Three junior school pupils proudly holding up their story writing work

Junior Reflections Week 28 May 2025

Dear parents,

Well, the sun has certainly decided to make an appearance and it has been lovely to see so many happy pupils out on the playground, the paddock and on the field. The cricket bags are making an appearance, and I must admit some of them are larger than the pupils themselves. I am looking forward to the first match of the season which I believe takes place next week.

Assemblies

My assembly was around the theme of kindness and sportsmanship and the inspiration was from the marathon. The news on the TV this weekend was mixed as I watched the funeral of the Pope on Saturday and then the thousands of people who ran the marathon on Sunday; I do always get inspired by the stories and with that I found myself entering the ballot (and of course entered my husband as well) for the 2026 marathon. I am now having slight issues that I may very well get a place, but I have been reassured that it is highly unlikely which is probably the outcome that I am secretly hoping for. I will certainly share with you if I am, as I am not a runner so would be putting myself out of my comfort zone… not sure what I was thinking!

Form rep meeting

I had the pleasure of meeting with our lovely form reps this week where we talked about new uniform and the summer fete; please do keep the date for the summer fete free. It is Saturday 7 June at 1pm and will be an afternoon of stalls, food and community spirit.

New school uniform

The new school uniform will be available to purchase next month and some of you will be keen to get your children into the new dress as soon as possible, especially where they have outgrown the bespoke items such as skirts and blazers. You can find out more about the new uniform, including information on how to order, below.

Click here to view the new uniform guide  Click here to view the Schoolblazer ordering information

Staff training day

Please note that the staff training (INSET) day for this term is on Monday 2 June, the first day back after half term, and not Friday 23 May. Please ensure that your children do come to school on 23 May and do not come to school (unless they have a public exam) on 2 June. The school returns after half term on Tuesday 3 June.

I do hope the good weather continues into the bank holiday weekend.

Mrs Saskia van Schalkwyk

Jazz Supper

On Thursday 3 July at 6.30pm, the main hall will be transformed into an atmospheric jazz club where the audience can enjoy a light meal with wine and the relaxed atmosphere of the end of the school year. The concert will feature Swunk, Jazz Bank 1, Jazz Band 2, Swunkette, and more……

Ticket Prices Adult £12 / Child £8

This price includes a light supper and two drinks – please pre-book your place by Thursday 19 June.

Click here to book your ticket

Exeter Music Holiday School

Exeter Music Holiday School will be open over May half term and running workshops for pupils age 5-16, at Countess Wear Community School, with classes in music, drama, musical theatre, song and lyric writing, arts & crafts and forest school among others.

For more information and to book, please click here.

Parents can use the discount code IUZ542 to receive a discount on any bookings made by 7 May.

Playground people of the week

Sienna A L2P

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
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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U6 leavers' fun

CCF Adventure Training, Snowdonia - April 2025

4F-M5 ski trip, Austria

Sports Gala Awards - 2 April 2025

Junior school cross country - 31 March 2025

CCF RAF Nitex - March 2025

L5 House Hockey and Netball - March 2025

Abstract art workshop by Liese Webley - February 2025