Pre-Prep Reflections Week 18 February 2026
Dear parents,
It was lovely to return to school today after three days inspecting a large 2-18 boarding school in Hertfordshire. We certainly got our steps up walking all over their site, although I am glad to be back in our little one-acre setting! And those few hours of sunshine today were the cherry on the cake. Many thanks to Ms Richards and the team for taking such good care of everyone and everything in my absence.
Assemblies
On Tuesday, Ms Richards talked about the Jewish festival of Tu BiShvat – ‘the new year for trees’ – while on Wednesday, Mrs Rickard led a safeguarding assembly about the NSPCC, which included the famous Pantosaurus PANTS song – always a huge hit! Today I gave the children a sneak preview of our plans for next week, as we will have a lot to celebrate with it being Children’s Mental Health Week, Safer Internet Day and Lunar New Year.
Parent Portal
As you may be aware, we have been working on setting up a parent portal through our school database iSAMS, as a way of sharing information with you related to your child and the school. Next week, we will be sending home a letter explaining how to register and access the portal. Please note that the children’s spring reviews are due to be published on Friday 27 February and we are planning on sharing these via the portal. There will still be the option to receive a printed copy by request. You will also be able to view past reviews and reports and see live attendance information. We plan to add more features in time.
Parents’ Evening
Parents’ Evening is taking place on Wednesday 4 March after school. Please look out for an email next week with details of how to book your slot. Each meeting lasts ten minutes and it is important that we adhere to this time limit to avoid running late. If you require a longer meeting or would prefer to meet online, please let us know and we will arrange an alternative date with you.
Family Society events
We are holding our annual quiz night on Friday 27 February from 6.30pm. A fun, relaxed social event open to all pre-prep, junior and senior school parents and staff, the event is held at Exeter School and we would love to see you there! Tickets are £5 per person and everyone is welcome to bring their own food and drink. Teams are up to 8 people per table and anyone who wishes to come can be allocated to a team if necessary. Please book your places on the Family Society website by clicking here. And don’t forget to sign up for the Family Society summer ball which takes place on Friday 5 June at Sandy Park – scroll down for full details.
Reception foyer
Due to the recent heavy rain, we have brought forward the planned maintenance of the Reception foyer extension and will be using this time to do a complete refurbishment of the room, which will include new roofing, lighting and heating. Thank you to Reception parents for their flexibility in using the front door for morning drop-offs in the meantime, and to the Reception children who have adapted brilliantly while their cloakroom area is out of action.
Next week
Next week is the final week before half term. Year 2 parents can expect to hear the outcome of the 7+ assessments on Wednesday. We are looking forward to our International Day on Friday, where the children will be off-timetable in their houses, travelling to different continents of the world in each classroom, and collecting stamps in their passports along the way.
