The Exonian 2020

The

Exonian

The Exeter School Magazine

2020

WELCOME

THE EXONIAN 2020

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ngaging, hard-working, talented… the list of glowing attributes to bestow upon our pupils is a lengthy one but what the events of 2020 have certainly highlighted, above all else, is the incredible resilience of our school community.

This year’s edition, as ever, provides a glimpse of the stand-out moments of the jam-packed school year but what it cannot do justice to is the tireless application shown throughout the challenges of remote learning (for pupils, teachers and staff alike…).

Such independence and endeavour speaks volumes for the sort of pupil we have at Exeter School and stands testament to the school’s ethos engendered by our departing head of 17 years, Mr Griffin. I hope you all enjoy the chance to pause and reflect on this memorable, unpredictable year; in the meantime, I’ll leave you with the everpertinent words of T.S. Eliot: ‘To make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.’

Mr Seaton-Burn STAFF EDITOR

Lily Alford

Rosie Cromwell

PUPIL EDITOR

PUPIL EDITOR

Daisy Bishop

Molly Oldridge

Tess Gebbie

Eleanor Clark

Catherine Brown

Tamara Letts

Naomi Reynolds

Eva Oldland

Eddie Mayall

Liv Porter

Thea Purser

Eva Casey

Harry Smallwood

Raff Piggott Gill

AJ Goodman

Jamie Towers

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Daisy Brett

CONTENTS

CONTENTS 006 022 036 044 051 055 057 059 061 069 071 074 080 081 090 094 098 102 107 113 114 124 131 136

New and Leaving Staff Features Trips Outdoor Pursuits Charity Sixth Form Alumni Links Commemorative Days Art Computer Science Design Technology Drama Economics English and Library Geography History Languages Maths Music Psychology Science Beyond the Classroom Voices Sport

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his edition of The Exonian, as ever, would not be possible without the hard work of a wide range of staff. Particular thanks goes to Mrs Brookes-Ferrari for her advice, editorial eye and insights throughout the whole process — this publication could not be completed without her. Thank you also to the team at Brightsea (our publishers) and to all of our contributors, pupils, parents and staff. One final, important mention: I am delighted to say that this is the first time we have been able to fully print on eco-friendly, biodegradable materials (please see page 35 for more information) — thanks goes to our Bursar for this.

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THE EXONIAN 2020

GOODBYE AND GOOD LUCK We bid a fond farewell to several members of staff this year

Mike Porter H E A D O F D R AK E HOUSE H E A D O F REL I GIOUS STUDIES

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here can be few who have passed through Exeter School’s doors in the last four decades who have not benefitted from either Mike’s expert and enthusiastic teaching, kindness or friendship, or even (if they’re really lucky) all three. Yet, after 34 years of loyal and dedicated service to the whole school community, he has hung up his gown and written his last house report.

We are all incredibly sad to say goodbye to such a positive, caring and, above all, modest, member of our staff but by goodness, he has earned his retirement!

Having gained a degree in Theology (with Chemistry in his first year) at Exeter University and dabbled in the world of insurance for three years, Mike reached Exeter School’s shores in 1986, taking up the post of Head of RS. He hit the ground running: tasked with preparing entire year groups for their O Level and, more latterly, GCSE RS exams. With no such lessons timetabled, he taught the lessons in lunchtimes which was no mean feat. Mike also taught Chemistry (we’ll gloss over the flooding of the lab), hockey and rugby. He ran the Community Service section for five years and was concurrently Deputy Head of Sixth Form.

In 1993, Mike became Head of School House, ably

assisted by his wife, Trudy.

Together they provided a truly nurturing, warm and fun term-time home and the boarders all thrived in their care. Testament to their kindness and hard work, are the large numbers of boarders who have remained in contact with Mike and Trudy over the years. Indeed, they have even attended a number of their weddings and children’s christenings!

When the boarding house closed in 2000, Mike became Head of Drake House, a role that he continued for a further twenty years. Mike and Trudy’s eldest children, Alex and Hannah, were born during the School House years and came on numerous School House trips and camping holidays.

Olivia was then born and all three children were baptised in the school’s Chapel, the only ones according to the records. Throughout his time at Exeter School, and with typical humility, Mike has assisted with the smooth running of the Chapel and even took to the helm for eighteen months when we were without a Chaplain.

As those of us who have had the privilege of working with Mike will know he approaches everything with an exemplary passion and energy, and perhaps none more so than his school trips to Israel. He ran three

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memorable trips to the Holy Land (I was lucky enough to join the first trip in 1989 as a pupil) and, had the political situation permitted, he would have organised many more! He applied himself to his role in assisting with the organising of Ten Tors training with similar dedication and enthusiasm: frequently running extra route card sessions in his room, cooking and organising the catering, whilst also storing mounds of expedition kit in his room. He initiated and delivered the .b mindfulness programme in the Senior

School, equipping both pupils and staff alike with invaluable, lifelong, therapeutic skills. He has been warmly welcomed to many an Exonian dinner or event, with Old Exonians keenly regaling their memories of Mr Porter’s lessons, their time with him in School House, his school trips and, most commonly, thanking him for his support, kindly ear and timely, sage advice.

We bid Mike a fond farewell and wish him a happy, healthy retirement that is so richly deserved.

BY MRS MURRIN

LEAVING STAFF

Manoj Chitnavis

of House relied upon very heavily.

Manoj is a South West BBC T E ACHER OF CHEM ISTRY Advisor on Multiculturalism LE AD UCAS TUTOR and Diversity as well, of course, as on Science and has H I GHER ED UCATION AND often been heard contributing UN I V ERS IT IES A DVISOR on the radio. He is also a holder of the Meritorious Medal from the Red Cross and ow do you pronounce Education, Manoj has been an instructor in advanced first dedicated to promoting his first name? Is it aid but was already too busy Science, in particular, Manodj, Manaaj or for the school to tap into this Manoooj? For pupils, it is easy Chemistry. We are all familiar area of his expertise. ­­— Mr C! One thing is clear: the with Manoj the Chemist and Manoj has few regrets, his awe-inspiring practical boy who escaped oppression and certainly joining Exeter and tyranny under Idi Amin in demonstrations at Open School was not one of them, Evenings, but few will know Uganda has had an illustrious but he would have liked to that in 1990 he originally adult career. taught Biology, Physics and IT. have learned to swim — Those who know Manoj though there have been In his early years at Exeter well, know he keeps a close valiant attempts to teach him eye on the stock market. Little Manoj ran the 2nd XI and by the PE department over U14 hockey teams, became wonder after a brief career in the years. He feels one of his Deputy Head of Sixth Form London as a stockbroker — greatest achievements is the under the ever-youthful do you think this is why he introduction of charitable Pete Scott before being is such a natty and dapper Head of Sixth Form himself dresser, or is it just that every time he visits India he comes for 12 years. And then life back with another half dozen became complicated: he became the school’s Head made-to-measure suits? We of Careers and UCAS School all envy his formal attire!

Advisor. We take for granted Despite the lure of the big now some of the great city, nothing could keep innovations he introduced: him away from education. the Interview Scheme, From research lecturer, guest Careers Convention, Lower lecturer at an international Sixth UCAS days and schoolscience school in Australia, Fellow of the Royal Society of run university visits. Manoj Chemists to National Chair of was literally our UCAS and Careers Guru who all Heads the Association for Science

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work amongst the Sixth Form, kickstarted by a fashion show sponsored by BMW who somehow managed to place cars on the school stage! This, though does not do justice to the many great achievements he has had throughout his time at Exeter School.

All staff and pupils regard Manoj with great affection and hold him in high esteem.

This is so often displayed by past pupils at Exonian dinners too. His good humour, enjoyment in teaching, precise homework deadlines and tireless energy in helping others is what he will be remembered for. Manoj is going to be a great loss to the school and we wish this multi-talented educator a long and very enjoyable retirement. BY MR PORTER

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THE EXONIAN 2020

Mike Wilcock T E ACHER OF MODERN FO R E IGN L ANGUAGES

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ew staff in school have nicknames but in his early years, behind his back, Mike was affectionately known by the children as Barney Rubble — I can’t think why! The name has faded but the affection will be remembered by all those he has taught over his 34 years at Exeter School.

Mike started his great teaching career here in 1986, employed as a French specialist with German alongside. He was also Head of Cricket; no wonder after captaining Exeter University 1st XI cricket team, playing for English universities and being an English Cricket Board Senior Coach. After 10 successful years he swapped sports to run school rugby.

His credentials were equally as impeccable: England Schools’ Committee Member, Devon Society Referee and Senior RFU Coach though he never wore the purple tracksuit à la Les May (for those who remember him)!

It is perhaps with the 1st XV rugby squad that he gained greatest success with Exeter School winning the Devon Cup four times on the trot and his 2003/04 team an unbeaten side throughout the whole season. Mike coached hockey teams as well and could have branched out into swimming had time permitted! An extremely talented sportsman — in cricketing parlance, he really was an all-rounder.

One trait throughout his career remained constant, and this was highlighted to me one sunny October day in 1987. Whilst sojourning in the old tower block that was the RD&E, from my fifthfloor window I could see out across the school fields and through the slightly open window there was that familiar, dare I say, booming voice, distinct and clear as a bell, encouraging pupils

in no uncertain terms from the rugby field 300m or so away! Mike had no idea how wonderful it was to hear that familiar booming voice. It was a real tonic. The voice has not diminished, though these days it has been mostly restricted to the confines of the MFL block.

One of Mike’s favourite tricks to play on any class was to offer to show them a DVD. He would place the DVD in its case on the ledge of the whiteboard so that the whole class could see it, and then would say, “That’s it — you’ve seen a DVD — now time to do some work!” And we all know what a successful teacher he is: full of bounding enthusiasm, skillful and very knowledgeable.

School trips are always remembered by pupils and Mike has been a leader or key support on so many: 15 Junior or Senior ski trips, three rugby tours, two to Canada and one to Australia.

Naturally, his language skills were key to the success on so many, including French and German exchanges or the Battlefields trips. Regarded as the calmest and wisest Second-in-Command, he was referred to by chateau staff on a Normandy trip as Obelix, Asterix’s companion!

One of his finest hours, and bringing his negotiation skills into action was when having arrived late at Calais and missed their slot he managed to persuade P&O to squeeze all three coaches onto the same immediately departing ferry when the party had been rebooked onto different boats. In addition, like every good French teacher, colleagues recant he liked to sample le vin de la région, perhaps with du pain, du Boursin. Naturally, he purchased the better ones to add to his cellar — to remind him of each trip, of course!

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Mike is very pastorally minded and pupils have found him truly inspirational, always supportive and a staunch defender of every single one of them. After nine years as Deputy Head of Daw, he completed 17 years as Head of Crossing where he turned out to be quietly competitive on the House Challenge competition front! This should have been no surprise given his sporting background, but under his tenure he won the House Cup more times than any other house, four out of the first six years after its inception and again in the final year under his leadership.

