students in class
Junior Reflections

Junior Reflections Week 18 2024

Dear parents,

Graham Keene visit

February has arrived, as have the first lot of daffodils in my office. A lovely feeling of Spring is nearly here. I joined the Upper Two pupils first thing on Monday morning to listen to our very own local mountaineer, Graham Keene. The pupils were mesmerised by his account of climbing the seven highest mountains in each of the continents, and he encouraged the pupils to follow their dreams – anything is possible.

Future-ready learning

Mrs Morgan and I visited Wells Cathedral School on Tuesday as part of the District 4 heads termly meeting and a chance for our digital leads to meet up. The discussion topic was “Future-ready learning”, and we had a very interesting and informative presentation from Lex Lang on the integration of AI in education. It certainly gave us a lot to think about, not just as a teacher but also as a parent.

Comets club

This week, comets club headed to the senior school for “Combinatorics – The Art of Clever Counting”. Mr Bowler introduced compositions to the group, where the pupils were asked to break down whole numbers. The Upper Two children were brilliant at identifying patterns, and they got to see how creative mathematics can be! A huge thank you to Mr Bowler for inspiring our pupils.

Informal Brass Concert

I attended the Informal Brass Concert, and what a treat I had. I was blown away, excuse the pun, by the talent, and a special mention goes to our very own Nathaniel in Lower Two, who performed the James Bond theme tune on the French horn. It was a brilliant performance. I do enjoy the Informal Concerts, and it is lovely to see many of our old junior school pupils play as well.

Junior school council

On Thursday morning, the junior school council welcomed three of our senior school council members, Alex, Jasmine, and Tom, to our half term meeting. They talked about their roles and the brilliant changes they have helped to influence before taking questions from the pupils, such as changes to school uniforms and school lunches. Alex, Jasmine, and Tom shared words of wisdom and encouragement as well as fond memories of their time in the junior school before hearing feedback from each class on what has been enjoyed, what was not quite so good, any worries, and finally, suggestions for the school council to discuss at future meetings.

Coffee morning

It was lovely to see many of the lower school parents at our coffee morning on Wednesday; as always, it was a great start to my day and great to catch up. This evening sees our annual junior school quiz, which I am very much looking forward to, and tomorrow I will be welcoming many new families and their children to our assessment day.

I hope that you all have a lovely weekend, and I am sure I will see many of you this evening.

Playground people of the week

Archie F1C

Lysander  U2T

George U2E

U11 Hockey – Devon Finals

The U11 boys hockey team travelled to Blundell’s on Wednesday for the Devon Hockey Tournament. They displayed some fantastic skills and scored some great goals during the tournament. Exeter School progressed through the group stages in top place and came up against West Buckland School in the semi-final, where the game went to penalty shuffles. Exeter School narrowly lost the shoot out and West Buckland School progressed to the final. Well done to all the pupils involved!

Informal Brass Concert

15 players from across the school took to the Music Hall stage on Wednesday in the Informal Brass Concert. Featuring nine trumpeters, three trombonists, a euphoniumist, a hornist and a tubist, and ranging in age from Nathaniel in Lower Two to Oscar in Upper Sixth, the event offered huge variety in the instrumental disciplines on show and the experience of the players. The choices of piece also offered something for every musical taste, with movements from concertos by Hummel and Haydn, pop favourite Angels, film/stage classics including Raiders March, the James Bond theme and Castle on a Cloud through to jazzy numbers such as Chattanooga Choo-Choo and Funk. You can access the audio recording here.

The next Informal Concert event will feature the guitarists, and is taking place on Wednesday 7 February at 4pm in the Music Hall. Parents, pupils, staff and families and all welcome to attend.

Junior School News

Junior Sport News

We are so proud of our pupils for the way they embody our virtue of kindness and integrity both at school and beyond the classroom 💫 

#KindnessAndIntegrity #ExeterSchool #CharacterEducation #DevonSchools #IndependentSchools

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It was wonderful to see a group of Lower Fifth (Year 9) pupils volunteering for their Duke of Edinburgh by litter picking on Exmouth Beach over the weekend. 

Their efforts were recognised by an Exmouth resident who shared this photo to a local community group, receiving over 1,000 likes and countless positive comments.

Well done to all pupils for embodying Exeter School’s values of welcoming and serving the community 👏

@dofeuk #WelcomeAndServe #DukeOfEdinburgh #MakingADifference #ExeterSchool #IndependentSchools

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📅 One month to go

Join us for an evening with Exeter School alumnus Alex Leger, the man behind Blue Peter, as he shares stories from his days here at Exeter School and explains how they set him on a path to an adventure-filled career. 

📍Exeter School

⏰ Friday 6 February 2026 at 6.00 – 8.30pm

 🎟 Book your place now via the link in our bio.

#ExeterSchoolAlumni

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Last chance 📢 Applications for bursaries close this Friday.

Our bursaries are designed to support families who would benefit from financial assistance, helping ensure an Exeter School education is accessible to pupils with the ability to thrive here.

For more information on eligibility and the application process, please visit the bursaries page via the link in our bio. 

#ExeterSchool #InspireAndChallenge #Bursaries #IndependentEducation #DevonSchools

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📢 We are seeking an Early Years Practitioner to join our pre-prep school in Exminster.

🧑‍🏫 You will join a small, friendly professional team on a permanent basis for 2 days a week, from 23 February 2026.

🕛 The closing date for application is 12 January so don't delay! Visit the link in our bio to apply.

#JobAlert #ExeterJobs #EducationJobs

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It was a beautiful but frosty start as pupils and staff returned through the school gates this morning. We hope everyone had a restful break and is enjoying their first day back ❄️ 

We noticed a few parents with big smiles while dropping off their children, perhaps looking forward to some quiet time after a busy couple of weeks 😄

#BackToSchool #WinterMornings #SchoolLife #ExeterSchool #InspireAndChallenge

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Feeling inspired for the year ahead? Our sixth formers certainly were after hearing from Nick Butter — the first person to run a marathon in every country and holder of multiple world records 💫

@nickbutterrun #Running #NewYearMotivation #StartTheYearStrong #InspirationDaily #StayMotivated #exeterschool

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The U14s go coast to coast in their district cup final! They now look forward to county semi final after the break. @exeterschooluk @englandrugby @nextgenxv 

@exeterschooluk #schoolrugby #rugby #exeterschool #exeterschoolsport #schoolofgreatcharacter

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Great to play matches against @stpetersexeter this term. Thank you for hosting, some cracking matches for the U12, U13, U14 and finally U15 who were involved an 8 goal thriller this week. Look forward to the return fixtures after the break. 

@exeterschooluk @officialecfc #schoolfootball #football #exeterschool #exeterschoolsport #schoolofgreatcharacter

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George (4Q) raced in the Devon County Cross Country Championships on Sunday. Despite running with his hand in a plaster cast he came away as the Devon U13 Cross Country champion and led the Exeter Harriers to pick up 1st place in the team competition. Amazing achievement, well done George 🙌🏻

@exeterschooluk #exeterschool #exeterschoolsport #crosscountry #countychamp #runfast

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Mud, sunshine & school rugby…..not a bad combination. Well done to all the teams in action this morning. 

@exeterschooluk #schoolrugby #devonmud #edrterschoolsport #exeterschool #schoolofgreatcharacter

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Whole School open morning - Friday 23 January 9am

Experience the school in action at our open morning. This smaller event offers the chance to hear from the Headteacher and have the opportunity to visit both the junior and senior schools. Click here to book your place.