Junior Reflections Week 7 October 2024

Dear parents,

A wonderful day

Half term is upon us, and what a super busy term it has been. I can hardly believe that we have got here as it has flown by and I know that the pupils are all ready for a rest. Today, I have been thoroughly spoilt as the pupils treated me to a wonderful rendition of Happy Birthday, some beautiful homemade cards, poems, flowers and cake… they are all very good at keeping a secret.  I won’t share with you my age, but twenty-one again!

Click here to hear the children singing

Form reps

I have had another busy week meeting with our form reps on Monday morning. It was a great opportunity to talk about the beginning of term and how things have gone. I am still looking for volunteers from the following classes; F1C, U1W, L2E and M and U2T. If anyone would be willing to volunteer it would be very much appreciated. It entails; one meeting a term with myself, be the point of contact for important reminders, e.g. non-school uniform days, late returns from matches and most importantly coffee and pastries. Please do note that there are no fundraising events for this group and anything that involves fundraising falls under the umbrella of the family society. If you are interested, please do email, jsreception@exeterschool.org.uk.

Visits

I also met with the wonderful family society, who have lots of exciting events being planned for this academic year. The first one for the junior school being the Christmas disco and hopefully we will have more details to follow after half term. I had a lot of fun down in the pre-prep where I took an assembly on the theme of staying safe. Egg Bert came to visit who wasn’t good at listening and staying safe and sadly followed the same route as Humpty Dumpty… The pre-prep children are always a joy to visit, full of questions, curiosity and just all-round loveliness. I spent the afternoon in classrooms on Thursday enjoying seeing all of the work that the upper school pupils were completing, from charcoal drawings, to spiders, excel spreadsheets and much more. I am always so impressed with the quality of the work that all the pupils produce and to see lots of curious minds being put to work.

And so it leaves me to wish you all a wonderful two week half term break, stay safe and I very much look forward to welcoming the pupils back on the 4 November.

Mrs Saskia van Schalkwyk

Playground people of the week

Catherine J

Barnaby B

Leonie McG

Whole school photo

Tempest photography are pleased to report that our whole school group photograph is now available to view and order via the following weblink:

Click here to view and order

Please include your child’s full name to assist with distribution at the school. Order within two weeks to avoid P&P charges (delivery to school). For assistance, please call 01736 752411 – option 3 to place an order (P&P applies) and option 5 for customer services.

Senior school production of ‘Blue Stockings’

The Senior School production of “Blue Stockings” by Jessica Swale takes place on Thursday 28, Friday 29 and Saturday 30 November at 7.30pm in the Butterfield Hall.

Ticket Prices: Adult £10 Child £6 – please purchase tickets via MSP

Love or knowledge; which would you choose?

It is 1896 in Girton College, Cambridge – the first college in Britain to admit women. The Girton girls study ferociously and match their male peers grade for grade. Yet, when the men graduate, the women leave with nothing but the stigma of being a ‘blue stocking’ – an unnatural, educated woman. They are denied degrees and go home unqualified and unmarriageable.

Tess Moffat and her fellow first years are determined to win the right to graduate. But little do they anticipate the hurdles in their way; the distractions of love, the cruelty of the class divide or the strength of the opposition, who will do anything to stop them. The play follows them over one tumultuous academic year, in their fight to change the future of education.

Seating is reserved, and we will advise pupils when tickets are available to collect from the Bursary office, otherwise they will be available to collect on the door on the evening.

People with special access requirements are asked to contact the Box Office on (01392) 458934 in advance.

Poster art by Emma (L6)

Chamber concert

School Chapel at 7.30pm

Prices Adult £6.00 Child £3.00 – please purchase your tickets via MSP

The Chamber Concert will take place on Thursday 21 November in the School Chapel. The concert will feature many of the school’s smaller ensembles and quartets, including Chamber Choir, Vocal Ensemble, Barbershop, Senior Brass, Wind Ensemble, Sax Quartet, ‘cello Ensemble,

Belles Canto and Flute Ensemble.

After the concert, refreshments will be available in the Music Hall.

People with special access requirements are asked to call the Box Office on (01392) 458934.

