Senior Reflections 13 March 2026

Dear parents,

I know I say this almost every week, but wow! This has been another truly impressive week, with so much going on across the school. The commitment and enthusiasm shown by your children, coupled with the passion and dedication of our staff, really is something rather special.

There has been so much to celebrate this week that I shall keep my reflections relatively brief.

Last weekend, we held our first Third Form (Year 7) murder mystery sleepover in the library: Murder at Exechester School. It was a wonderfully imaginative and memorable experience, and pupils had a fantastic time working together to solve the mystery. My thanks go to Mr Halpin and the team for creating such a unique event. Clearly it was such a success that he is doing it all over again next weekend for another group of Third Form pupils.

On Monday, we were delighted to welcome a distinguished panel of engineers to the school to share their career journeys and experiences with pupils. It was particularly pleasing to host 11 Old Exonians, now working in fields including the railways, Formula 1, Airbus, human interface design and the MOD. It was encouraging to see so many pupils attend, and it was a hugely informative event; one that I hope provided plenty of food for thought for those considering a future in STEM.

It also seems that no week passes without sporting success at the moment. Our 1st VII rugby 7’s side enjoyed an excellent weekend, winning the plate competition at the West of England Sevens finals. We have also seen fantastic performances in the pool, on the netball court, on the hockey field, in the squash courts and across open fields in cross country. Meanwhile, our Lower and Middle Fifth (Years 9/10) netball tourists depart today, and we wish them every success for what promises to be a hugely enjoyable trip.

This week, the music department delivered a wonderful jazz evening; nice. With moody lighting, mocktails and a superb array of performances, it was a hugely enjoyable occasion. The smooth sounds and stylish atmosphere made for a memorable evening, but above all it was the talent, confidence and musicality of our pupils that shone through. My thanks to Mr Tamblyn and the team for putting together such a great event.

In English, pupils in Middle and Upper Fifth have taken part in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde workshops led by the Four of Swords Theatre Company. Working collaboratively throughout the day, pupils built on one another’s ideas to create imaginative new approaches to the novel and pitch them to the year group as a whole. They worked exceptionally hard and came up with some truly engaging concepts, deepening their understanding of the novel’s key themes and encouraging them to think carefully about the purpose of different elements of the plot. Not to be left out, our Lower Sixth English pupils enjoyed an evening trip to see a local performance of A Streetcar Named Desire at the Barnfield Theatre.

This week has also seen the School Council meet once again, with discussions focusing on developing opportunities for pupil voice, leadership and mentoring. It is always heartening to see pupils engaging so thoughtfully with matters that affect school life, and their input into these discussions is greatly valued.

And there is still more. Our Upper Fifth and sixth form artists enjoyed a trip to Plymouth University, while our sixth form hispanists took part in an informative residential visit to the BFI in London, enriching their appreciation of language and culture alike. Our Lower Sixth economists, meanwhile, took part in the challenging Institute of Economic Affairs competition in Buckingham, pitting their wits against pupils from other schools.

And on Friday our budding grand masters took part in a regional chess competition in Torquay. My thanks go to Mrs Brewer, Mr Latimer, Mr Mackintosh, Mr Tuohey and all the other staff involved in making these opportunities possible.

Tonight, we look forward to the annual RAF night exercise (NitEx) on Woodbury Common, and tomorrow we hold interviews for our sixth form prefect and school leadership positions.

And I have not even mentioned everything that has been happening in the junior school and pre-prep. I shall leave Mrs Van and Mr Ayling to share those updates in their own newsletters. The junior school newsletter can be found here and the pre-prep is linked here. A reminder these links can also be found at the bottom of this newsletter each week.

You may already have seen on My School Portal that we have Lisa McCullagh from Southwest Autism leading the next parental forum session on Tuesday 24 March. If this is of interest to you, please complete the form on MSP to indicate your attendance.

I am sure we can all agree, all of this is not too bad for a day school in Devon. I wish you all an enjoyable weekend.