Though present students will know Mike mostly as a French teacher, some will know him as Head of Golf (the most sought-after post

in school!), others have worked closely with him on the school’s Friday afternoon Community Service, the ‘Old Folks’ Christmas Party or their annual trip, whilst new staff will know him as Head of Staff Induction — another of his many roles.

Mike is very much a family man, and we have been fortunate to have had Jess and Daniel in school with us.

There was never a prouder father than when Daniel was appointed as Deputy Head Boy and Jess awarded a 1st class degree at university.

He leaves school on a high.

He was always keen to ‘get off the beach before the tide came in’, and that is exactly what he has done.

Quel privilège d’avoir passé ces quelques années à tes côtés. See you on the golf course Mike! BY MR PORTER

LEAVING STAFF

An Ode to Wilco

by Mr Trelawny

At Exeter Uni there was a pacey prop Or sometime hooker called Mike Wilcock.

Who floated by opponents as if in a bubble, Closely resembling Barney Rubble.

At cricket he also rose above, Lesser players with bat, ball and glove.

Bowling, catching and making many a run, Famed for his googly out of the sun.

A career at Exeter School teaching MFL As a pedagogue and sports coach he did excel.

Leading the major sports of cricket and rugby, Golf supremo and teacher of hockey.

He catered too for the infirm and elderly, In Community Service and the Old Folks’ party.

New teachers he also merrily induced, And to the idiosyncrasies of Exeter School they were introduced.

His most important role was in pastoral care, Of pupils well-being and concerns he was always aware.

Two decades at the helm of the Crossing team, Assuring from his house the highest esteem.

He also ventured on many a school tour.

Rugby, languages, skiing, the Battlefields and more.

Always working hard for the children’s good Whilst enjoying the camaraderie and especially the food!

So, sad to say, we wish goodbye To our dear friend with a teary eye.

But we hope to still see him coming to and fro, Thanks for everything and au revoir Wilco!

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THE EXONIAN 2020

Rupert Bland

down to East Prawle and, after we adopted co-education in 1997, he was an invaluable J UN I OR S CHO OL FORM TUTOR member of the team on H I S TORY CO- ORDIN ATOR numerous residentials. He ran all the sport in the school single-handedly for 10 years, and provided outstanding upert Bland managed always valuing the merits of pastoral care. Added to that, to complete a hugely all the activities on offer; his he brought his creativity to impressive 101 terms slick organisation of Sports the role of DT Coordinator before bowing out and Day was legendary! He will be for a number of years, before retiring in December 2019. forever remembered for his finishing his time as History Unassuming, reliable and Coordinator, a role he enjoyed outstanding contribution to very committed, Rupert hockey in the school, leading immensely. Many Old played an integral part in the Exonians still remember their the U11s to the exalted heights life of the school for over of national runners-up in roles in his famous Roman 30 years. His first year even 2009. He also contributed battle re-enactments! coincided with my last as He will be best remembered significantly to the Senior a pupil! Popular with both School programme, coaching colleagues and pupils, Rupert for his significant both the 2nd XI and the was a source of great stability contribution to the extracurricular programme of the on the staff in a number of U14s. A fine player himself, school throughout his time areas. He performed his role who represented the West here. For a number of years as form tutor and Head of of England, Rupert was an Rupert took boys camping Blake with great dedication outstanding coach to young

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players; he was able to impart his considerable knowledge of the sport in a way that a novice could understand and then use to develop his game.

On a personal level, I have valued greatly Rupert’s camaraderie over the last 23 years. I am indebted to the way that he supported me when I joined the school, and the way that he encouraged my passion for both football and cricket. He will be sorely missed, but we wish him every happiness in his retirement after a hugely productive career at Exeter Junior School.

BY MR ASHMAN

LEAVING STAFF

Paula Goldsworthy J UN I O R SCH O OL FORM TUTOR P S H E COO RD INATOR MU S I C LI AI SO N COORDIN ATOR MAT HS CO ORD INATOR

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aula Goldsworthy joined Exeter Junior School in 1999 when the Third Form cohort after coeducation required a second teacher (Giles Ashman was the first!). Her love for, and ability in, Maths soon found her teaching the subject throughout the school where she worked for many years with Ro Garnham. They shared mathematical ideas, methods and anecdotes and enjoyed many laughs together, before being joined

by Jonathan Anderson and then Jacquie Barnes in 2011.

In her time at the school Paula has always been dedicated to the highest standards as a Maths teacher and over the last six months has taken on the role of Maths Co-ordinator. She has played a key role in developing and inspiring young mathematicians, always encouraging pupils to enjoy their maths, and there is no doubting her love of the annual Primary Maths Challenge! Paula has always shared her years of expertise with the team and helped to shape and

develop the Maths department over the years, embracing independent projects such as Virgin Money for Upper Two, which provided a fantastic opportunity for the year group and us as teachers to work closely together to create mini businesses and to raise money for charity. For all this we owe her a huge debt.

Paula has also been our PSHE Co-ordinator and teacher of Music, History and RS. Her kindness to others, her hard work, expertise, and passion for all her subjects have been key in creating excellent provision and opportunities for our pupils.

Her implementation of the School Council has given pupils the opportunity to influence changes in attitudes and behaviours at school as well as giving form captains and house captains a significant voice in the school, experience of which stands them in good stead for progression to the Senior School. Introduction of the school buddy system has been key to the pastoral care of our younger and new pupils and the relationships last long after they have moved through the Junior School.

Paula has run numerous clubs, all with waiting lists, including the extremely popular Chess Club where they have celebrated many incredible

achievements and awards for our young players. Also Junior Christian Union with Revd Tom where they discuss stories and enjoy biscuits, Friday orchestra with Tina Guthrie, weekly wind band, whilst also managing to fit in Cookery Club with the smells of delicious creations wafting down the corridors.

Every other year, Paula has produced the fabulous Upper Two production, providing our pupils in their final term with experiences and memories they will never forget. Of course when not doing the Upper Two production, the House talent show is always a huge highlight for the pupils, teachers, and the judges, where Houses compete to showcase their huge and varied talents to a rapturous audience.

When you ask staff about Paula the comments speak volumes: “so grateful for her unending support, time, expertise (and saxophone playing) when we worked on the productions together”, “always incredibly generous and would help in any way she could”, “offered much needed advice kindly and sensitively”, “went out of her way to make me feel welcome and reassured me I could ask her anything and she would try to help”, “I have frequently tapped into Paula’s knowledge about systems and protocols within the school”, “she encouraged me to join Choral Society which has provided hours of enjoyment and even provided me with scores from her extensive music collection!”, “considerable involvement over the years in residential weekends”, “she comes to school with a smile on her face, everyday”. We will all greatly miss Paula and her many and varied gifts and wish her good luck, good health, and much happiness in her retirement.

BY MS BARNES

Siân Oliver JUNIOR S CH O O L LE A R NING S U PP ORT CO- OR DINATO R

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ince joining in 2014, Siân has provided outstanding support and care for our pupils. Her informed, calm and kind approach coupled with a wealth of experience has proved most valuable in advancing the pastoral and learning support provision.

Siân led the Handwriting Club at lunch times, guided pupils with online support programmes, and worked with smaller groups to give that extra bit of help.

Pastorally, Siân introduced the ‘Thrive’ programme to the Junior School (a leading provider of children and young people’s social and emotional development).

Siân also pioneered the ‘Hub’, a wonderful facility offering a space for a child to have a chat about their worries or simply relax when life gets too much.

Siân also provided a valuable link from the Junior to Senior School, continuing to work with pupils in their academic growth and wellbeing. She was often seen dashing from office to office, but always with a professional and unflappable approach.

Siân offered a listening ear to all, including parents and staff and we have a profound respect for her.

We are all going to miss Siân’s warm smile around the school and we wish her good health and happiness as she embarks on her new retirement adventure.

BY MRS BUCKINGHAM

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 11

THE EXONIAN 2020

Rita Pettet J UN I OR S CHO OL FORM TUTOR E N GLI SH AND DR AM A CO- ORDINATOR

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e welcomed Rita Pettet as our Junior School English and Drama Co-ordinator in January 2013. She immediately introduced our pupils to a wealth of literature, always ready to share her love of language and its infinite possibilities for self-expression. Rita has bequeathed her love of poetry through celebrating important occasions such as National Poetry Day and an annual whole school poetry anthology. Through her introduction of the Exeter Junior School Poet Laureates her legacy will remain.

Upon arrival, Rita added fresh content

and texts to be studied and implemented new assessment systems. With her introduction of Shakespeare to our curriculum our pupils have gained enormous satisfaction and confidence.

An array of opportunities for speaking and listening have transformed even the shyest pupils into the most articulate and confident performers.

During her time with us Rita has run the ever popular and oversubscribed Drama Clubs for the lower and upper Junior School, thus giving all pupils the opportunity to perform in the Drama Studio. Rita has dedicated many

Saturdays to workshops, enabling children to speak clearly, eloquently and with great enthusiasm. Rita’s huge impact on the Drama curriculum has given Junior School pupils a bi-annual opportunity to take part in the largest Shakespeare Festival in the world, performing in a professional theatre with professional actors and directors. It is to Rita’s credit that 75% of the Junior School have performed in plays each academic year, turning the stage light on in the minds of so many.

Rita will of course be remembered for the tremendous exclamation mark she has added to each Upper Two end of year production. Through the formidable duo of Mr and Mrs Pettet, we have seen a multitude of shows, written, choreographed and directed, each containing a melody of music and dances to rival the West End! Rita has painstakingly ensured every Upper Two child was involved and had their chance to shine, giving meaning to their lines with an understanding that belies their years, with the whole cast engaged and focused.

We thank Rita for her hard work, imagination, determination and passion. I myself feel privileged to have been a fellow colleague as well as parent to two children who have adored having Rita as a teacher. As with all her pupils they thrived from her enthusiasm, benefited from her compassion and have memories of shows that will last their lifetime. We will miss Rita’s thoughtfulness and positivity enormously as she takes on her newly cast role of Grandmother. This is most definitely an au revoir rather than a goodbye and we give you a standing ovation for your dedication to Exeter Junior School. MRS HARDY

Jasmine Elmer T E AC H ER OF CL ASSIC S AN D L ATIN

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asmine’s enthusiasm for Classics shone through in every lesson: her Third Form and Lower Fifth pupils loved her knowledge of the ancient world, and her academia background greatly benefited the Lower Sixth in their studies of Homer’s Odyssey. Her bubbly and sociable personality made her a firm part of the common room very quickly and she will certainly be missed. We wish her every

success as she returns to Exeter University to study for her PhD. BY MS SHRUBB

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Dr Liz Grier H A R P T E ACH E R

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r Liz Grier built us a harp ‘department’ from scratch, which is a tough call in any school. The expense of the instruments and the

difficulty of lugging them about means that a harp can be a formidable instrument for any family to take on, and yet Liz’s enthusiasm and nurturing attracted more and more students. To have a timetable of nine harp pupils is a rarity in a school of any size, let alone an even rarer harp ensemble — a great credit to her skills. A caring and kind teacher and a good friend to many in the department, she now has an exciting adventure ahead, training for the clergy. No one could be more suited to this most altruistic of career choices. MR TAMBLYN

LEAVING STAFF

Lisa Paget

Susan Allen

PA TO T H E H E AD MIST RES S (JS)

REGISTR AR

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isa joined us from Trinity School in Teignmouth, bringing with her her two sons Ryan and Josh.

