students sat on chairs
Junior Reflections

Junior Reflections Week 17 2024

Dear parents,

January is coming to a close, and it does feel like the mornings are getting a little bit lighter, and spring is trying to make an appearance, hooray!  In my Monday assembly, we talked about rules and why we need them at home, in school, and in society. As always, the pupils came up with mature and sensible answers as to why we have rules but also the consequences of breaking the rules. We talked about having a kind school where we are respectful to each other, kind, and show integrity… a school of great character, embracing everyone’s differences and accepting each other’s views even if they are different from our own. I often say how boring a school would be if we were all the same and how chaotic it would be if we didn’t have a routine.

Comets club

This week, we were delighted to welcome Jasmine from Lower Sixth to our comets club, where she led us on a captivating exploration titled ‘A Journey Through Theatre.’ Jasmine recounted her journey, starting from her initiation into drama in the junior school as a Form One pupil all the way to her recent participation in the senior school production of “A Midsummer’s Night Dream.” Hearing about Jasmine’s accomplishments at the National Youth Theatre and her passion for performing was truly captivating. During the session, Jasmine spoke to our Upper Two pupils about the power of drama, highlighting how it can boost confidence, foster friendships, and promote teamwork. The atmosphere was filled with joy and laughter as Jasmine engaged the group in several dynamic drama games. It was an incredibly inspiring Comets session, and we thank Jasmine for her time and for sharing her insights.

Sports

The U11 football team had a fantastic day at the EFL Cup local finals. They came top of their pool to progress to the knockout stages, where they went on to win the semi final on a nail-biting penalty shootout. In a very closely fought match, the boys narrowly lost out in the final by one goal. Mr Dutch was hugely impressed with their performances throughout the day, and they should be proud of themselves. Well done to all involved. Our U10 girls had a very successful afternoon of football on Tuesday, winning all three of their matches, and then on Thursday, the U8 and U9 girls walked to Maynard for a netball match. All the girls played brilliantly, passing with increasing accuracy and scoring lots of goals. Well done, girls.

Looking ahead – summer events

A reminder to make a note of the Exeter School Family Society summer fayre, which will be on Saturday 15 June. The family society committee is working hard on organising a great event on this day, and we hope that the school community will support them with gusto. There will be opportunities for business owners to have a stall and connect with the school community, so please do get in touch if this might be of interest to you. We are very grateful to Mrs Ruth Hughes, who is the chair of the committee and is investing huge energy and commitment into the cause. We much appreciate it.

Coffee morning

It was lovely to see so many of you at the upper school coffee morning on Thursday, which was an opportunity to catch up, have a coffee and pastry, and I am looking forward to the turn of the lower school next Wednesday; not a bad job, eating croissants and drinking coffee to start my day!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Playground people of the week

Lucy F1H

Niyati F1H

Evie L2B

U10 girls Football

On Tuesday, the U10 girls welcomed St Leonards for an afternoon of Football on the astro pitches. All the U10 girls were involved and played in some excellent matches. The Exeter girls displayed high levels of skill and teamwork and scored some excellent goals!

U11 EFL Cup- local area finals

The U11 football team took part in the EFL Cup local area finals on Thursday, after progressing from the first round in November. Exeter came top of the group of 8 teams and progressed to the knock-out stages. They won their quarter-final, won the semi-final on penalties and then narrowly lost the final 1-0. The team had a great day out and displayed some incredible football skills, and can be proud of making it to the final!

Junior School News

Junior Sport 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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