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

Well done to Nell (U19) and Eva (Junior PDP) who both represented @teambathnetball_ this weekend against Manchester Thunder @exeterschooluk #netball #exeterschool #exeterschoolsport #aspire

Well done to Nell (U19) and Eva (Junior PDP) who both represented @teambathnetball_ this weekend against Manchester Thunder @exeterschooluk #netball #exeterschool #exeterschoolsport #aspire ...

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Happy Valentine's Day ❤️

Vally in Upper has written a beautiful love letter, about Paris in honour of the day of love.

#exeterschools #valentinesday #loveletters #valentinespoetry

Happy Valentine`s Day ❤️

Vally in Upper has written a beautiful love letter, about Paris in honour of the day of love.

#exeterschools #valentinesday #loveletters #valentinespoetry
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Congratulations to Alumna Sarah (2013-2024), who became one of the first ever cadets to fly solo in a Tutor aircraft, in September 2024. She completed the three-week programme, earning the Gold Badge. What a role model for our current pupils!

Reflecting on her experience, she said: "I had such an amazing time—one I will never forget. A huge thank you to 12 AEF and my contingent commander for making this possible!" 

Our CCF section is one of the largest in the southwest and offers an impressive range of options and activities to develop pupils' skills of leadership, teamwork and resilience through the structure of a cadet unit. 

New and current pupils entering Year 10 choose the activities they wish to take part in for our Friday 8 programme (named due to the fact that these are carried out during period 8, the last lesson on a Friday). These include the three CCF sections (Royal Navy, army, Royal Air Force), Duke of Edinburgh, The Exonian magazine editorial team, community service, sports leaders, swunk (a jazz and funk band) and more.

📷: Thank you to @cadetsinschools for the use of their photo.

#exeterschools #aspireandflourish #togetherwe #cadetsinschools #ccf #rafcadets #independentschoolsuk

Congratulations to Alumna Sarah (2013-2024), who became one of the first ever cadets to fly solo in a Tutor aircraft, in September 2024. She completed the three-week programme, earning the Gold Badge. What a role model for our current pupils!

Reflecting on her experience, she said: "I had such an amazing time—one I will never forget. A huge thank you to 12 AEF and my contingent commander for making this possible!"

Our CCF section is one of the largest in the southwest and offers an impressive range of options and activities to develop pupils` skills of leadership, teamwork and resilience through the structure of a cadet unit.

New and current pupils entering Year 10 choose the activities they wish to take part in for our Friday 8 programme (named due to the fact that these are carried out during period 8, the last lesson on a Friday). These include the three CCF sections (Royal Navy, army, Royal Air Force), Duke of Edinburgh, The Exonian magazine editorial team, community service, sports leaders, swunk (a jazz and funk band) and more.

📷: Thank you to @cadetsinschools for the use of their photo.

#exeterschools #aspireandflourish #togetherwe #cadetsinschools #ccf #rafcadets #independentschoolsuk
...

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Well done to Nell (U19) and Eva (Junior PDP) who both represented @teambathnetball_ this weekend against Manchester Thunder @exeterschooluk #netball #exeterschool #exeterschoolsport #aspire

Well done to Nell (U19) and Eva (Junior PDP) who both represented @teambathnetball_ this weekend against Manchester Thunder @exeterschooluk #netball #exeterschool #exeterschoolsport #aspire ...

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Busy day at the office. Wonderful to see so many pupils involved in Saturday sports fixtures yesterday morning. A, B and C hockey teams against West Buckland U13 & U12s and delighted to be able to welcome KES Bath to play four U13 netball fixtures. @marklockettphotography @exeterschooluk #saturdaysport #netball #hockey #exeterschoolsport #exeterschool #aspire #welcome #serve

Busy day at the office. Wonderful to see so many pupils involved in Saturday sports fixtures yesterday morning. A, B and C hockey teams against West Buckland U13 & U12s and delighted to be able to welcome KES Bath to play four U13 netball fixtures. @marklockettphotography @exeterschooluk #saturdaysport #netball #hockey #exeterschoolsport #exeterschool #aspire #welcome #serve ...

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