Junior Reflections Week 20 February 2025

Dear parents,

The end of the first half of the Spring term has arrived and, if my house is anything to go by, your children will be ready for a rest. It has been another busy half term with lots going on in and out of the classroom and with the days beginning to get a bit lighter it certainly feels like we are heading into spring.

Lower Two

I happened to be walking past Mrs Wopshott’s classroom on Wednesday and I am so glad that I did. L2P were having a wonderful time selling their homemade wares linked to the country of St Lucia. I had a fruit punch (umbrella included), upside down pineapple cake and lots more. I think the pupils were having a huge amount of fun and of course sampling everything that was on sale! Lower Two Engineering Club members were delighted to receive their Dyson Engineers pack from The James Dyson Foundation, which included lots of support materials and a large working Dyson Air Multiplier Fan to dissemble and reassemble. They had a lot of fun comparing the Dyson fan with a more traditional electric fan and discussed safety, high flow rate, velocity and rotation. A great way to be introduced to product design.

Safer Internet Day

Safer Internet Day 2025 took place on the 11 February, with celebrations and learning based around the theme “Too good to be true? Protecting yourself and others from scams online”. Mr Evans led the whole school assembly sharing with the pupils the idea that if something sounds too good to be true, then always ask a parent as it is probably not what you think it is. Safer Internet Day is the UK’s biggest celebration of online safety and every year a new theme is discussed looking at how we can keep ourselves safe. As parents, ourselves, we are aware of the huge positives of the online world but, as with everything, there are sadly many negatives as well and protecting our pupils online is not just a one-day event but woven into all that we do at school.

Swimming galas

The swimming galas were a fantastic way to end the half term, showcasing some incredible performances from both lower school and upper school. The enthusiasm and support from the pupils was louder than ever—and thank you to all the parents for coming along and supporting your child. A huge well done to everyone who participated, as well as our dedicated helpers. A special thank you to Mr. Dutch for organising such a well-run and enjoyable event.

School strategy

Many thanks to the parents who completed the online survey giving their views on what parents value about the school, and to those who joined us for a parent forum to workshop the ideas and delve a little deeper. It is always fascinating to reflect on the views of the school community and the governing board will be taking these into account when we meet together on a strategy day in March.

A reminder that school starts on Wednesday 26 February after two staff inset days on the Monday and Tuesday, and we are looking forward to welcoming all the pupils back for the second half of the Spring term. Let’s hope the sun will also decide to join us.

Happy half term.

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.

Playground people of the week

Arthur C (F1H)

Ellie S (L2P)

L S (U2C)

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
Winning start for Minecraft Esports team 🖥️ 

Our Minecraft Esports team kicked off their competitive season in style last week, securing two strong wins against Twickenham Prep in the @iapsuk Capture the Flag competition. The team claimed a 4–2 victory in the first match, followed by an impressive 13–2 win in the second.

With two more matches this week, we’re excited to follow their progress and wish them the very best of luck!

#ExeterSchool #EsportsInSchools #MinecraftEsports #IAPS #DigitalLearning #Teamwork

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Congratulations to Lamorna who had a very successful weekend at the equestrian national qualifications representing Exeter School at Bicton in showjumping at 100 and 110 levels. She became NSEA county champion at 110cm and has been invited to ride in June for the county at Hickstead Elite. Lamorna also qualified for the national championship in October at100 and 110 for Exeter School. 👏🏻 👏🏻👏🏻

@exeterschooluk #exeterschoolsport #equestrian #partnership #schoolofgreatcharacter

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Looking forward to welcoming @hamishpercy to Exeter School tomorrow. Hamish will be working with our sports scholars delivering some media training and discussing public speaking, interview skills and social media sports profiles. 

After studying History at the University of Nottingham and completing a Masters in Sports Journalism at St. Mary’s University, Twickenham, Hamish went on to start his career freelancing with BT Sport Rugby before moving to Premier League Productions for 4 years. He then had a brief stint freelance presenting in the world of sport. 
  
Hamish subsequently moved to SPORTbible, part of the LADbible Group, to launch their YouTube channel in September 2024 and has grown the channel to have over 71M views, securing major sponsorships with brands like Domino’s along the way. He has been lucky enough to interview stars like Luke Littler (Darts), Jasprit Bumrah (Cricket), Carlos Alcaraz (Tennis), Harry Kane (Football), Maro Itoje (Rugby), Naomi Osaka (Tennis) and more who all feature on the channel. 

@exeterschooluk

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A place to be me 😊

Today marks the start of Children’s Mental Health Week! This year’s theme is ‘This is My Place’, with the aim of encouraging a sense of belonging – in friendships, in school and in our communities.

We pride ourselves on making our school a place where pupils can truly be themselves, and we are looking forward to lots of discussions and activities throughout the week 🌟

@_place2be #ChildrensMentalHealthWeek #CMHW2026 #ChildrensMentalHealthWeek2026 #KindnessAndIntegrity

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Do you know anyone who would be perfect for the role of Head of Rugby at Exeter School? Please share this vacancy with them - closing date is 23 Feb and and we're excited to see who is out there, ready to take on coaching the sports stars of tomorrow - head over to our website to view vacancy details.

#HiringAlert #HeadOfRugby #SportsCoaching #IndependentSchools #TES #StaffVacancy #JoinOurTeam #ExeterSchools #ExeterJuniorSchool #RugbyTraining #TeacherLife #SportsTeachers #devonsports 

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

Perfect (Exceeder) by David Guetta, Mason, Princess Superstar, https://t.lickd.co/l/J137dnEngXv

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Junior school swimming gala - 14 February 2025

Junior school vs Queen's College, Taunton - 7 February 2025

Exonian Lecture with Elizabeth Godwin - February 2025

4F Digestion Dome - February 2025

Jazz, Pop & Rock Concert - 12 February 2025

U8 & U9 Netball vs West Buckland & Plymouth College - 30 January 2025