Junior Reflections

Junior Reflections Week 16 2024

Dear parents,

It has been another busy week here in the junior school, where we kicked off the week with our theme of ‘making mistakes’. As always, the pupils were enthusiastic about sharing mistakes that they had made but, more importantly, how they dealt with them after. This is, for me, what builds our character; we all make mistakes, mine probably go into 10,000s, but we keep going and learn from them in order to make us a better person. I shared a few examples of my mistakes, and as I told the children, I could have been there all day. I also shared a short video of a few sports mistakes, which I hope the pupils can reflect on in their everyday lives. 

Youth Speaks Final 

On Wednesday, I was joined by Ms Simpson and Mr Brough as judges for the annual Upper Two Youth Speaks. As ever, the finalists were amazing, and all four groups offered thought-provoking and powerful speeches. It was a truly difficult decision, but congratulations to the winners, George, Angus, Greg, and Alex. Thank you to Ms Cox and Mr Evans for your valuable input in preparing all the Upper Twos for this wonderful event. 

Online safety 

Mrs Morgan has been reminding pupils from Upper School about the importance of staying safe online. The digital world that we live in is continually changing. Some of your children may have their own devices, and it is important that, as a school and parents, we remind them of how to behave, just like we would if they don’t follow the rules or expectations at school. But also, what to do if things go wrong… Please do keep an eye on what your children are up to, keep the lines of communication open, and, as we have told the children, many apps have age limits that are there for a reason: to keep them safe. 

Sea turtle talk with Jo Earlam 

Upper One pupils had a visit from local author Jo Earlam this week as part of their geography and art learning. The children enjoyed Jo’s story of ‘Tuamor the Turtle’ and learnt lots of fascinating facts about sea turtles and plastic pollution. The pupils are looking forward to developing their knowledge on this topic and making their clay sea turtle tiles during their art lessons. 

Family society 

I met with the family society on Wednesday to discuss future events, and there is one I would like to draw your attention to. The family society will be hosting a summer fete on Saturday June 15, so please pop the date in your diaries, and more details will be shared in due course. If you are interested in joining our family society, please send your details to jsreception@exeterschool.org.uk and we will pass them on. The more, the merrier, and events like these can only work with the support of the community. 

Coffee morning 

Next Thursday we have our Lower Two and Upper Two coffee morning in the dining hall at 8.25am. I hope you can join us for a croissant, a cup of coffee, and a catch-up.

Have a lovely weekend. 

Playground people of the week

Florence F1H

Amelie U1R

Robyn U1R

Arthur L2P

Benjamin L2P

World Book Day

Mark your calendars, everyone! On Thursday, March 7, junior school will immerse in the enchanting world of literature for World Book Day. We are delighted to host author Sam Sedgman, who will conduct engaging workshops for each year group. We invite you to join the festivities by participating in our biennial tradition of dressing up as your favourite book character. We would like you to step into the shoes of any one of your most cherished book characters. Let’s make this World Book Day a memorable celebration of the magic found within the pages of a good book! Happy reading from Mrs Hardy.

U8s & U9s start their season against ECS

In a fantastic start to the 2024 sporting season, our U8 and U9 teams hosted Exeter Cathedral School for their first hockey and netball matches on Thursday. The afternoon was not about competition but about learning the game and developing key skills. The matches were marked by the enthusiasm and sportsmanship of both teams, creating a wonderful spirit of friendly competition. Here’s to a fantastic season ahead, filled with growth, teamwork, and, most importantly, fun for our children.

Swim Squads

Last week over 80 pupils from the junior school trialled for the swim squads- an impressive number which highlights the enthusiasm for swimming at Exeter School. The level of swimming was very impressive and it is clear that pupils have been working hard over the past few months to improve their skills. Th squads began their training this week and we wish them the best of luck for their galas and competitions this term. Well done to all who trialled and congratulations to those who made the squads.

 

Make £5 Grow: Upper Two’s Maths Project is launched!

Last week Upper Two pupils attended talks given Mr Mackintosh from the senior school and some Young Enterprise sixth form pupils, to launch this year’s independent maths project. Virgin Money have ‘loaned’ our pupils £5 each which will be paid back at the end of the project. Each pupil will be receiving their £5 shortly, with the challenge to ‘make it grow’.

This week we have been exploring how teamwork impacts the world of business and have started to consider how we can use our strengths, interests and hobbies to generate product ideas, playing close attention to the time of the year and our target market.

Pupils will be working in groups of between three to five pupils within their class, to design, make and sell their products and hopefully make a profit. The profit raised will be split between the school charities as chosen by our school council.  Mr Cunningham, Mrs Van and Ms Barnes are busy collecting initial ideas from the groups and are already very excited about what’s to come!

Junior School News

Junior Sport News

We are finalists! 🎉

Exeter School has been named a finalist in the Student Careers category at this year’s Independent Schools of the Year Awards, in recognition of our Futures Programme.

This is a fantastic achievement for Exeter School and a wonderful recognition from @independentschoolparent of the work we do to prepare our pupils for life beyond school. We’re also delighted to be recognised alongside @schoolblazeruk, our school uniform provider and partner.

They recently highlighted one of the programme’s particular strengths - our Upper Sixth Interview Scheme, where pupils take part in mock interviews with professional partners, alumni and parents. The scheme provides invaluable real-world experience, helping pupils build confidence and develop essential interview skills ahead of university and job applications.

