Junior Reflections Week 17 January 2025

Dear parents,

Drone Day

Monday morning brought a unique start to the week with Drone Day, an event that kicked off with great excitement. The day was a resounding success, featuring STEM workshops for Lower Two and Upper Two pupils. These workshops were organised by house groups, providing a wonderful opportunity for pupils to collaborate across different classes and year groups.

All pupils, including our younger learners in Form One and Upper One, attended a special assembly showcasing the drones in action. This assembly was a source of inspiration for our younger pupils, sparking excitement for their future opportunities to program drones. During the workshops, pupils successfully programmed drones using the Swift programming language, with up to 11 drones flying simultaneously in the Andrews Hall at various points!

For those who were inspired by the activities, the video games created during the sessions used MakeCode Arcade. Pupils can save and access these games using their school accounts. Additionally, Swift Playgrounds, a free iPad app for programming apps for iPads and iPhones, is now available on all Upper Two pupils’ school iPads.

Careers

Upper Two pupils were also joined by Mr. Stuart MacKintosh, Head of Economics in the senior school, who delivered an engaging talk on future career opportunities, entrepreneurship, and navigating a changing job market. The session sparked a flurry of creative ideas, and we’re excited to see the resulting projects take shape.

Thought provoking talks

On Wednesday, Upper Two enjoyed a fascinating maths talk by Zoe Griffiths from Think Maths. The session explored various mathematical problems, focusing on topology and the Möbius strip, and concluded with a spectacular smoke-ring finale. Comets Club was led by Rev Close where pupils discussed “What’s it like to be a vicar?” The pupils visited the chapel to discover the various duties of a vicar. The group stepped into the roles of a wedding party and learned about the key moments of a ceremony. A big thank you to Rev. Close for leading such an engaging and informative Comets session.

Open morning

We held our first informal open morning of the year where prospective families can see our school in action. As always, our Upper Two guides were outstanding, talking so positively about their school; we sometimes take for granted how lucky we are, here, at Exeter School. Often when writing about all the things the pupils have done I am amazed at how we fit it all in but we do! For me all the little extras are what makes this school so wonderful.

Sports fixtures

The lower school kicked off the fixture season on Thursday with a fantastic mini tournament of netball whilst the boys got stuck in playing hockey against ECS. A fun afternoon of sport which luckily was not stopped by the weather.

Wishing you a dry weekend.

Mrs Saskia van Schalkwyk

Reminder

If you need to make any changes to end-of-day pick-up arrangements or club attendance, please email jsreception@exeterschool.org.uk as the first point of contact. Form tutors may not see these updates promptly due to teaching commitments.

Exonian lecture

Captain Elizabeth Godwin – Life Guards Squadron

Captain Elizabeth Godwin was born in Devon and attended Exeter School from the age of 7 – 15. She graduated from King’s College London, qualifying as a Nurse in 2015. Whilst at university Captain Godwin commissioned into the Reserves and captained the 1st XI Hockey team.

Captain Godwin commissioned from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as the first female officer in the Life Guards, The Household Cavalry, since the regiment formed in 1661. She was also awarded the Sword of Honour as the best cadet in her intake.

Captain Godwin will share her experiences and give a first-hand insight into her career to date. She will explore nationally significant events as well as her day-to-day responsibilities as the leader of Sqn 2iC, which include running the Life Guards squadron of 60 soldiers and 100 Military Working Horses.

Friday 7 February, 6-8pm Exeter School main hall.

Click here to book tickets

Playground people of the week

Reuben S-R U1W

POSTPONED – ESFS pre-prep and junior school parents quiz

Exeter School Family Society’s quiz night for pre-prep and junior school parents, due to be held tonight, has now been postponed.

More information about a new date to follow.

Junior School News

Junior Sport News

Do you have a story or pupil achievement to share with our community?

If you have a couple of lines of information and a photograph that you and your child are happy to be shared we will try to post these at relevant times through the year.
Email our communications team
Summer experiences will have been varied so we love hearing the options our pupils explore.  Rosalila, going into Lower Sixth, had the opportunity to go on the @nationalyouthchoir residential this summer. She said, "There was real community of people and everyone was so friendly. I really enjoyed being part of such a welcoming group and it was wonderful to be in a choir with people who love singing and wanted to do their best to create amazing music. The range of songs was inspired and enlightening, from beautiful choral music, to jazzy songs, a capella singing to a Spanish fishing song. One song was created with Argentinian native languages and our Argentinian conductor told us about the origins and taught us some Latin dance moves. We even had a chance to speak to composers about their work which added more depth to our performance."  #summerfun #independentschoolsuk #choirmusic #schoolchoirs #summeropportunities

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Good luck to @exschsports pupils Josh, Marcus and Mo who are off to Surrey tomorrow to play in the semi-finals of U16 ECB Cup. They qualified following a thrilling win the quarter-final vs Essex bowling them out for 149 and chasing the total in less than 25 overs.  @exeterschooluk @devoncricket #countycricket #cricket #exeterschoolsport #devoncricket

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We're bringing you results from the @britishrowing Club Championships at the National Water Sports Center in Nottingham in July where Isabelle (M5) and Lisa (L5) won Gold in the Under 14 Women’s Doubles and set a new course record for the WJ14 double!  We're so proud and can't wait to see what the ladies achieve next 🙌  @exschsports #rowing #goldmedals #schoollife #aspireandflourish #newcourserecord #wj14double #u14doublesrowing #nationalwatersportscentrenottingham #independentschools #sports

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Our pupils have shone in GCSEs, with 23% of all grades being grade 9. Furthermore, 47% of grades awarded were a grade 8 or 9.  Acting Head of Exeter School, Mr Graham Bone said: “As I take up the role of Acting Head, it is a privilege to share in the celebration of these fantastic results. Our Year 11 pupils have again shown themselves to be hard-working, diligent Exonians who have made the most of our outstanding teaching, top quality pastoral care, and the wide range of opportunities that Exeter School offers. We are delighted with their GCSE grades: with almost a quarter of results at the top grade of 9 and 47% at the top two grades, there is much to be proud of, and I want to thank all our staff, especially our dedicated teachers, in helping our pupils achieve these excellent outcomes."  #gcseresults2025 #resultsday #sixthformlife #endofyear11 #school #exams #celebrate #schoolexams #talkeducation #goodschoolsguide

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Junior school drone day 2025

Informal Percussion & Drums Concert - 22 January 2025

Swimming gala vs Exmouth College - 22 January 2025

U14 & U15 Hockey vs King's Bruton - 18 January 2025

1st VII, U15A & U14A Netball vs Mount Kelly - 18 January 2025

Netball tournaments - 11 Jan 2025

Exeter School 1st XI vs Blundell's School 1st XI - 11 January 2025

Young Changemakers Reindeer Run 2024

Open morning - Saturday 27 September 9.30-12.30pm

Come along to our biggest open morning of the year for a complete overview of our junior and senior schools.

Take part in fun activities, sampling experiences from lessons, hear from our staff and take a tour with those who know Exeter School best – our pupil ambassadors.

Click here to register your place