items and, of course, dressing up!! In Art, Form One have rolled up their sleeves and stepped into the minds of architects, creating monoprints of their favourite buildings with a real focus on detail and design. It was messy but great fun! There’s another competition to enter further down the page that they may be interested in over half term too…
This week we marked Children’s Mental Health Week 2026 (9–15 February), celebrating and supporting young people’s wellbeing. This year’s theme, “This is My Place”, highlighted how feeling connected supports positive mental health. Many classes took part in a live workshop with 52 Lives, exploring the importance of belonging. Throughout the week, form teachers led activities encouraging pupils to reflect on where and with whom they feel most valued — with many proudly choosing school. We remain committed to ensuring every child feels secure, respected and able to say, “This is my place,” so they can aspire and flourish in line with our core virtues.
On Wednesday evening, the Exeter School Choral Society and Exeter School Symphony Orchestra performed a memorable concert in the Cathedral. It was a magical evening and wonderful to see Upper Two pupils Simon, Grace and Taylor performing in our senior school symphony orchestra for their performance of Strauss’ ‘Blue Danube’ alongside professional orchestral musicians. Pupils, staff, families and friends joined together to sing Faure, Handel, Gibbons and Parry alongside the professional orchestra and organ in a performance that raised the Cathedral roof. A special thank you to our very own Mr Titchin for masterminding the whole performance. It was brilliant!
Thursday saw a full day of interviews for the role of Head of Upper School. It was an extremely enjoyable and interesting day and all the candidates commented on what an amazing school it is and what exceptional pupils, both with their ability in the classroom but the way in which they conducted themselves around the school; a credit to our school community.
The swimming galas were a fantastic way to round off the half term, with some truly impressive performances from both lower and upper school pupils. The pupils’ support was as loud and enthusiastic as ever and I wouldn’t expect anything less from our junior school pupils. A huge well done to everyone who took part, to our wonderful helpers, and a special thank you to Mr Dutch for organising such a smooth and enjoyable event.
A gentle reminder that school will starts again on Wednesday 23 February following two staff INSET days. Wishing you all a wonderful half term break, and a very happy Chinese New Year to all members of our Chinese community.