Lisa was initially the Junior School Assistant Secretary before taking over the PA role upon Ruth’s retirement. Lisa was always a welcoming face for parents and pupils, and a popular and well-liked colleague amongst the staff, who all appreciated the work she did to support them. We all wish Lisa well for the future in her new adventures. BY MR WOOD

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usan joined Exeter School back in September 2006 as Headmaster’s Assistant Secretary, to cover maternity leave. Once her colleague returned a year later the school was very keen to retain her services and she was appointed Examinations and SMT Support Secretary.

Her strategic skills were put to good use when she became ISAMS Project Manager alongside William Lines in July 2009, also providing support for the Director of Music.

Her senior administrative career at the school began in earnest when Susan was appointed Assistant Registrar from February 2011: she led on recruiting pupils through home and away admissions events, designed marketing literature and masterminded numerous Open Days.

When Wendy Drake retired in 2015 the school was

fortunate to be able to appoint Susan as Registrar.

She has been an essential cog at the heart of the school machine, nurturing prospective families through from initial enquiry to joining the school. Her interpersonal skills and calm efficiency have done much to keep the school full and she has worked very hard to deliver several of the highest School Rolls in its history.

Susan has always been a popular community figure, willingly contributing her time and great sense of humour to Pixies Holt weekends, Ten Tors, singing with the Choral Society and assisting with overseas expeditions.

We hope that in retirement Susan will have lots of time for choral singing and her garden, although one of her first priorities will be to organise the wedding of her daughter Emily, who is marrying her fellow Old Exonian Ben Gould-Smith in November. We wish her every happiness and thank her most warmly for all that she has done for Exeter School. MR GRIFFIN

Rob Stoyle

Claire Reynolds

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ACCOUNT S A S S IS TA NT

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ob Stoyle has been a great asset to the team during his time at the Junior School. He has always approached things with good humour and his commitment has been tremendous. In particular he provided a fun and friendly approach during the Lower Two residential, taking part and leading groups in a range of activities from

archery to surfing. All the children on the trip looked up to him with respect and he ensured that their social and pastoral needs were well taken care of, a true mentor to aspire to. At lunchtimes Rob was often the first to get involved in many of the playground activities, making sure he was always available to listen to the pupils and guide them. This highlights Rob’s great work ethic and the wonderful rapport that he built with the pupils. Rob supported pupils and staff on many sporting fixtures, games lessons and in the classroom.

We are truly going to miss Rob at school and we wish him every success in his next adventure studying to be a chiropractor at the University of South Wales.

BY MRS BUCKINGHAM

laire already had many friends within the school before joining, having attended many social events with her husband, Al. Her daughter started at the school in 2015 and her son in 2017. So the whole Reynolds family are now part of Exeter School.

Claire initially joined the Bursary team parttime before extending her hours to help with the growing workload, and eventually moving to concentrate fully on the accounts side of her job.

Claire was always keen to take on more responsibility.

She became particularly interested in the finance administration of the off-site visits and enjoyed helping the trip leaders with any queries, taking on overall responsibility for this area

alongside all her other day to day work. Claire was always very supportive of all our teaching staff and went the extra mile to ensure they were fully informed.

Claire also made some lovely contributions to the wider life of the school community. She was very active in supporting the Senior School’s Christian Union, leading creative Bible studies and always being around as a friendly member of staff to chat to.

We will miss her friendly and calm approach to her job and her awesomeness and wish her all the very best in her new venture.

BY MRS ROBINS

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 13

THE EXONIAN 2020

Bob Griffin HE A DM A S T ER

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lumni of a certain vintage will remember Francis Kinnear Paul.

The imposing FK was faced with the interesting challenge of managing a Common Room of somewhat disparate post-war individuals whose canoes were very much self-paddled. Characters they were, some impressive, some less so. That 1960s generation of pupils will have memories of the likes of Bob Jenner, Jumbo Ayres and the ebullient Ben Tate, a charmingly random individual whose disciplinary device was a cricket bat, WG, propped in the corner of room 17. It was seldom used in anger, and even then, he would maintain, only in jest.

Few of us saw the joke.

Different times, a different culture. And one of the most striking differences is the sense of community that today pervades the school; a common ethos engendered by the warm, positive and

inspiring personality that makes Bob Griffin a very headmasterly headmaster.

He is a natural leader and a superb role model who leads by example. Nobody works harder; he is renowned for having written one of the three termly reports each year on every pupil in the Senior School; fourteen-hour days are not unusual, and there are times when a day off is a rare luxury. Saturdays are spent prowling touchlines, boundaries, and other edgy things. Not a school event goes unattended, be it drama, music, sporting, outdoor or social.

And behind every great man, of course‌ not only is Ali generous in allowing the school so much of her husband’s time, but she is herself a powerful supporter of all that it represents. I know that Bob considers himself fortunate to have her at his side.

Seventeen years! More than

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LEAVING STAFF two ‘generations’ of Senior School pupils, and Bob will remember the names of almost every one of them. In that time he has turned Exeter into a truly co-educational school, has raised academic standards, and appointed brilliant teachers. In the words of a recent outstanding inspection report, he has “transformed a good school into an excellent one”.

Certainly, by academic standards, one of the very best schools in the south west, but not at the expense of all those other activities that make Exeter School such a great place. Looking through the school calendar for the summer term it is depressing to read of all the great sporting and artistic events that have had to be cancelled, and indeed of all the trips at home and abroad that would have been such wonderful experiences for both pupils and staff.

Depressing too, that Bob and Ali will have been denied the retirement celebrations that they so deserve, and the scholastic equivalent of a standing ovation. When circumstances allow the whole school community will demonstrate appreciation and affection in a variety of ways, but for now the plaudits must wait.

One of the hallmarks of Bob’s tenure has been a reluctance to broadcast the attributes of the school at any volume, and certainly his own trumpet remains unblown. It is ‘not the school way’, he would maintain, to recognise the school’s achievements with anything other than a quiet satisfaction. This unassuming modesty pervades the manner in which staff and pupils go about the business of teaching and learning, but the Headmaster will know that he leaves behind him a wonderful legacy, and a cohort who will consider themselves lucky to have been at Exeter School during his tenure. BY ANDREW KING

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THE EXONIAN 2020

LEAVING STAFF

BY MIMI WEATHERHEAD 4B

Q & A

WITH MR GRIFFIN

BY OLIVER GRAY 4B

HOW HAVE YOU MANAGED TO MANAGE THE PRESSURE AND WORKLOAD THAT COMES WITH THE POSITION OF HEADMASTER?

WHY DID YOU INITIALLY DECIDE TO GO DOWN THE ROUTE OF BECOMING A HEADMASTER?

CONSIDERING THE PAST SEVENTEEN YEARS, WHAT CHANGES AROUND THE SCHOOL SITE ARE MOST NOTABLE?

My progress was quite organic: it was only when I became a deputy head that I saw it as an option.

As the oldest child in my family, though, I was used to giving out instructions! I thought that maybe I’d like to run my own ship.

The big ones would be the School House project in 2006, which combined the boarding house and a set of studies into the library — an almost emblematic statement, putting the library at the heart of the school — the nearly doubling in size of the music school and the building of the pool. They would be the big three.

16 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

Aside from the constant love and support of my family (and dog!), I’ve tried to keep things in perspective. You quickly learn that you can’t do everything. You have to know what is more than you can possibly do in one day. Having a good team is also important: my PA and the staff are a big help.

CONSIDERING THE INTRODUCTION OF THE IPADS, HOW DO YOU SEE THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPING IN SCHOOL IN THE COMING YEARS? I think it is important to embrace technology but not to let it dominate us. Some of these new technologies, for example AI headsets, are going to be revolutionary.

I can just imagine a Geography lesson where the teacher says “now we are going to go to the Gobi desert”, the students can put on AI headsets and there they are.

LEAVING STAFF

LOOKING BACK, WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU HAD LEARNT TO DO WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER THAT YOU HAVEN’T DONE YET? My understanding of Science is not what I would like it to be. In school I had to choose between Spanish and Physics, Business and Chemistry. So I picked Spanish because I wanted a second language and Business because I thought that would be useful for the future. But because of my own limited education in Science, I insisted that it be made core at Exeter School.

I moved Science out of the option pots and into the core because I felt very strongly that every child should have a strong grounding in Science.

It is important to stay broad. That’s also why I’m proud that we teach four subjects in the Lower Sixth.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE SCHOOL’S ETHOS OVER YOUR TIME HERE?

Cup half full, positive, industrious, with a good sense of humour. If you walk around the school… there’s a lot of laughter. It’s a collaborative place. I think it’s always been.

The beating heart was always here and I built on that — I am the conductor of the orchestra if you like.

WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL BE YOUR LASTING IMPRESSION OF EXETER SCHOOL?

IF YOU HAD TO SUM UP YOUR TIME HERE IN A happy place to learn and work.

A FEW WORDS, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Happy and fulfilling for me, right for the school — I hope.

IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO ACHIEVE SOMETHING IMPOSSIBLE, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

BY FRAN JENNER 4D

I suppose I wouldn’t like to be very, very old for the sake of it, but when you think of all the places to see it would be nice to have limitless time to see all of them. Not that I foresee travelling in my nineties because I don’t think it would be comfortable, but to have the time would be wonderful. The same applies with reading, it would be nice to read everything I’d ever fancied. Time, basically: that’s it.

BY LYDIA BROOKES-FERRARI 4D

IF YOU HAD A TIME TRAVELLING MACHINE, WHERE WOULD YOU GO AND WHY? Ancient Rome would grab me — our culture is so shot through with references to the Romans and the impact it had on Britain. It would be fascinating.

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 17

THE EXONIAN 2020

WELCOME Louise Simpson

H

ello! It is my great privilege and pleasure to be joining the Exeter School community and I am very much looking forward to making Exeter my home and becoming an Exonian.

