Senior Reflections Week 10 November 2025
Dear parents,
It has been another varied and energetic week at school. Over the past few days our senior school council has been meeting in sections, and it is always a pleasure to hear from pupils who care passionately about their school. Their thoughtful contributions and commitment to service make a real difference in helping us continue to improve. This cycle’s discussions focused on our pastoral system following on from the recent parent and pupil surveys carried out by Miss Dunning.
Also, this week our Upper Two (Year 6) pupils enjoyed a special taste of advanced maths, as Mr Hall led a fantastic Comets Club session, exploring the Sierpinski Triangle (a fractal made of an equilateral triangle that is repeatedly divided and has the central triangles removed).
I would like to celebrate what has been an exceptional few weeks of sport, particularly for the girls. Our U12 and U14 girls’ hockey teams have both reached their respective West of England finals; the U16 girls’ hockey team has progressed to the last 16 of the national cup; the U16 netball squad has qualified for the regional finals; and the U18 girls’ hockey team has made it into the last 32 of the national plate. And from junior school, our U11 girls’ hockey team are showing amazing Exonian spirit in the IAPS National Hockey finals today in Haileybury, Hertfordshire. I await their results with keen anticipation; we have our fingers crossed for them and will report the outcome next week. Not bad for a day school in Devon, quite amazing, in fact. The boys, too, have been impressive, with some fantastic, courageous and closely fought matches on the rugby pitch.
Not to mention boys’ and girls’ strong performances in swimming, football, cross country and more. We have also enjoyed a number of excellent individual achievements across the board. My thanks go to Mr Gibson and all our coaches for their expertise, support and steady encouragement, and a special word of gratitude to Mr Lee and the grounds team, whose hard work keeps our pitches playable throughout the season, even at this late stage. This weekend we look forward to block fixtures in both rugby and girls’ hockey against West Buckland. After which Mr Maidment and Mr Jones will be running (yes, you read that correctly), running back to school. This follows on from Mr Maidment’s extraordinary challenge of running an ultramarathon every weekend in November in support of Movember, raising awareness for men’s health. A tremendous achievement for an important cause. If you wish to support, please follow this link.
Saturday brings our Year 7 familiarisation morning and our Sixth Form interview day, while Sunday is a busy one too, with the technical rehearsal for Grease and another Ten Tors training session on Dartmoor. We also look forward to our beautiful Advent service in the chapel on Sunday. I hope to see many of you there at 5pm, if not for the carols, then certainly for the mulled wine and mince pies afterwards.
Next week, our Upper Sixth (Year 13) economists head to London for an overnight residential, where they will experience a guided walk around the City of London, with a professional guide, who will tell the history of the growth of the financial sector in the British economy, from the development of the City Guilds to the formation of the Stock Exchange and the Bank of England.
On Wednesday, pupils from the junior school will join forces with others across the region for the annual Light Up a Life service in the Cathedral, in aid of Hospiscare. This moving occasion will feature readings, poems, music and carols in honour and remembrance of those we hold dear.
And of course, next week it’s the word. I’ve got chills from watching snippets of the Grease rehearsals, things are coming together beautifully, and tickets are almost sold out. If there is a particular night you hope to attend, stop reading this right now and follow the link to make sure you get the one that you want. Oo-oo-oooo…
Wishing you all a very enjoyable weekend.
