Junior Reflections

Dear Parents,

Open events and visitors

Monday saw 24 new lovely taster day pupils come to spend the day with us in the junior school. As always, our pupils looked after the prospective pupils and it was lovely to see so many smiling faces as they left at the end of the day – they certainly enjoyed the day at Exeter Junior School. On Tuesday 28 November we have an open house event in the morning for prospective families. Please do invite along any neighbours, family or friends who you feel might be in testing about finding out more about Exeter School for their own children. On Saturday 2 December we also have a sixth form interview day and 11+ assessment preparation morning. These two are filling up quickly, so please do encourage any prospective families that you might be in touch with to register as soon as they can. We look forward to meeting new families and their children at all of these events and getting to know them a little.

We welcomed Claire Baillie, one of our junior school governors, to school on Thursday. Claire visited lessons and met the pupils and staff and was hugely impressed with all that was on show. Our pupils, as always, demonstrated our purpose and virtues brilliantly.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Upper Two was treated to a preview of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, performed by the senior school pupils. The buzz when the pupils came out was tangible and there was a lot of excitement for when it would be their turn when they get to senior school; watch out Mr Brough! We also welcomed several local primary schools to come and join us; thank you to Ladysmith Junior School and Wynstream Primary School for coming. I was on front of house on Thursday and watched the first of the three performances, and as always, I was blown away by the talented pupils: confident young actors who all clearly have a passion for being on the stage. I absolutely loved it, a huge well done to all the performers, Mr Brough and the many hands behind the scenes.

Merit tokens

Our new character merits have arrived – bright pink tokens which pupils will receive for demonstrating kindness, integrity and just all-round goodness. These will go towards the form character cup which is awarded at the end of every term.

Bebras Challenge

Over the past fortnight in computer science lessons, pupils across the junior school have taken part in the UK Bebras Challenge, a national competition that tests logic and problem-solving skills. Across the country over 400,000 pupils took part, including our pupils. Those in Form One, Upper One and Lower Two formed teams to solve the problems using their collaborative skills. For pupils in Upper Two, this was the first year for them where the challenge was tackled independently. All the pupils enjoyed solving the puzzles. They had to make tactical decisions whether to answer questions and lose points if they answered incorrectly, or to stay safe.

We are particularly proud of two teams in Lower Two. Ottilie, Doon and Honor scored full marks as did William, Harrison and Edward. This is a particularly impressive achievement, placing them amongst the top 5% of entrants in their age category. For William, this is even more impressive as he also achieved full marks when he was in Form One!

Christmas

Christmas is beginning to seep into the school with some decorations up in the lunch hall and carols in the music department. I am excited to invite you all to our annual Christmas service of readings and carols and of course the compulsory mince pies. More information can be found on MSP and I do hope many of you will be able to join me for this festive event.

Also, don’t forget the WaterAid concert in the cathedral – Tuesday 5 December, at 7:30pm – book here. Please do plan ahead and get your tickets so that you can enjoy our wonderful musicians’ work.

Sport

Wednesday marked another match day for our Lower Two and Upper Two pupils, with the girls taking part in a triangular fixture against St Peters and Maynard. Meanwhile, 70 Lower Two and Upper Two boys travelled to Truro Prep School for a festival where they had a great time competing against six other schools. Thursday saw our Form One and Upper One students in action, participating in fixtures against St Peters, Exeter Cathedral School and Maynard. The commitment and enthusiasm displayed by all children made for a week full of sporting achievements and fun.

On Saturday, our Upper Two boys will travel to Millfield for a triangular fixture with Millfield and Kingswood (Bath); we wish them the best of luck!