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

If you're in Years 7-9 and fancy a bit of cooking on today's INSET day, or at least to start planning ahead for Thursday, the European Day of Languages, we have just the competition for you. 

Our Modern Foreign Languages department have some Amazon vouchers up for grabs for entries of cakes or dishes representing a country of your choice. Whether you're keen on a Galette des rois, Tarta de Santiago or a classic panettone, bring your entry to the MFL staff room by lunchtime this Thursday to be in with a chance of winning!

Poster designed by L6 pupil Anna ☺️

#galettedesrois #tartadesantiago #panettone #mfl #modernforeignlanguages #europeandayoflanguages #celebrationoflanguages #europeanculture #cookingcompetition #exeterschools #AmazonVouchers

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Happy National Scone day! How do you eat yours? Keep a keen eye on the video note for our preference although we've sandwiched it together in the visual so as not to offend anyone who opts for alternatives😆

At the end of 'The Butterfly Lion', Michael Morpurgo discovers he's been taking tea with a ghost. We tasked our junior school poets with a little extension project to write a poem about this. Here is the poem from Bella in Upper One (Year 4) which we love. 

#nationalsconeday #poetlaureate #exeterjuniorschool #devonscones #creamtea #devoncreamtea #butterflylion #michaelmorpurgo #nationalsconeday2026

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Like Delilah and Rosalila, Benjy is preparing for the trip of a lifetime following his A Levels and is off to Peru with @projecttrust. Here, we see how hearing from alumni helped him to make the decision about whether volunteering overseas was the right choice for him. Various futures events are run throughout sixth form life and before to prepare pupils for the real world. 

If you'd like to support Benjy raise the £6.5k he needs to get on his way, please go to his Just Giving link in the Linktree in our bio.

@exeterschool_alumni  thank you for the inspiration you give to current pupils.

🎵 Copyrighted music licensed from Lickd. https://lickd.co

High Heaven by Spencer Wilson, Jamie Elder, https://t.lickd.co/l/PXpo3X1PplE

#peru #volunteering #projecttrustperu @felix_in_cambodia #sixthformlife #ALevels #tipsfrompupils #independentschooluk #fundraising #welcomeandserve #educationforall #modernforeignlanguages #coeducationtothrive #realworldready

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Yesterday, we heard from Delilah in U6 who is off to Honduras in January and today is Rosalila in L6's turn. She'll be off to Peru for 8 months the year after next. Following her mother and her brothers' experiences with @projecttrust, she's excited about the experiences it will bring her to prepare for a course in human sciences/geography at uni later. 

We love the opportunities available for pupils out there, encouraging their younger peers to think big about the differences they can make in the world and will be bringing these to you over the coming months. 

Anyone wishing to support Rosalila's fundraising will be able to do so shortly through school newsletters. 

🎵 Copyrighted music licensed from Lickd. https://lickd.co

Gitano Rumbero by Miguel Moreno, https://t.lickd.co/l/7lY6vlBmYKM

@felix_in_cambodia #fundraising #honduras #peru #sixthformlife #ALevels #coeducationtothrive #RealWorldReady #futurepathways #charity #welcomeandserve

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Here is Delilah's story. She's right in the middle of A Level exams and getting in some fundraising for her next adventure.

We have many different pathways being followed when our Upper Sixth leave us to take their next steps into the world so we try to let them experience as many skills as possible for whatever they may do. 

We have a few pupils, following in the footsteps of some of our alumni, going off to various destinations to support @projecttrust. Project Trust's mission is to empower young people to develop their confidence, resilience, and leadership skills through long-term international volunteering experiences. By engaging in cross-cultural exchange, volunteers make a positive impact in host communities and return home as responsible, active global citizens.

We'll be bringing you a few pupils' upcoming trips over the next few days. Support Delilah via her Just Giving page - link in our Linktree in bio above

#futurepathways #projecttrusthonduras #hondurastravel #sixthformlife #ALevels #exeterschools #independentschoolsUK

🎵 Copyrighted music licensed from Lickd. https://lickd.co

Endlessly by Mike Lesirge, Guillaume Jambel, Campbell E Browning, Pablo Love, Edward Swinburne, Melvin E Brown, https://t.lickd.co/l/vlqR934WK9Z

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It's heating up all round but at Exeter School we ensure our pupils are Real-World Ready and take fire safety seriously. 

Our L6 RAF cadets got hands on last week in a fire extinguisher practical. Ensuring they do this safely and keep a level head and themselves safe if faced with the  real thing was all important.

#CadetsInSchools #welcomeandserve #firesafety #coeducationtothrive #exeterschools

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Congratulations to Jacob and Freddie (both L6) who represented Devon U17’s last Sunday playing against Dorset & Wiltshire. Devon won 50-24. Freddie scored 2 tries and Jacob 1 @exeterschooluk @devonrfu #rugby #exeterschoolsports #schoolofgreatcharacter

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Huge congratulations to the 7 @exeterschooluk U14 boys who help secure their team’s place at the Hockey National Finals . Playing for ISCA Hockey they drew to Woking HC in the final pool game securing their place on finals day to be held later in May. 

Only 8 teams across the country qualify for nationals so this is an amazing accomplishment 👏🏻 @iscahockeyclubjuniors

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County champions 👏🏻🏆 - well done to our U14 rugby squad who rounded off a brilliant term with a 54-7 win in the county cup final yesterday. 

@devonrfu @exeterschooluk #champions🏆 #countycup #exeterschoolsport #schoolofgreatcharacter

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Massive congrats to the 1st XI football squad who won their final league game of the season yesterday to be crowned ISCA league champions 🏆 2026! This is only the fifth time the school has won the league! Great achievement. @exeterschooluk 

#exeterschoolsport #champions #football #schoolofgreatcharacter

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Team photos 2025-26 by @marklockettphotography

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