The daughter and granddaughter of teachers, teaching always seemed to be on my career plan, even though I tried to ignore the ‘calling’ and did not complete my PGCE until I was in post, as a biology assistant, in my first school — Gresham’s in Norfolk. This was my first experience of independent education and I quickly fell in love with the ethos and the sense of community in the boarding environment and have worked in a wide range of HMC independent schools, boarding and day, ever since. I have worked in Catholic and Church of England cathedral schools and both co-ed and single-sex environments.

My first senior leadership post was at Brighton College as deputy head, under the great head, Sir Anthony Seldon. There I learnt much about what inspiring school leadership looks like and I was encouraged and supported to make my way to headship.

I enjoyed almost five years as a head in the Girls’ Day School Trust, at Bromley High School, before heading overseas for six amazing years in Brazil, at St Paul’s School, São Paulo. Working in a British school overseas is a fantastic, but very challenging thing. One learns a huge amount about oneself, and about the importance of assumed culture and tradition, some of which does not always integrate well! Sadly,

18 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

I have not made the progress with speaking Portuguese that I should have done after six years in Brazil (though I can get by), but I have embraced the opportunity to learn many things, not least about the IB diploma programme and the subtleties of working with a community of almost entirely second language speakers of English. It has been fabulous and we already miss the community of St Paul’s Lions very much.

Coming to Exeter for my third headship is hugely exciting, not just for me, but for my family too. Molly, my daughter, will be joining the Senior School into the Third Form and my husband Darren is looking forward to developing his business back home in the UK. Following six years in São Paulo, the thing we are looking forward to most is being able to spend time in the British countryside, with Betsy our beagle, and reacquainting ourselves with all the subtle (and perhaps not so subtle) aspects of British life that we have lived without for the last six years. As every expat will tell you, Marmite, baked beans and builders’ tea are on that list, along with a great British pub lunch!

I look forward to getting to know the school and its community in the weeks and months ahead and thank all that I have encountered so far for their warmth, support and positivity. We feel very lucky to be joining such an excellent school!

NEW STAFF

NICE TO MEET YOU EXETER S C H O O L’ S NEW STAFF FOR 2020

Adam Cunningham

Elinor Keane

Emma Cox

MATHS CO-ORDINATOR (JUNIOR SCHOOL)

CLASSICS TEACHER

ENGLISH CO-ORDINATOR (JUNIOR SCHOOL)

WHAT WERE YOU DOING THIS TIME LAST YEAR?

I was teaching at a primary school in Exeter and enjoying settling into my new house.

WHAT MUSIC DO YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO?

I have a very eclectic taste in music, ranging from Sam Cooke or The Smiths, to Lewis Capaldi or Stormzy!

For me, legendary bands like Coldplay will never get old!

WHAT WERE YOU DOING THIS TIME LAST YEAR?

WHAT WERE YOU DOING THIS TIME LAST YEAR?

I was teaching Latin nearby, at Exeter Cathedral School.

I was Head of English and Drama at Exeter Cathedral School.

WHAT MUSIC DO YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO?

As my children become increasingly proficient at guitar, piano and clarinet, I am enjoying listening to the live music at home each day.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING IN YOUR SPARE TIME?

I love running, often with others in the family, and also WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING IN going out for walks in the YOUR SPARE TIME? Devon countryside. I am also My sons Alfie (four) and Noah lucky that I actively enjoy cooking. (two) take up most of my spare time! We enjoy going YOUR SIGNATURE DISH? to the beach, walks in the woods and bike rides. I enjoy As a clergy wife, I occasionally have the keeping fit, playing golf and opportunity to cater on a watching rugby. large scale and find that a YOUR SIGNATURE DISH? selection of curries works well.

Chilli Con Carne.

WHAT IS YOUR PET HATE?

WHAT IS YOUR PET HATE?

Gossip!

Misplaced apostrophe’s!

WHAT IS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE SCHOOL YEAR FOR YOU?

ANY FUNNY ANECDOTES FROM TEACHING LIFE?

The first few days before the children arrive. I really enjoy preparing the first week before meeting my new class for day one!

I once had two pupils lose three teeth between them in the course of a single Latin lesson.

WHERE IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO LIVE?

I have been fortunate enough to have travelled around the world a couple of times and spent four months living and working in New Zealand. I could move there tomorrow without a second thought!

IF YOU WERE A SUPERHERO WHAT WOULD YOUR POWER BE?

WHERE IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO LIVE?

Narnia.

IF YOU HAD A TIME MACHINE, WHAT PERIOD OF TIME WOULD YOU TRAVEL TO AND WHY?

It would have to be ancient Rome, to hear Latin being spoken as a native language.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING IN YOUR SPARE TIME?

I love walking, reading, writing and chatting to my son; his honesty is incredibly funny.

YOUR SIGNATURE DISH?

It’s fine. Don’t worry.

Wagamama is open again.

WHAT IS YOUR PET HATE?

Losing things. I mourn the things I’ve lost. I dream I’ve found them.

WHAT IS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE SCHOOL YEAR FOR YOU?

I love the Carol Concert and Speech Day. Also, September.

I love meeting the new children in my classes, and seeing the familiar ones again; it gets me back to normal and reminds me of who I am.

WHERE IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO LIVE?

I feel really lucky to live in Devon, I wouldn’t change that. If I won the lottery I’d also buy a flat in Campo de’ Fiori in Rome and a house in Positano on the cliff down to the sea.

IF YOU HAD A TIME MACHINE, WHAT PERIOD OF TIME WOULD YOU TRAVEL TO AND WHY?

I’d like to actually be inside a Jane Austen novel. So, Highbury, England in 1815.

As the heroine, obviously, I really can’t cook.

To fly. As a child I dreamt of being a Red Arrows pilot! The closest I got was flying solo in a Grob Tutor Glider during my gliding scholarship whilst in the Air Training Corps.

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 19

THE EXONIAN 2020

Harriet Coogan

John Gooddy

Leda Trotman

Liz Williams

LEARNING SUPPORT CO-ORDINATOR

HEAD OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES

HEAD OF MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES

DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS AND MARKETING

WHAT WERE YOU DOING THIS TIME LAST YEAR?

I was working as the SENCO and Year 3 teacher at Newton Poppleford Primary School.

WHAT MUSIC DO YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO?

I love Coldplay, I never get tired of their music. I have seen them in concert twice and I would definitely go again.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING IN YOUR SPARE TIME?

I like being active. I love walking, cycling, kayaking and pub lunches with friends on Dartmoor. During the summer months there is nothing I love more than staying in our caravan and body boarding and rock pooling at Treyarnon Bay. YOUR SIGNATURE DISH?

Friends would say my Red Thai Curry and my children would say my spag bol!

WHAT IS YOUR PET HATE?

Drivers who don’t say thank you when you let them past.

WHAT IS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE SCHOOL YEAR FOR YOU?

The talent show at my previous school. There was a lot of talent and many unusual acts.

WHERE IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO LIVE?

I lived in New Zealand for two years. There is a very special beach called Piha on the West Coast. I would like to live there in a little wooden cabin on the beach.

WHAT WERE YOU DOING THIS TIME LAST YEAR?

WHAT WERE YOU DOING THIS TIME LAST YEAR?

Sitting in the Plaza de Los Naranjos, Marbella sipping coffee and watching the world go by.

I had just started my sixth Recovering after enrolling year working as Head of around 1,400 students and Languages in Dorking, Surrey. bracing myself for a huge raft of course changes WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING IN that invariably happened YOUR SPARE TIME? throughout the Autumn I really enjoy long walks with term. I would have also been friends and our doggies. In helping my international July I started a virtual LEJOG, students settle into life in the and am aiming to walk the UK with them asking every Lands’ End to John O’ Groats question under the sun! walk before July 2021 — three WHAT MUSIC DO YOU ENJOY miles walking every day in order to complete the 874LISTENING TO? mile distance by the deadline! My children say I have really bad taste in music but I don’t YOUR SIGNATURE DISH? agree! The first concert I went Not surprisingly, I love to to was Erasure in the 80s make Spanish tapas and the and the last was Coldplay so ones that seem to go down make your own mind up… the best are Spanish tortilla and chorizo in red wine and WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING IN honey/chilli glaze.

YOUR SPARE TIME? I mainly cycle and run with WHAT IS YOUR PET HATE? a bit of swimming thrown I can’t bear the growing use in. I have been described as of mobile phones when the least likely triathlete you out socially. Seeing people will ever meet. I also have glued to their screen rather four dogs so do a fair bit of than paying attention to the walking with them. people around them is a real pet hate of mine.

YOUR SIGNATURE DISH? Lentil dahl and homemade WHAT IS THE HIGHLIGHT OF naan bread.

THE SCHOOL YEAR FOR YOU?

WHAT MUSIC DO YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO?

I enjoy jazz, rock and fusion music for the most part.

Anything with Jeff Porcaro, Keith Carlock or Dave Weckl playing drums. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of Rosanna by Toto.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING IN YOUR SPARE TIME?

I run and read. I love watching cricket and listening to music. Once or twice a year I try to go to a gig at Ronnie Scott’s in London. It’s a fabulous venue to enjoy great jazz.

WHAT IS YOUR PET HATE?

A lack of compassion.

WHAT IS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE SCHOOL YEAR FOR YOU?

I love school concerts and anything to do with Christmas.

WHERE IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO LIVE?

Sydney, Rome, Singapore, Barcelona. Lots of places in Spain or Italy to be honest.

IF YOU HAD A TIME MACHINE, WHAT PERIOD OF TIME WOULD YOU TRAVEL TO AND WHY?

I’d be fascinated to be a witness at the founding events of the world religions.

I think the connection between those events and what has been written down is intriguing.

20 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

A big highlight is the school trips. Last year we took 200 third form pupils to the Rhine Valley, travelling in convoy in four coaches! We did a carousel and followed each other around the castles and landmarks of the Rhine.

WHAT WERE YOU DOING THIS TIME LAST YEAR?

WHAT IS YOUR PET HATE?

My children leaving the bathroom door open!

WHAT IS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE SCHOOL YEAR FOR YOU?

A Level results day. Happy, smiling pupils excited to be going to university or IF YOU WERE A SUPERHERO WHAT WOULD YOUR POWER BE? travelling.

To fly. Mostly to be able to WHERE IN THE WORLD WOULD get to the most far-flung YOU MOST LIKE TO LIVE? destinations of the world to In my house — as a dog. Life explore new cultures and of luxury! amazing landscapes without impacting the environment.

My current dilemma is how to balance my love of travelling with my interest in protecting the environment.

NEW STAFF

Louise Simpson

Marie Johns

Marius Tudor

HEAD

DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNI OFFICE ASSISTANT

MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES TEACHER

WHAT WERE YOU DOING THIS TIME LAST YEAR?