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
Happy National Scone day! How do you eat yours? Keep a keen eye on the video note for our preference although we've sandwiched it together in the visual so as not to offend anyone who opts for alternatives😆

At the end of 'The Butterfly Lion', Michael Morpurgo discovers he's been taking tea with a ghost. We tasked our junior school poets with a little extension project to write a poem about this. Here is the poem from Bella in Upper One (Year 4) which we love. 

#nationalsconeday #poetlaureate #exeterjuniorschool #devonscones #creamtea #devoncreamtea #butterflylion #michaelmorpurgo #nationalsconeday2026

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Like Delilah and Rosalila, Benjy is preparing for the trip of a lifetime following his A Levels and is off to Peru with @projecttrust. Here, we see how hearing from alumni helped him to make the decision about whether volunteering overseas was the right choice for him. Various futures events are run throughout sixth form life and before to prepare pupils for the real world. 

If you'd like to support Benjy raise the £6.5k he needs to get on his way, please go to his Just Giving link in the Linktree in our bio.

@exeterschool_alumni  thank you for the inspiration you give to current pupils.

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

High Heaven by Spencer Wilson, Jamie Elder, https://t.lickd.co/l/PXpo3X1PplE

#peru #volunteering #projecttrustperu @felix_in_cambodia #sixthformlife #ALevels #tipsfrompupils #independentschooluk #fundraising #welcomeandserve #educationforall #modernforeignlanguages #coeducationtothrive #realworldready

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Yesterday, we heard from Delilah in U6 who is off to Honduras in January and today is Rosalila in L6's turn. She'll be off to Peru for 8 months the year after next. Following her mother and her brothers' experiences with @projecttrust, she's excited about the experiences it will bring her to prepare for a course in human sciences/geography at uni later. 

We love the opportunities available for pupils out there, encouraging their younger peers to think big about the differences they can make in the world and will be bringing these to you over the coming months. 

Anyone wishing to support Rosalila's fundraising will be able to do so shortly through school newsletters. 

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

Gitano Rumbero by Miguel Moreno, https://t.lickd.co/l/7lY6vlBmYKM

@felix_in_cambodia #fundraising #honduras #peru #sixthformlife #ALevels #coeducationtothrive #RealWorldReady #futurepathways #charity #welcomeandserve

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Here is Delilah's story. She's right in the middle of A Level exams and getting in some fundraising for her next adventure.

We have many different pathways being followed when our Upper Sixth leave us to take their next steps into the world so we try to let them experience as many skills as possible for whatever they may do. 

We have a few pupils, following in the footsteps of some of our alumni, going off to various destinations to support @projecttrust. Project Trust's mission is to empower young people to develop their confidence, resilience, and leadership skills through long-term international volunteering experiences. By engaging in cross-cultural exchange, volunteers make a positive impact in host communities and return home as responsible, active global citizens.

We'll be bringing you a few pupils' upcoming trips over the next few days. Support Delilah via her Just Giving page - link in our Linktree in bio above

#futurepathways #projecttrusthonduras #hondurastravel #sixthformlife #ALevels #exeterschools #independentschoolsUK

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

Endlessly by Mike Lesirge, Guillaume Jambel, Campbell E Browning, Pablo Love, Edward Swinburne, Melvin E Brown, https://t.lickd.co/l/vlqR934WK9Z

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It's heating up all round but at Exeter School we ensure our pupils are Real-World Ready and take fire safety seriously. 

Our L6 RAF cadets got hands on last week in a fire extinguisher practical. Ensuring they do this safely and keep a level head and themselves safe if faced with the  real thing was all important.

#CadetsInSchools #welcomeandserve #firesafety #coeducationtothrive #exeterschools

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We wanted to say a huge thank you to @exetermorris for blessing our stand at the @devoncountyshow and warding off any negative spirits. They loved our frisbee fans as much as everyone else with us wiping out stocks and passing out over 500 beach balls too. 

Thank you to all who visited to say hello, learn more about the school and regale us with stories of memories passed. If you're yet to discover what's in store for you with Exeter School, why not reigster for our upcoming open morning on Wednesday 24 June - link in our bio above

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U1 Farmwise trip 2024

U2 Lulworth Cove trip 2024

L2 PGL residential to Beam House

Junior school try Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Stover trip 2024

Welcome to our new sixth form centre