Senior Reflections 3 July 2026
Dear parents,
This is our final newsletter of the year, and my final one as Acting Head, it’s a bit longer than usual, so you might want to grab a snack and drink before jumping in!
It has been another great week, and a fitting way to bring such a full and memorable year to a close. On Tuesday, the Main Hall was filled with the smooth sounds of jazz. Nice. It was a wonderfully relaxed and informal evening, with pupils performing a fantastic range of pieces. Jazz has a particular magic: it asks for discipline and technical skill, but also the confidence to improvise. Those qualities were very much on show. My thanks go to Mr Tamblyn, Mr Bowen and the whole music team for creating such an enjoyable event.
It has been super to have sports fixtures back up again after the postponements and cancellations due to last week’s heat wave. Boys and girls have been excelling themselves on the cricket wickets and in the athletics arenas. Special congratulations go to our U12 cricket team and their coach Mr Maidment who became Devon County champions at the end of last week. As I write this the final fixture is underway, with the pupil 2nd XI currently in a close fought battle with the staff! My thanks to all the staff who have supported sport this term, with a special mention to Mr Lee and his amazing grounds team for keeping pitches playable.
Yesterday saw our inaugural Creative Arts Awards Dinner, complete with the awarding of mini-Oscars across a range of categories. The evening began with a superb showcase of the arts at Exeter School: dramatic performances, wonderful music, and impressive exhibitions in art and DT. It was a reminder that the arts are not an optional extra in rounded education; they are central to helping young people find their voice, develop confidence, think imaginatively and see the world from different perspectives. Pupils continue to surprise and amaze us with their skill and creativity.
Dr Rainbow was in school again on Wednesday for our new pupil afternoon. This is always a lovely occasion as we welcome those joining Exeter School in September: some from far afield, and others from distinctly closer to home in our junior school. We have also arranged a number of opportunities for existing parents to meet Dr Rainbow in the autumn term at our “Meet the Head” events. These will take place on Tuesday 8, Wednesday 9, and Thursday 10 September. Further information can be found in this newsletter. I know he is really excited to lead this community. He has already spoken warmly about Exeter School as a place of academic ambition, intellectual curiosity and co-curricular richness, underpinned by pastoral care, kindness, character and service. I could not agree more.
Term is not quite over, and I am looking forward to house day next week and want to wish the music tour, and the army, navy and RAF camps departing into the holidays the best of luck. Thanks to all the staff giving up even more of their time to accompany the pupils on what I do not doubt will be a great set of trips with many super experiences for the pupils.
I do want to end this letter with some thanks.
To our teaching staff, thank you for everything you have done this year. Your expertise, imagination and care shape the daily experience of our pupils. You teach, coach, rehearse, guide, encourage, challenge, accompany trips, mark late into the evening, answer questions, calm nerves, spot potential and give our pupils such confidence.
To our departing teaching colleagues, a special thank you. To Miss Dunning, Miss Fox, Mr Guy, Mrs Hardy, Mrs Murrin, Miss Nye, Mr O’Connor, Mrs Rafferty-White, Mr Ross, Ms Webley and Mr Wood; we wish you the very best of luck, whether that is at a new school (local or international), a new chapter into a well-deserved retirement or a next step into something exciting. You will all be missed for the contributions you have made, all varied, and never insignificant. You have all made a positive difference in the lives of countless Exonians past and present; and this of course is why we all entered teaching.
To our operations and professional services teams, thank you too. So much of your work happens quietly, but nothing here at school happens without you: the grounds, buses, catering, communications, admissions, finance, maintenance, offices, pitches, classrooms and the site itself all depend on people whose work is often behind the scenes but always important. I would like to recognise our amazing facilities assistant Mr Cox who will be leaving us after 15 years of outstanding service. Thank you Andy, you have been fantastic.
To parents, thank you for your trust and partnership. I firmly believe great schools are at their very best when home and school work together with shared purpose. We are very grateful for your support. Special thanks if you have read all of these newsletters, congratulations: 33 newsletters, over 24,000 words, and one emoji (it was Christmas, after all).
Most importantly, thank you to our incredible pupils. Their boundless energy, humour, ambition, kindness and ability to keep all of us on our toes makes the school feel so special and so alive. It has been an enormous privilege to serve as Acting Head of Exeter School. I have known this school for many years, but to lead it in this role has given me an even deeper appreciation for this place. I have seen the school from the front of assembly, from the side of pitches, from concerts and plays, from classrooms, parents’ evenings, pre-prep assemblies, governors’ meetings, cathedral services, open mornings, and from my office window, watching pupils at break and lunchtime making the most of this wonderful site.
I have also had the pleasure of occasionally being back in the classroom, teaching science, which has reminded me of something important: however grand the title on the door, schools live in the relationship between staff and pupil. They live in the moment a pupil understands something for the first time, in the question that opens up a new idea, in the instances when, for the first time, they pull off a new skill, and in the quiet often unseen encouragement that helps someone keep going when things are difficult.
At the beginning of the year, I asked pupils to try something new. They have done that this year, and much more. They have shown us ambition without arrogance, humour without cynicism, confidence without complacency, and kindness without fuss.
Looking back, this is the Exeter School I have seen this year. Our pupils have won national competitions, performed in cathedrals, debated international politics, climbed cliffs, solved equations, published poetry, sung Last Christmas with perhaps more verses than anyone realised existed, paddled down rivers, stood on stage and stood up for others. Very often, they have reminded us that the smallest acts of kindness matter most. Every “Are you OK?” or “Can I help you?” has helped make this community what it is. Young people can get a bad press, but ours have given us all so much to be proud of. On behalf of all my colleagues, thank you for a remarkable year. Until September, I wish every family a restful, happy and well-deserved summer. Exeter School will be in very good hands. May the weeks ahead bring time to pause, recover and enjoy being together as a family. My warmest wishes to you all.