It was my penultimate term in Brazil — in October, the summer is just starting and I was probably looking forward to the hot weather and the concept of my last southern hemisphere Christmas.

WHAT MUSIC DO YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO?

My daughter, Molly, loves musicals, so we enjoy watching them together (and then singing all the songs in the car!) but the music I never tire of is classical choral music. I love the sounds of a wonderful choral group.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING IN YOUR SPARE TIME?

We love spending time as a family in the outdoors.

We are very lucky to have a beautiful house in France in a very rural position.

We are looking forward to introducing our beagle, Betsy, to the joys of Dartmoor and the Devon coastline.

YOUR SIGNATURE DISH?

I admit to not being a great cook – in fact, my baking is notoriously awful. The idea of joining the ‘science team bake off’ is really frightening!

My husband is much better at cooking, and I am very happy to leave it to him!

WHAT WERE YOU DOING THIS TIME LAST YEAR?

WHAT WERE YOU DOING THIS TIME LAST YEAR?

I was just starting my new role at Exeter School — I enjoyed meeting my new colleagues and learning more about the school.

I was doing my Teacher Training.

WHAT MUSIC DO YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO?

All types of music from classical to country and gospel. True colours’ song.

I like lots of different kinds of music but my favourite is definitely dance music.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING IN YOUR SPARE TIME?

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING IN YOUR SPARE TIME?

Going to the gym, playing the flute and walking by the coast, especially in Cornwall.

It’s great going back to see family and spending time on the farm I grew up on.

YOUR SIGNATURE DISH?

Definitely the late Edwardian era, or the 1920s. I love the style of the arts and buildings of the first 25 years of the 20th century.

Cycle, read, play my piano and my guitar.

YOUR SIGNATURE DISH?

Shepherd’s pie.

WHAT IS YOUR PET HATE?

Snakes.

WHAT IS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE SCHOOL YEAR FOR YOU?

Lasagne, I make it all the time! Beginning of the school year in September because all WHAT IS YOUR PET HATE? is new and there are many Rudeness - I don’t know why changes in place. everybody can’t just be nice!

WHAT IS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE SCHOOL YEAR FOR YOU?

I really enjoyed seeing everyone at school get into the Christmas spirit.

WHERE IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO LIVE?

Living here in the South West suits me really well, there are so many beautiful places nearby. I’m sure I would also IF YOU WERE A SUPERHERO like living in Melbourne but WHAT WOULD YOUR POWER BE? don’t think I could ever move Positive Person! I look for so far away! the good in everyone, every IF YOU WERE A SUPERHERO situation and everything – and so I would certainly be a WHAT WOULD YOUR POWER BE? glass half full superhero.

I would be able to grant people’s wishes (but I’d only IF YOU HAD A TIME MACHINE, grant good ones!).

WHAT PERIOD OF TIME WOULD YOU TRAVEL TO AND WHY?

WHAT MUSIC DO YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO?

IF YOU HAD A TIME MACHINE, WHAT PERIOD OF TIME WOULD YOU TRAVEL TO AND WHY?

It would be fascinating to visit the future in 100 years to see how things may have changed.

ANY FUNNY ANECDOTES FROM TEACHING LIFE?

Kids think I am part of the British Royal family because my surname is Tudor. Many of them think I am a spy disguised as a teacher.

WHERE IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO LIVE?

I like Exeter the best so far but somewhere in the Mediterranean would be nice.

IF YOU WERE A SUPERHERO WHAT WOULD YOUR POWER BE? WHY?

Flying, definitely.

IF YOU HAD A TIME MACHINE, WHAT PERIOD OF TIME WOULD YOU TRAVEL TO AND WHY?

I would travel to the past 2000 years ago in the time of Jesus, in order to find out how the Christianity first started.

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 21

THE EXONIAN 2020

Ones

to WATCH

In every school, there are bound to be those pupils with hidden talents who may go unsung despite their success. We caught up with a small selection of Exeter School’s own future stars, to find out about their incredible achievements. By Eleanor Clark Chiara Luxmoore, Upper Sixth, achieved success in a nationwide competition run by the global media company, home to Vogue magazine, with her essay on the problems with fast fashion.

biggest issue facing the industry. I chose this because very few people know about it due to a lack of publicity.”

HOW CAN THE INDUSTRY TACKLE ITS PROBLEMS? “ Some companies have begun to respond, such as H&M who now have a ‘conscious’ clothing line, and Zara, who have promised all their clothing will be 100% sustainable by 2025. The awareness will increase as a result of the climate marches and discussions around ethics and sustainability.”

WHAT ARE THE ISSUES THE FASHION INDUSTRY FACES AT THE MOMENT? “ Fast fashion encourages consumerism whereby people buy more items IS THERE ANYTHING WE, AS than they need to. Clothing CONSUMERS, CAN DO? companies are always in “ I think it will have to be a competition with each other process that comes from for the lowest prices because the people because the as consumers, this is what companies give people what we want. Unfortunately, this they want; that’s where their also means that workers are money comes from. Be more paid less than minimum aware of where your clothing wage, the quality of the comes from, for example use clothing decreases and charity shops. Try Sancho’s clothes are manufactured in Exeter or People Tree unsustainably.” online, both of whom are ethical and sustainable.”

WHY DID YOU FEEL COMPELLED TO WRITE THIS CAN YOU TELL US A ESSAY? LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE “ I was given the choice to COMPETITION? write on what I felt was the

22 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

“ Two winners of an essay competition won places on a weekend of talks and workshops worth £550. It was delivered by Condé Nast International in Soho, London, the company who publicise Vogue. We had talks from the Condé Nast college teachers on the evolution of fashion, trend adoption, the fashion cycle, branding and media. Speakers included Milly Tritton, from the

editorial team, and Naomi Pike, editor at Miss Vogue.”

DO YOU SEE YOURSELF HAVING A CAREER IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY? “ I am not too sure yet. I’d like to do an Art Foundation year at the University of Art in London so that I can see if this is an area I’d like to go into, then ultimately, I would love to get into the fashion industry.”

FEATURES

Minti Gorne, Third Form, has already begun a career in acting. Her credits impressively include Transformers and the Netflix series Creeped Out.

IS EVERY FILM SET DIFFERENT, OR ARE THERE TRICKS OF THE TRADE YOU GET TO KNOW? “ They are both different and the same — but the people are always lovely and it’s fun on set getting to see all the cameras and learn my lines.”

WAS THERE ANYTHING WHICH KICKSTARTED YOUR INTEREST IN ACTING? “ When I lived in Oxford, I remember going to see a film in the cinema with my mum and thinking: ‘I wonder how they do that?

It would be cool!’ The Harry Potter films really inspired me and I was obsessed with watching behind the scenes videos.”

HAS THERE BEEN A PARTICULAR PERSON YOU’VE LOVED WORKING WITH OR A FAVOURITE EXPERIENCE? “ In the summer I did a film and was in Skegness for two weeks. I got to know everyone really well, and we became very close so it was really sad to leave.”

MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN PURSUING ACTING? “ Just be yourself and don’t give up. You will get a lot of HOW DO YOU FIND BALANCING YOUR SCHOOL rejection but it is all worth it in the end.”

WORK WITH YOUR LIFE AS DO YOU THINK YOU GET AN ACTRESS? WHAT ARE YOUR HOPES, LESS NERVOUS AS YOU GET “ I find myself going up DREAMS OR PLANS FOR MORE EXPERIENCED? to teachers a lot, saying THE FUTURE? “ When I go to an audition, ‘I wasn’t here!’ It can be “ I hope to get more auditions I’m always a bit nervous but annoying if I miss a lot of and opportunities. When I’m when I get into the room work, but it is always worth older, I’d love to direct films it all goes away. I think I’ve it when I get to act.” of my own.” definitely got less nervous as DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS I’ve grown older.”

FOR ANYONE WHO

Jeremy Newman, a pupil in Middle Fifth, is a talented shooter who took up the sport at a young age and has already achieved great success as the overall winner of a recent week-long competition in Surrey.

DO YOU HAVE ANY TECHNIQUES FOR CALMING NERVES BEFORE A COMPETITION? “ I try to take control of my breathing and heart rate to feel comfortable and I try to get into a rhythm quickly. I have found it really helpful to focus on each individual shot rather than my score.”

“ I would actually like to join the army and though my discipline of shooting would not be involved, there are basic marksmanship principles which it will be useful to carry over.”

Just be yourself and don’t give up.

You will get a lot of rejection but it is all worth it in the end.

MINTI GORNE

... a long-term goal would be to shoot for Team GB in the Olympics!

JEREMY NEWMAN

DO YOU HAVE ANY LONG-TERM GOALS OR COMPETITIONS YOU’D LIKE TO COMPETE IN? “ There are some competitions which take place overseas which I WHAT DO YOU ENJOY would love to compete in, ABOUT SHOOTING AND DO but a long-term goal would YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE be to shoot for Team GB in DISCIPLINE? the Olympics!” “ I enjoy the social side and DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA have made so many friends WHAT YOU MIGHT LIKE through the sport. My TO DO AS A CAREER AND favourite discipline is sheet MIGHT THIS INVOLVE shooting because it’s really SHOOTING? exciting and also friendly.”

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SHOOTING AND WHY DID YOU START? “ I started in April 2016. Both my parents shoot and I was inspired to give it a try.”

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 23

THE EXONIAN 2020

Writing our futures “It’s O

n Tuesday 1 October, I had the completely surreal (but wonderful) experience of a day in London at BBC Broadcasting House, along with the four other writers shortlisted for the BBC’s Young Writers’ Award. The award is coorganised by First Story, a charity who works with disadvantaged children around the country, helping them find their voice through reading and writing, as well as the University of Cambridge. The five of us had a tour around the radio drama studios, and helped add the sound effects to a recording of an excerpt from Virginia Woolf’s seminal essay A Room of One’s Own. Each sound effect was made without digital assistance, using props like washing up bowls, strips of old camera film, broken pencils and our shoes.

Later we were able to see the Radio One studios (and Nick Grimshaw eating his lunch), receive writing advice from the award-winning writer Patrice Lawrence, and experience a mini-seminar run by inspiring Cambridge lecturers. However, the real highlight of the day was the live broadcast of Front Row from the radio theatre, where we heard from judges

and the adult shortlistees of the National Short Story Award, and the reception which followed where we were actually able to talk to these incredibly successful and interesting writers who were so generous with their time. I feel so grateful to have had this opportunity and the advice, encouragement and feedback I was lucky enough to receive will stay with me a lifetime. BY ELEANOR CLARK

24 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

the same word, you know,” said the postman, as they stood on the harbour wall, the morning she was leaving. “In Latin.”

“What is?”

