Senior Reflections Week 22 2024

Dear parents,

Pastoral restructure and house names

You will have seen our communications about the pastoral restructure and house names. I am very grateful to parents who have been in touch, and the many messages that have been received as this has been featured in the news. We are currently considering the feedback and responses that we have received and the board will be making a final decision later this month. If you feel you would like to give your views, please do contact us.

School history

On the subject of school history, this week some of the Fourth Form have visited the alumni and development office to look in the archives and find out something about history of the school from its early days to today. Alice Holohan, our Director of Alumni Relations and Development was able to tell them something about the key figures in our history, and chart the development of the school site from buildings at the heart of the city to the large site that we enjoy in St Leonard’s today. I hope that they found it interesting. Coincidentally, it is Founders Day in just two weeks’ time. This is the annual celebration in the cathedral of those who established the school and gave so much both in a philanthropic sense, as visionaries, and in developing the academic excellence. An important day for us all.

Exeter Living Awards

We are delighted to have been shortlisted for an Exeter Living Award this year – for our civic contributions to the local community. Your children do so much good within the charities and community service aspects of the school’s provision and it is something which we are very proud of. The competition for the award was tough and sadly we were pipped to the post by Conversation Café, a wonderful arts project in town who works closely with the Ukrainian refugee community. We are proud to be partners of Conversation Café and we currently have an art exhibition from our young artist collective on display in their window. You can see it on Paris Street if you are interested. We congratulate all involved at the Conversation Café on their great work in supporting the refugee community.

Upper Sixth parents

It was a pleasure to see so many of you here at school last evening to talk to your children’s teachers about their progress now that they have got their trial A Level results. I heard lots of positive and engaging conversations and hope that the meeting was helpful for all concerned. As ever, please do get in touch if you have any concerns after the meeting – Heads of house or Mr Chu will be very happy to help you.

Senior prefects

On Saturday morning we will be interviewing 39 members of the Lower Sixth for senior prefect positions. As ever, it has been enlightening to read their applications, and very difficult to select the large field (the majority of the year group applied) to have this number for interview. I look forward to talking to them all tomorrow and wish them all the best with this process. New senior prefects will be announced on the last day of term.

This weekend

We have a full fixture card for both hockey and netball against Queen’s College, Taunton, this Saturday, and we wish all those playing every success, both home and away. Sunday sees the rugby sevens first and U16 teams head off to the West of England tournament and we hope, too, that they have an enjoyable and successful time. The Choral Society will be rehearsing for one last Sunday rehearsal ahead of the concert in the cathedral on Wednesday 13 March. Please do buy your tickets for his event here – the music is spectacular, and the setting will make it all the more wonderful.  We hope to see you there.

Thank you for your support, and have a lovely weekend.