We are incredibly proud to see our Futures Programme recognised in this way. 🌟

Visit the link in our Linktree to read more about the award and our Futures Programme. 
@talkeducation  @goodschoolsguide 

#ExeterSchool #ProudToBeExeter #IndependentSchools #StudentCareers #FuturesProgramme #CareersEducation #SixthForm #Devon

...

29 0
Congratulations to 1st XI captain Josh who scored his second county century for @devoncricket yesterday, 119 not out against Oxfordshire in their 3-day match. This follows his 119 against Wiltshire in the T20 fixture two weeks ago. Devon have progressed to the QF of the T20 comp which takes place later this month. We hope Josh continues his good form! 

@exeterschooluk @exetercricketclub #devoncricket #centurian #t20 #exeterschoolsport #schoolofgreatcharacter

...

120 0
Sam proudly represented Exeter School by completing his first-ever half marathon, alongside former professional rugby player David ‘Jacko’ Jackson and Simon Beatham, Director of Rugby at @nottinghamrugby Club. 🏃‍♂️

Having enjoyed the experience so much, Sam met up with Jacko again later in the week and went on to complete his second half marathon! 👏

Jacko is currently taking on an extraordinary challenge: running 100 ultramarathons in 100 consecutive days, aiming to break the world record while raising £1 million for brain injury charities @headway_uk and @headforchange.

Sam is now planning to travel to Bristol later this month to join Jacko at the location where he is due to complete his world-record attempt.

We’re incredibly proud of Sam for getting involved, supporting Jacko and representing Exeter School while helping to raise awareness for two fantastic charities.

A huge well done to Sam, two half marathons and counting! What an incredible achievement.

If you’d like to support Jacko’s incredible challenge and help him reach his fundraising goal, please see the link in our Linktree.

@thebreathrunningcoach 

#ExeterSchool #ProudToBeExeter #WorldRecordAttempt #HalfMarathon #HeadForChange #CharityChallenge #IndependentSchoolsDevon #RaisingMoney #ApireAndAchieve

...

107 1
Huge congratulations to @exschsports 1st XV player Max who represented Italy 🇮🇹 U18s this weekend. The Italy squad were in camp with Wales & Scotland with all three teams playing each other in 40 minute matches! We hope this is the start of an exciting year for Max. 👏🏻 @exeterschooluk @rugbubble_ #rugby #exeterschoolsport #reprugby #schoolofgreatcharacter

...

198 3
Congratulations to James (U5) who competed at the Aquatics GB Next Generation Championships last week, an event held for the top 24 swimmers in Britain in each swim event. 

James achieved qualification times for 6 events - 50, 100 and 200 fly, 200 free and 200 and 400IM. Competing in the 16yr old age category, he reached three finals, placing him in the top 10 in his age group in Britain. Great achievement, well done James! 🙌🏻 @exeterschooluk #exeterschool #exeterschoolsport #schoolofgreatcharacter

...

40 0
Congratulations to 1st XI captain Josh who scored his second county century for @devoncricket yesterday, 119 not out against Oxfordshire in their 3-day match. This follows his 119 against Wiltshire in the T20 fixture two weeks ago. Devon have progressed to the QF of the T20 comp which takes place later this month. We hope Josh continues his good form! 

@exeterschooluk @exetercricketclub #devoncricket #centurian #t20 #exeterschoolsport #schoolofgreatcharacter

...

120 0
Huge congratulations to @exschsports 1st XV player Max who represented Italy 🇮🇹 U18s this weekend. The Italy squad were in camp with Wales & Scotland with all three teams playing each other in 40 minute matches! We hope this is the start of an exciting year for Max. 👏🏻 @exeterschooluk @rugbubble_ #rugby #exeterschoolsport #reprugby #schoolofgreatcharacter

...

198 3
Congratulations to James (U5) who competed at the Aquatics GB Next Generation Championships last week, an event held for the top 24 swimmers in Britain in each swim event. 

James achieved qualification times for 6 events - 50, 100 and 200 fly, 200 free and 200 and 400IM. Competing in the 16yr old age category, he reached three finals, placing him in the top 10 in his age group in Britain. Great achievement, well done James! 🙌🏻 @exeterschooluk #exeterschool #exeterschoolsport #schoolofgreatcharacter

...

40 0
Congratulations to @exschsports pupils Annabel, Isabelle, Alfie & Benjamin who all represented the University of Exeter Talent Academy at the England Hockey TA cup at the end of July. Brilliant achievement! 🏑 🙌🏻 @iscahockeyclubjuniors @devonhockeyassociation #exeterschoolsport #hockey #schoolofgreatcharacter

...

159 4
Congratulations to 1st XI captain Josh P who was awarded his cricket colours today at the completion of their final match @exeterschooluk #cricket #colours #commitment #exeterschoolsport

...

182 0
Following a well contested final the U12s were crowned @devoncricket county champions this evening 🏆👏🏻
Well done to everyone in the squad but special to Harry for a fantastic innings of 49 in the team’s fight back. 

@exeterschooluk #countycup #cricket #champions #exeterschoolsport #schoolofgreatcharacter

...

89 0
What a great day of cricket! Well done to the @exschsports U11s who finished as runners up at the Devon U11 hardball competition today. The eight a-side format gives each team the opportunity to play three matches during the day with the winners heading to the west finals! Well done on winning  @stpetersprepschool 

@exeterschooluk @devoncricket @esca_cricket #cricket #teamwork #exeterschoolsport #schoolofgreatcharacter

...

52 1