“Insula,” he smiled out to sea. “It means ‘island’, or ‘block of flats’.”

His waving hand was the sight she lost last of all, as the boat broke through the wall of fog around the island, unwilling to let them pass.

Sometimes the fog was so thick that if you weren’t careful — the knitting ladies said — you could take one step too many and fall off the island’s edge. A drop of a hundred feet, the cliff rising, and you fall, down to the place where the water was

shallow and black. But no one ever fell. You knew the steps, the number you could take until the edge, and the rush you felt as you knew, standing in the mist, that your toes hung over the edge of the world. Every year, you’d start from the same spot and measure it again to see how much your legs had grown.

Just so you knew, and always knew, exactly how many steps it was to the edge of the world.

The postman said there was no need to worry, the fog around the island was so thick it could catch a child. He had seen it from the outside when he arrived, a young man running away from tragedy, with a typewriter case and a couple of boxes.

He had come in on the first ferry after the worst storm she could remember. She’d seen him, standing on the beach that morning when the sky had been pieced back together, quite alone. Sitting on the rocks, he’d told her of the fog from the outside, and the angels he’d seen. There, the little children slept, on pillows made from mist and moonlight, and there the angels guarded them. She believed him, because he knew, because his baby son was there, and a man with a smile like his would never lie.

Perhaps, she wondered now, standing looking out at the city from her new kitchen, white and disconcertingly plastic, the wise postman would know a word for the concrete with the light of the streetlamps on it. It was grey, she thought, pushing down the switch on the kettle,

FEATURES like the fog which built itself into castles over the sea, and orange as the hunter moon on the dampened bracken in autumn. It was powerful, too, and harsh. It held no magic.

She stirred her tea, a little current around the spoon, a little thing of home.

The knitting ladies would know how to describe the city, though they had never seen it, and had been terrified when she came into the parish hall to say goodbye, at the idea of her crossing the sea to somewhere new. But these people! These people she saw from the window, they seemed to have no business but to walk, to run, to flail like sails unfurled, undirected until the boom comes around and the mainsheet is in. They moved on until somebody told them to stop, in circles, beating out the passing of their own time with footsteps. And here she was, to join them. But how?

In the morning, her bare feet on the vinyl floor, she started at the new kind of cold, dry and severe, not at all her favourite kind. That was the smooth, slow wet of dark round pebbles lying shadowed on the beach beneath the cliffs. Standing there, shoes draped around her shoulders by the laces, as the morning tide swelled to foam at her ankles, the shiver would rise from the stones up her spine in a tidal surge all of its own, towards the back of her head. Then she would shake the feeling off until her hair fell down her back as she tried to do now, in the matt white of the new kitchen.

Insula: island, block of flats.

Twenty floors up, squared in by three other towers, the empty space between them overcast, she wondered if the clouds above had blown in from home. She could not see them, so went again to the window. She had never before been off the island, never seen any sky save the one above her head. Her own small scrap of a Creator’s workbasket, joined by darns to the mainland; sun, moon, stars and clouds might pass

across, but people seldom did. The man who sat at the back of the pub with his squeezebox and pipe used to laugh and say the sky was blue on grey not grey on blue.

The landlady retorted from behind the bar that it was his tobacco smoke up there misting the moon. None of that here. No such story, no such magic. Only smog from the chimneys in the distance, and the solitude of the masses — cars and people following the interminable roads ever onwards.

Somewhere, beyond what she could see, cereal bowl in hand, was a road towards the sea. A road that might lead her home. Home, where there were no tower blocks, only salt and sand and song, and the moonrise over the sea. All around, the wide, wide ocean, iridescent in the pale north sun, so rich and unfathomably deep. But not enough to live on. Insula, island, closed up, the rock in the rain that time forgot.

Insula, block of flats, realist, sparse, the future. Adulthood — and what a glory that would be — while the child in her went on living. Child in the night as the waves crash, the clouds gather, and the wind swings the gulls in their roosts. Child in the night in the mist and the fog with her feet on the edge of tomorrow.

Child in the morning, taking the extra step through the scrub, into the arms of the angels, off the edge of the island.

Every year, you’d start from the same spot and measure it again to see how much your legs had grown. Just so you knew, and always knew, exactly how many steps it was to the edge of the world.

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THE EXONIAN 2020

SUSTAINABLE EXETER Exeter is increasingly becoming a sustainable city as more and more people are becoming aware of the dangers of climate change. Building on last year’s article, The Exonian interviewed more local businesses that are key to reducing Exeter’s carbon footprint. BY DAISY BRETT WHAT IS WRAG WRAP? Wrag Wrap is a business based in Totnes which produces reusable fabric wrapping paper for all different occasions. This stops the tonnes of paper which is thrown away and not recycled every year, especially around Christmas time. It is run by Louise Oldridge and Nicky Rajska, parents of pupils at Exeter School.

HOW DOES IT BENEFIT THE ENVIRONMENT? The wraps are made from 45% recycled plastic bottles and 55% polyester with the ambition of becoming 100% recycled. The recycled yarn has a 90% lower carbon footprint than nylon and 75% lower than polyester. This is an amazingly low carbon footprint, so feel guilt free when giving gifts to your loved ones.

THOUGHTS ON THE WIDER ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT? One thing the government could do to help the environment would be to put a tax on single use plastic, applying the same tax to wrapping paper as plastic carrier bags in order to protect the environment.

Many people don’t consider that wrapping paper isn’t biodegradable as it contains micro plastics, thus it is just as harmful as any other plastic product. If wrapping paper was taxed, people would be disincentivised to consume it and will convert to a more sustainable products such as Wrag Wrap.

WHAT WOULD GRETA DO? 5 CHANGES TO MAKE YOUR HOUSEHOLD GREENER

26 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

The environmental phenomena Greta Thunburg has inspired great change this year, delivering a speech at the UN in September expressing her profound doubt of the state of our Earth. Although it might appear impossible to change or require the utmost effort, little adjustments to our daily life can have a huge impact.

LEELA With the ease of fast fashion and cheaply importing from abroad, we often forget to consider the impact on the environment. Annie Hargreaves, the owner of Leela on Magdalen Road, began her business 15 years ago, supporting fair trade producers from South-East Asia and some Exeter-based companies. Her business ethos is focused on limiting the impact that the production of the goods she sells has on the environment, using sustainable fabrics such as bamboo, hemp, organic cotton and up-cycled glass wear.

1. Use fabric gift wrap for birthdays and Christmas – they are recyclable and look great!

2. Be mindful of food miles; buying food from local suppliers reduces carbon footprint and also supports domestic farmers.

3. Swap plastic cling film for wax wraps.

4. Avoid fast fashion companies: although the low price tags are tempting, the fashion industry is a devastating offender when it comes to the environment. Investing in clothing brands which are more sustainable will sit better on the conscience.

5. Put on a jumper and turn down the heating!

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GUILTY PLEASURES:

Healthy Alternatives As part of our Sixth Form experience, Mrs Marsh and Dr Bawn have run essential culinary sessions throughout the year.

Inspired by this, we tested a few healthy but hearty recipes of our own. BY CATHERINE BROWN AND ELEANOR CLARK TOM KERRIDGE’S TURKEY, COURGETTE AND MOZZARELLA BURGERS: INGREDIENTS: • 500g turkey mince • 500g grated courgette • 2 tsp dried Italian herbs • 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda • 1/2 tsp of dried chilli flakes • 2 tsp capers, roughly chopped • Olive oil • Salt and pepper • 4 slices of half-fat mozzarella • 4 slices of tomato • 4 large wholemeal burger buns • Rocket leaves

METHOD: 1. Grate the courgette into a bowl. Squeeze it well in small handfuls to remove excess liquid.

4. Cook the burgers at 220°C or gas mark 7 for 12 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.

2. Add the grated courgette and turkey mince into a large bowl. Toss with the herbs, chilli, bicarbonate of soda and capers. Season and mix well.

5. Remove from the oven briefly, place a slice of mozzarella on each and cook for a further 4-5 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

3. Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Shape the mixture into four burgers, place them on a tray and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

6. Serve in a bun with a slice of tomato, a handful of rocket or salad, coleslaw or sweet potato chips.

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THE EXONIAN 2020

GUILTY PLEASURES:

Healthy Alternatives

HEALTHY ICE CREAM: INGREDIENTS: • 4 very ripe bananas • ¼ tsp vanilla essence • 150g Greek yoghurt • 3 tbsp honey

METHOD: 1. Peel and chop up the bananas. Spread the chunks on a tray and freeze for one hour, or until completely frozen.

2. Add the honey, vanilla and half of the yoghurt to the banana and blend. Add the remaining yoghurt while blending.

3. When the mixture’s consistency resembles ice cream, remove from the blender and serve with any toppings and sauces.

FLAVOURS CAN BE ADDED: • For strawberry, add a handful of fresh chopped strawberries while blending.

• For chocolate, add one teaspoon of cocoa powder and a small handful of chocolate chips • For coffee, blend in two teaspoons of ground coffee • For a more realistic ice cream experience, pour the blended mixture into a loaf tin and freeze for another 12 hours, or overnight.

HEALTHY PIZZA: Many of us love our Friday night takeaways and it seems that at Exeter School pizza is one of the most popular. However, lots of us also try to have a healthier lifestyle, to which weekly Domino’s hardly contributes. Luckily for Exeter, a recent addition to the city’s range of restaurants is Franco Manca pizza, offering fresh sourdough-based pizzas cooked to order, which are healthier (and we think tastier), than traditional dough. The restaurant focuses on using local produce, with daily specials to reflect this, meaning a meal there is also more sustainable than the average takeaway.

Pizzas start from as little as £5. Check out their website: www.francomanca.co.uk 28 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

For the

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MANY not the

FEW B

en Bradshaw acts as the MP of Exeter, and has been our Labour MP since 1997.

Bradshaw maintains a generally progressive standpoint to the current issues facing our country, which can be reflected through his support towards the LGBTQ+ community, as well as his firm stance on remaining in the European Union. As shown from his voting records, he also views sustainability and climate change as significant problems plaguing our world, and urges the government to implement policy that reflects the urgency of this climate crisis at hand.

AS A POLITICIAN, WHAT ARE THE KEY POLICIES THAT YOU ADVOCATE? “ In terms of a comprehensive list, I support equality, social justice, enterprise, environmental sustainability — specifically, in tackling the climate crisis — and remaining in the EU.” WHAT ARE LABOUR’S POLICIES ON CLIMATE CHANGE? “ We’re committed to a zero-carbon target by 2030. On a more local level, the Exeter City Council has brought in some new climate conscience initiatives; for example they’ve brought in some new electric vehicles,

expanded recycling services as well as cycling and walking networks. New urban planning holds council houses to a carbon neutral standard, through using methods like solar panelling and insulation.”

WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON DRUG CRIMINALISATION? “ I am on the Health Select Committee in Parliament, wherein we conducted an inquiry into drugs. Results from this illustrated the UK as having one of the highest death rates related to drug consumption. This reflects how badly our current drug policies are failing.

Moreover, it’s been shown time and time again that criminalising petty drug use is often ineffective and a waste of resources. We should instead focus on making efforts to understand the causes of addiction, in order to rehabilitate those affected. I believe, as a politician, that policy should be based on evidence, as opposed to prejudice.”

HOW HAS LABOUR DEVELOPED DURING YOUR TIME AS MP? “ In terms of leadership, the shift to Corbyn showed a return to the traditionalist left, as opposed to Blair’s new wave of more centre-left policy.

However, the fundamental beliefs of the I believe, as party remain a politician, firmly intact, that policy though in some ways, policy has should be been forced to based on radicalise due evidence, as to the nineopposed to year reign of prejudice. conservatism.

Despite these slight fluctuations, Labour acts as a strong and historically based party, and there will always be a need for a politically strong, centre left party to counter conservatism, and even the current rise in nationalism.”

WHAT IS CORBYN’S POLICY ON PRIVATE SCHOOLS? “ He proposes removing privileged tax stages on independent schools, which have previously been recognised as charitable institutions. Above all, our main priority is to invest and improve on state schools, to the point where parents no longer view having their children privately educated as necessary, or better.”

BY TAMARA LETTS

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LET ’S CHALK ABOUT

THE EXONIAN 2020

MENTAL H EALTH

Gill Hayes, an Exeter School parent, ran the extremely successful #letschalkaboutmentalhealth campaign in the autumn of 2019.

We asked her to write a few words to explain…

B

eing involved in suicide prevention, I hear a lot of dreadful stories.

You never get used to them.

Each one heartbreakingly awful. Each one leaving total devastation for the friends and family left behind. This summer however, I was shocked at the sheer number of friends who were getting in touch to tell me about the loss of someone they knew or loved.

Each story was of a male aged between 16 and 25.

One particularly shocking story involved a 16-year-old boy who took his life a week before his GCSE results.

My own son, Sam, sat his GCSEs this year and, in our house, results day had been a happy milestone, a day to be celebrated. I couldn’t bear to think of the stark contrast of the suffering of that poor boy’s loved ones.

When the latest UK suicide figures were released by the Office for National Statistics in September they confirmed what I feared, an increase in the overall suicide rate 10.9% from the previous year.

However, far more worrying

was the sharp increase in the rate of suicides in the under 25 age range which had risen by 23.7%.

As a suicide prevention campaigner, and also as a mother, I had an overwhelming sense that I needed to do more to prevent this tragic trend. One evening when I was having a quick flick through Facebook, the post of an old friend caught my eye. Unbeknownst to me, my friend’s 25-year-old nephew, Elliot, had taken his own life. Like many families bereaved by suicide, Elliot’s parents, through their pain and grief, were trying to make a difference so others would not endure the suffering and loss that they had. They wanted to challenge the stigma and encourage a conversation around suicide.

To that end, they organised a community event near their home in Cairns, Australia, encouraging people to decorate a local cycle path with beautiful messages in chalk aimed at killing the stigma around suicide. So simple, yet so powerful, and that’s when I decided I was

30 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

going to get Exeter chalking about mental health.

Through chalking messages of understanding and support for those struggling with their mental health, we could maybe

encourage someone who was suffering to ask for help and take that first step on their journey to recovery. Maybe, through our messages, we could nudge someone away from the trajectory towards

FEATURES

suicide. Maybe we could actually save a life. Surely it had to be worth a punt for a few boxes of chalk? If nothing else, it would engage people

Maybe, through our messages, we could nudge someone away from the trajectory towards suicide.

Maybe we could actually save a life.

GILL HAYES

in a wider conversation about mental health and help stop the stigma.

I chose Thursday 10 October to coincide with World Mental Health Day, booked a spot in the Princesshay shopping centre and set to work.

Never in my wildest dreams did I envisage how the campaign would snowball in a few short weeks. The University of Exeter was one of the first big partners to come on board, agreeing to attend the event with their wellbeing campervan,

and then followed a range of local mental health and suicide related organisations including The Samaritans, Exeter City Community Trust, Action to Prevent Suicide, Andy’s Man Club, Heads Up and Pete’s Dragons. Exeter City Council then got behind the campaign. Meanwhile, schools, businesses, shops, barbers, gyms, colleges and rugby clubs were getting on board organising chalking events in their own spaces.

People outside of Exeter began to get in touch and we had participants from Cornwall to Scotland chalking. There was even a “Let’s Chalk…” event in Wangaratta, Australia. With the campaign growing so quickly I needed some sponsorship to be able to put on a professional event backed up by a full marketing and PR campaign. Local law firms The Family Law Company, Stephens Scown, Michelmores and Foot

Anstey generously injected some funds into the project.

In addition, due to the generosity of so many local businesses, many services and products were donated or supplied at a reduced rate.

I had to go through a very steep learning curve when it came to organising the online marketing campaign and my children were instrumental in teaching me the ins and outs of Instagram. Armed with a blackboard and chalk, I went about photographing as many people as possible lending their support to the campaign. So many willingly took part including mental health campaigner Natasha Devon, Chief Executive of Exeter City Council Karime Hassan, local MP Ben Bradshaw, the Archdeacon of Exeter Andrew Beane, celebrity chef Michael Caines, the Exeter Chiefs, and not forgetting the pupils of Exeter School.

More details of the campaign can be found on Facebook and Instagram or by searching #LetsChalkAboutMentalHealth2019 E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 31

THE EXONIAN 2020

BLACK LIVES

MATTER

Alumna Maia Thomas is spearheading the Black Lives Matter movement in Devon. Starting with a socially distant protest in June 2020, she has since been involved in a series of events across the county. She views the raising of awareness of the struggles that she and other people of colour face in Devon as a huge milestone for the movement. With interviews featured on ITV and BBC and a 3,300 strong membership to the Exeter BLM Facebook group, it’s fair to say that shockwaves of her leadership have spread across the country. The Exonian’s Rosie Cromwell and Lily Alford caught up with her a few weeks after the first protest.

ROSIE: HOW DID YOU COPE WITH ORGANISING THE PROTEST GIVEN THE NEED FOR SOCIAL DISTANCING? In our Facebook group ­— the BLM (Black Lives Matter) Exeter Movement — we consistently put out posts about the government guidelines and safety so people were aware that the event wouldn’t take place unless they stuck to all the rules and regulations. We set up a PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) stand, and we got donations from Lush — they donated gloves and soaps for people to take afterwards as well. We don’t want people to disrupt the cause by saying “Oh they didn’t follow regulations”.

LILY: YOU POSTED ABOUT SOME BACKLASH YOU RECEIVED, DID YOU HAVE

speak and educate people…

ANY CONCERNS ABOUT that’s rewarding in itself. I HOSTING THE EVENT IN THE think... probably all the young FIRST PLACE? people that were obviously I was aware that there would so afraid to speak in front of a be a lot of backlash just thousand people must have from seeing people post on felt that this would be their social media and, especially only opportunity to ever be because there are not many listened to. So when I walk minorities in Devon, I knew there would be a lot of people away from the protests, that’s opposed to it. But, if I thought, what I remember rather than all the death threats and those “Oh, there’s going to be a lot messages. At the of opposition, end of the day, the I’m just not only ones I look going to say at are the ones anything”, then ... especially that pose a direct nothing would have been because there threat to my safety achieved. are not many and those have been passed to When you minorities in the police. That’s hear people Devon, I knew why I need to have sharing their there would be security in Exeter experiences a lot of people now and all of and see how grateful they opposed to it. that. But the direct threats... yeah, are to have an open space to MAIA THOMAS when I go to work

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PHOTO: DIFFERENT VIEW PHOTOGRAPHY (@DVP10)

now, Princesshay Security patrol outside my work, I’ve got a number to call so I can get escorted from my car to work or a taxi. I’ve got a key card to get into the back bit of Princesshay in case anything happens. Just because it’s been... pretty intense.

It’s rewarding just seeing the space that we have created, and the good things

coming out of it — I’ve spoken to ten schools now about getting black history into the curriculum, the workshops, I’m meant to be doing a program with the BBC — we’re talking about that with another organiser as well. It is just worth it.

L: HAVE YOU SEEN CHANGES IN THE ATTITUDES OF PEOPLE YOU’VE SPOKEN TO? Definitely, some people came to the protest in one mindset of... either they were there to cause trouble or they just weren’t invested.

And afterwards, they came up to me at the protest saying “Thank you so much for having it so peaceful and actually letting us hear experiences rather than just chanting, you know, ‘Black Lives Matter! Black Lives Matter!’ Now, I’m actually educated and I know why I’m here so I feel like I was doing something.” And I have had parents come to me and ask, “What can I do to make a change for my children?” So, yes — people are now asking questions and actively saying “What can I do?” rather than just sitting back and watching so, yeah, 100%.

It either comes from the home or from school, and that’s it. So if schools have a hard policy against racism, open discussions about race, and have black history in the curriculum this would help educate the younger generation.

I would say it’s a shame it has taken this long for us to actually question why we’re not being taught about this because, when I was at school, I questioned it in my head but I never said it out loud. I just accepted, “this is what I’ve been told I need to learn and this is what I need to know for the exam and that’s it” but why isn’t it part of the exam?

Also, at the end of the day, say they do take down that statue [of General Buller] in Exeter ­— that won’t change the racism that I and many others face every day. I’m not here to just say “Take down statues.” It’s more about education because once statue’s gone, Society as a the people’s attitudes whole needs don’t change.

L: DO YOU FEEL THERE IS A LOT OF PRESSURE PUT ON YOU NOW? to have open As a black conversations L: DO YOU PLAN woman I need to have my voice and question ON RUNNING heard and get things, and MORE PROTESTS IN THE FUTURE? my message out call people out We are planning there, however when they do on holding more. it needs to be things wrong. Our Black Lives supported by Matter Exeter institutions.

MAIA THOMAS group has over That’s why I 3,300 members was so firm now, so we’re using that on saying education starts to do more open mics and within schools. As I said at events as well to showcase every protest, no child is talent, like black owned automatically born racist.

PHOTO: DIFFERENT VIEW PHOTOGRAPHY (@DVP10)

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businesses — because there are some in Exeter! We are using it as a safe space and platform for black and other minority voices to be heard.

We are letting people come on to do different podcasts...

We’re hiring studio space...

Not just protests though because there’s a time when the movement needs to move beyond protesting.

The movement is more than just gathering in a space and shouting.

