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

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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.
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Exeter Junior School pupils are off timetable today for a wonderful roundabout of activities in aid of the @national_literary_festival. We're going all in for the @go_all_in_2026 and some pupils, like Bel here, performed their pieces in assembly in chapel this morning. Well done Bel! 👏

#GoAllIn #reading #poetry #CreativeWriting #PoetLaureate #NationalYearOfReading2026 #ExeterJuniorSchool #NationalLiteracyTrust #DevonSchools #IndependentSchoolsUK 

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

Hawaiian Magic by 101 Strings Orchestra, https://t.lickd.co/l/1PENMPJKwkv

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This Sunday is @thegreatwestrun and our very own Mr Harknett will be running his first half marathon on behalf of @charityforcecancer! He ran the 10K for them last year and raised just over £100 so he would love to take it further this year and get to £300. 

Cancer care is very close to his family’s heart and we know that is true for many in our school community so please do give if you feel able and help him to smash his goals!

His JustGiving link is available in our Linktree in our bio

#WelcomeAndServe #Charity #FundRaising #HalfMarathon @exeterschool_alumni @exschsports #Support #Community #ExeterSchools @ExSchDrama

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We've been busy preparing for our visitors to the @devoncountyshow and can't wait to speak to you all over the next few days! Stop by Ave A, stand 94, for a chat, some shelter, a seat...🥳 We love showing what our young people get up to, letting you know of scholarships, bursaries and other opportunities available and in store for anyone dreaming of becoming an Exeter School pupil. We'd also love to catch up with any @exeterschool_alumni.

🐶Labradors Murphy and Ketchup will be visiting with us as well as our much adored Bichon Frise, Ruffles, from @exeterpreprep on Saturday. Can't wait to see you! 😎

#devoncountyshow2026 #countyfair #devon #westpointexeter #RealWorldReady #CoEducationToThrive #ComeAndChat #WelcomeAndServe #Exhibitors #Summer #Admissions #School #DevonSchools #Scholarships #Bursaries #Welcome #OpenDay

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

On The Move by CALVO, https://t.lickd.co/l/kVB3yow3Rr4

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One of our teams takes an old, off the grid, Sony Cyber-shot point and shoot camera (no microphones so watch out for dodgy captions) on their @armytentors challenge to give everyone a real behind-the-scenes look at what it's really like to complete such an immense challenge. 

From the crowds of the start line to the middle of nowhere and the emotional rollercoaster and blisters between, their emotions shine through in this real-life feature filmed entirely by Lower Sixth pupils from Exeter School.  Head over to our YouTube channel to watch the full video now.

#tentors #cadetsinschools #exeterschools #devon #RoyalNavy #RoyalAirForce #RoyalArmy #CCF #rambling #dartmoor @exeterschool_alumni @exeterschooltentors 
 

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

Tiger Feet by Mud, https://t.lickd.co/l/9PqmP4a2pMZ

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AMAZING! Firstly, we'd like to say to the original poster that we are so glad you're ok and we hope you are recovering well. 

Secondly, what impressive young people our boys and girls are to step in to help when others passed by, on a day when they probably had expected their GCSE Chemistry exam, completed earlier, to have been the most significant occurrence on their minds that day.

It's easy for school's marketing campaigns to be whimsical, flimsy and expected but these pupils have shown that we are teaching our pupils to be 'Real-World Ready'. Well done - we are very proud of you for demonstrating our school's values so fearlessly.

#realworldready #coeducationtothrive #firstaid #medicalemergency #gcses #welcomeandserve #independentschoolsuk #amazingpupils #schoolofgreatcharacter #welldone #upstandingcitizens #exeter

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Ishaan, Eli, Hari and Leo in Lower Two played with their team Exeter Central City in the plate final yesterday. 

They absolutely smashed it 2-1 and won the u10 Exeter & District League Plate 🎉🏆

@exschsports #aspireandflourish #teamwork #football #winning #cupwinners #juniorsports #exeterjuniorschool

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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