Junior Reflections

Junior Reflections

Dear parents,

Odd socks and kindness

The school was awash with ODD socks on Monday, a normal thing in my house but today we could get away with it. In assembly we shared the importance of making some noise around bullying and that it is important to find the courage to speak up, not just for yourself, but for others as well. The pupils are creating their own superhero to help prevent bullying, a competition run by Thrive. I am looking forward to seeing many of these superheroes around the school. As always, we will not tolerate bullying in our community and the pupils gave excellent answers around the importance of being kind and looking after each other: to act with kindness and integrity.

Swim gala

The pool was in action on Tuesday with our visiting school Taunton enjoying some great competition. It was our first gala of the season, and some very close races were enjoyed; thank you to all those who competed and for the many supporters who came to watch, it certainly makes a difference to those in the pool.

Music and sport

On Wednesday I attended the first informal concert of the academic year with an amazing number of pupils hitting the headlines with their string instruments. I was blown away with the talent on display and the quiet confidence of the junior school pupils performing in front of an audience. Well done to all 15 pupils who played, it was truly lovely, and I look forward to the piano concert next week. As I returned from the concert, I was greeted by a lot of excited and rosy cheeked pupils who had had an eventful afternoon of hockey and rugby at Blundell’s and St Peter’s, a great afternoon was apparently had by all and if the colour of their clothes was anything to go by, a few muddy kits will have arrived home. On Thursday, the U11 football team took part in the EFL Kids Cup qualifying round, hosted by Exeter City FC. The team came third out of the eleven schools that were competing, which means they progress to the next round of the competition. Well done to all the pupils who played.

Japanese food

There was a Japanese theme to the food in the dining hall on Thursday, where many pupils tried to get to grips with chop sticks and even had a go at tasting some sushi. Thank you to our wonderful catering team for putting on this delicious spread which was very well received by all.

Family society and fundraising

The family society are hosting their first event, a junior Christmas disco! Please save the date: Friday 8th December after school. There will be two discos, Lower School 5pm – 6pm and Upper School 6:30pm – 7:30pm. More information to follow from the family society representatives. We raised a staggering £1208.50 for the poppy appeal, so a big thank you to the whole Exeter School community for your, as ever, generous contributions.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

WaterAid Christmas Concert

Our annual Charity Christmas Concert, this year in aid of WaterAid, takes place on Tuesday 5 December 2023 at 7.30pm in Exeter Cathedral.

The musicians of Exeter School will provide a joyful start to the festive period with a concert of seasonal music and readings. The groups that perform are the Chamber Choir, Senior Choir, Show Choir, Belles Canto, Vocal Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra and the Senior Brass.

Tickets can be purchased here for the nave or unreserved side aisles, with reductions for children.

Ticket Prices Nave Adult £15 / Child £8

Unreserved side aisles Adult £13 / Child £7

We will let the pupils know when tickets are ready to be collected from the Bursary office at Exeter School, otherwise they will be available at the Cathedral on the evening of the event.

People with special access requirements are asked to contact the Box Office on (01392) 458934.

Junior school sporting success

It has been an action-packed week for sports in our Junior School! On Tuesday, our talented swimming squad dove into their first gala of the year, facing off against Taunton School. Our swimmers showcased their prowess, resulting in a victory for Exeter. Congratulations to our young aquatic stars on a fantastic start to the competitive swimming season!

Wednesday brought more sport as the U11 girls and boys embarked on a journey to St Peters and Blundell’s. In both Hockey and Rugby, our young athletes exhibited exceptional skill and determination. The teams have all shown vast improvement over the past few months.

Looking ahead, we extend wish good luck to the U9 rugby and hockey teams as they prepare to participate in the Blundell’s tournaments this weekend!

Playground people of the week

Isabelle F1C

Jake U1R

Ted L2P

Finlay U2C

News

Alumnus Steve Dukes (1992-1997), CEO of @confused_com, returned to school this week to give an assembly. He advised pupils about aspiring to reach their goals, using negatives to fuel your journey. He said, 'when you’re at school, being called names like ‘odd, weird and awkward’ can often mean something completely different in adult life - these words become ‘creative, unusual and innovative’.  His top advice was to become like a sponge, find what learning method works best for you, learn fast and act on it. Great advice Steve - thanks so much for visiting us!  @exeterschool_alumni #visitingspeakers

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While it was hard to get a good photo of our sixth form linguists attending an online conference on Wednesday, pupil Sophia's feedback was that "it was really good to see how linguistics goes into so many areas and how some things seemingly unrelated (so far away from linguistics) can have a big/strong connection with linguistics."   They were treated to four diverse talks, ranging from how AI can help us learn foreign languages, how forensic linguistics can help compare different texts and ascertain if the same person wrote both texts (helpful in identifying and profiling criminals), how idioms are processed in our brains and used in social discourse, and how dormant languages can be reclaimed. The talks were 25 minutes each with a Q&A afterwards. As well as being informative, these talks allowed pupils to see what a course of study or a career in linguistics might look like. Many thanks to @oxfordhighschoolgdst for running the event.   #onlineconference #linguisticsevent #forensiclinguistics  #exeterschools #independentschoolsuk #sixthformlife

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Huge congratulations to Jack (U6) who continues to excel with his sailing and has recently been selected for 29er British Sailing Youth Team. The British Sailing Youth Team is an annual programme designed to support and develop the best sailors in the UK. The focus of the programme is to ensure sailor learning and individuals develop to fulfil their potential within the sport. There are a small number of boats in the team, and selection has been very competitive this year.   Jack also competed in the European Championships in Garda in July. He had also sailed at the Worlds in Porto. We can’t wait to hear about Jack’s progress.   #exeterschoolsport #exeterschool #schoolofgreatcharacter

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Netball success - well done to the U14 girls who won the Exeter round of their national competition winning all of their matches and progressing up the next round. @exeterschooluk #netball #exeterschool #exeterschoolsport #schoolofgreatcharacter

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Exciting week of national cup sport with the 1st XV playing @sherborneboys tomorrow (Home - 15:00) and the 1st XI hockey up against @blundells_sport on Thursday (Home - 16:30). Come along and support the school 1st teams. @nextgenxv @exeterschooluk #exeterschoolsport #exeterschool #schoolofgreatcharacter

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Great to get the football season underway! Last week the 1st XI played their first match of the season in a well contested match against King’s College, Taunton. We look forward to following their progress this year. @exeterschooluk #exeterschoolsport #exeterschool #football #schoolofgreatcharacter

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First competitive fixture of the season for our swimmers. Our teams competed at the South West regional round of the ESSA relays held at Millfield last Wednesday. The school fielded teams in all age groups with 8 pupils competing for the school for the first time. The senior teams performed particularly well, putting themselves in the running to make the national finals later in the term! @exeterschooluk #exeterschoolsport #swimming #swimfast #essaswimming

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