R: HOW DO YOU THINK THAT SOCIETY AS A WHOLE NEEDS TO CHANGE IN ORDER TO BECOME MORE INCLUSIVE? Society as a whole needs to educate themselves. So, go down the school route of it being embedded into the curriculum so everyone who goes through school is aware not just of black history but of race and different cultures.

Society as a whole needs to have open conversations and question things, and call people out when they do things wrong — that’s the main thing. When you hear something wrong and you hear something racist, challenge it. Even if you’re not saying it but you know that it’s wrong, you can question that person. Small things like that will make a big change because, if you’re not being called out on something, you will just continuously do it because... you feel there’s nothing wrong with it.

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 33

THE EXONIAN 2020

EXPANDING

OUR HORIZONS

C

urrent Sixth Former George Heard spent three weeks in Beijing for the first work experience placement of its kind offered to an Exeter School pupil, organised by Julian Fisher, one of our alumni. This was George’s first time leaving Europe so, as you can imagine, he was quite nervous!

He was welcomed by Julian, Senior Partner of Venture Education and Vice Chair of the British Chamber of Commerce in China, where he began his project for the next two weeks. This involved working on case studies of entrepreneurship, which required him to interview successful entrepreneurs who had a real passion for what they were doing, with their insights into the Chinese economy proving fascinating.

“I learnt that it is important to have a personal relationship with someone before carrying out business with them,” George said. “In the UK I feel like it’s more direct and upfront and less to do with how well you know or get on with someone. This experience has really opened my eyes to opportunities beyond the UK.” BY DAISY BISHOP

34 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

Going Green

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Ecosoc has taken large strides this year to better the school’s environmental footprint. This has included installing crisp packet bins around the school, creating campaigns to raise awareness and making soaps to raise money for the charity Surfers Against Sewage

A

t the start of the autumn term, a small group of Sixth Formers delved into a new project on the Chemistry sector of EcoSoc. This ambitious venture involved creating sustainable soap detergent bars for dogs and washing up. This process included getting permission in legislation, sourcing sustainable ingredients from local businesses and advertising the soap bars to be later sold to members of the public. After the pupils’ real commitment to the task and weeks of waiting, they were delighted when the soap finally solidified into a lavender scented, cruelty free, organic detergent bar.

However, the hard work was not yet over as the girls began the process of packaging and advertising their product, ready to sell the soap at upcoming school events.

All proceeds from the sustainable soaps went towards the fantastic charity Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), a movement tackling plastic pollution and protecting the UK’s coastlines for all to enjoy safely and sustainably. Exeter School alumna Emma Askew, part of SAS, later delivered an illuminating talk to pupils to explain their hard work and ambitions for the future.

Following on, Ecosoc members have embarked on a considerable process of encouraging the Exeter School community to go meat-free. This successful campaign has led to meat substitutes for the bacon baps in the Sixth Form as well as the kitchen staff introducing vegetarian days to contribute to the meatfree campaign and to reduce Exeter School’s carbon footprint. The EcoSoc pupils have also worked to make pupils and teachers more aware of avoiding excessive amounts of electricity usage across the school by creating posters and meeting with management staff on a regular basis.

These projects have been pupil driven and it is great to see Exeter School so passionate about wanting to positively contribute to tackling climate change.

the individual molecules: it therefore enables the degradation process to accelerate. Once broken down on a chemical level it can be decomposed much better by microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and algae. This allows the product to be split into individual components such as water, CO2, methane and biomass.

Due to the accelerated

degradation process, these biodegradable films contribute to waste reduction and have a smaller ecological footprint. These ‘Biox’ films have been designed in a way that allows decomposition to occur as soon as the films end up as a waste product in landfills where the necessary conditions for the breakdown of the materials are prevalent.

BY TESS GEBBIE AND RAFF PIGGOTT GILL

Note from the Editor: We are delighted that, this year, the cover of The Exonian is laminated with the eco-friendly ‘Biox’ (Oxobiodegradable) lamination film. Oxo-biodegradable films are based on polypropylene, but with additives added which allow the breakdown of a chemical bond between

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 35

THE EXONIAN 2020

To the

heart of

SICILY

T

he Geography trip to Sicily took place in the October half term, where 26 of the A Level pupils enjoyed travelling, experiencing a new culture and seeing the real-life geography they had learnt about in a classroom all around them. They explored the island of Sicily, tried new food like arancini balls, swam in mud baths and travelled to the centre of the volcanoes Etna and Vulcano. Other highlights included walking along the cold water-

36 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

filled Alcantara Gorge and investigating the hilltop town of Taormina. At the end of every day pupils consolidated their knowledge, focusing on subjects including the plate tectonics, lava fields and volcanos. Thanks go to Mr Hyde, Mrs Sail and Mr Bird for the creation of the trip and the amazing experiences enjoyed by all. Thank you also to Amy Taverner and Rose Sail for giving The Exonian a glimpse into their trip into the heart of Sicily.

BY CATHERINE BROWN

TRIPS

In

SPACE & at SEA T

he trip to We, the Curious was amazing. Everything they had to offer was engaging and eventful and I loved the fact that we could roam around with friends. The 3D planetarium was terrific; it truly felt like we were in space and I loved the floating sensation of being in the air. The speaker was excellent at interacting with us, giving us choices to make and questions to answer.

The next aspect of the trip, a tour of SS Great Britain was very special: we were given a ticket to go back in time and board the boat as a passenger. Along with the riddles we had to solve and clues we had to find, it was great fun to explore everything on the ship. We were truly impressed with the amount of effort that was put into making our visit so immersive and I can’t wait to go back!

BY JASMINE HARDY (FOURTH FORM)

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 37

THE EXONIAN 2020

The New York skyline was breathtaking.

The 9/11 memorial was harrowing to think that such a tragedy occurred right below our feet.

It was shocking and saddening to see the obvious inequality in wealth distribution.

38 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

TRIPS

UNIQUE

NEW NEW YORK YORK

D

uring the October halfterm break, a group of Sixth Formers headed to New York and Washington on the History and Politics trip, opening their eyes to the US political system and all its history.

Although New York’s towering skyscrapers and the beauty of Washington’s architecture creates an illusion of grandeur, the obvious disparity in wealth was notable. En route to Washington, our coach drove through Baltimore which really placed the overwhelming cacophony of New York into perspective. The juxtaposition between the unsteady buildings of Baltimore and the affluence of Wall Street was a real surprise.

The visit to the UN was truly inspiring and made me want to pursue a career as a diplomat.

During the trip, our knowledge of American history and politics was greatly enhanced through our visit to the UN, where we learnt the importance of the unity between countries to create a more harmonious world.

Additionally, our eye-opening tour around the chambers of the Union building highlighted the country’s ambitious beginnings and George Washington’s inspirational leadership, bringing them freedom.

Ultimately, the trip was insightful, leading us to reflect on the nature of society and allowing us to witness the immersive culture of the United States. BY DAISY BRETT AND JAMES BRODERICK

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 39

THE EXONIAN 2020

CULTURE AND CRICKET D

the team explored the city, uring the October stopping at the Dubai mall to half-term break, experience one of the world’s 13 Exeter School largest shopping centres and cricketers travelled to Dubai were then lucky enough to to experience the fascinating venture up the world’s tallest culture, play competitive building, the Burj Khalifa, cricket against talented opposition, and broaden their where they enjoyed the magnificent view of the city horizons.

— and beyond — from over Having finally arrived in 500 metres above the ground.

Dubai, the group headed The late morning of the straight to the beach for third day in Dubai brought a swim alongside the on the squad’s second game, impressive Burj Al Arab, playing the Abbas CC, in what before getting down to would prove to business at the be a challenging International game. In the end Cricket Council (ICC) training They enjoyed the opponents just too centre. Treated the magnificent were strong, despite to the use of view of the city accurate and such highfrom over 500 controlled level facilities, the squad metres above bowling from also enjoyed the ground. Will Furniss, who fully deserved taking in the his ‘Man of the Match’ award, Netherlands vs Kenya ICC picking up three wickets.

T20 World Cup Qualifier first The second innings began hand. with strong performances The second day of the tour from Max Cockram (25) and brought the first fixture for James Horler (36), however the school team, a match a collapse in the batting against Dubai College. They order meant that Abbas CC managed a comfortable win, triumphed with four wickets Sam Read being named to spare. To ease the pain, ‘Man of the Match’ after the team embarked on a scoring a fluent half century; although the team concluded desert safari, which proved the highlight of the tour for their innings with a score many. Taken from their hotel of 96, economical bowling into the Dubai desert in 4x4s, saw them home. Andrew pupils spent the evening at a Donovan stepped up to desert camp and enjoyed a the mark, achieving some falcon show and camel riding, impressive bowling statistics amongst other fun activities.

(1-1 off 3.0) within an overall Further exploration solid bowling effort. Following followed: the squad explored the game’s conclusion, 40 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

TRIPS The fifth morning was spent at Dubai’s premier waterpark, the Wild Wadi, where the team let off some steam by throwing themselves down the water slides before heading off to the venue of their fourth game. The opponents (who were rapidly turning into our arch-rivals) were once again Abbas CC, who, again, bested the squad in a close much more of Dubai, visiting and hard-fought game from both sides. Sam Read’s fine the historic parts of the city, the official museum and even form continued, scoring a half century and achieving a local market which could very economical bowling only be reached by boat. figures (0-17 off 4), with Will Flushed with the success of Furniss also bowling with their bargaining, the third good economy (1-18 off 4), tour match (againt the ICC on top of Hamish Dow’s Academy) turned out to be well-deserved four wickets. a solid victory with tight bowling and Sam Read again Explosive batting was seen from Andrew Donovan and excelling. The first innings James Horler, however a saw the Exeter bowling final score of 149 runs for attack score excellent figures Abbas CC meant a tough across the board with Sam chase for Exeter. Despite Read (2-13 from 4 overs) and our best efforts, coming Hamish Dow (2-10 from 3) within six runs of the win, picking up early wickets.

Economical bowling was also the opposition secured the victory, restricting our scoring seen from Will Furniss (0-17 opportunities in the closing off 4), Raff Piggott Gill (0-13 stages of play. off 4) and Bobby Heard (1-9 To close, the off 2). The second innings last day of the brought explosive batting tour saw the from the Exeter batsmen, team spend the with Sam Read racing to 35* morning visiting and Andy Donovan coming the Dubai Frame, within two runs of a half century (48*). Overall, this was enjoying the view of both ‘old a comfortable victory for the Dubai’ and ‘new team.

Dubai’. One final fixture was squeezed in, Exeter School vs MS Dhoni Academy, which saw yet another incredibly tight game. Economical bowling from Sam Read (2-8 from 3 overs), This was a Bobby Heard (2-6 from 2) comfortable and Raff Piggott victory for Gill (0-14 from the team.

4) in the first innings was backed up with a strong performance in the field.

Despite a tough run chase of 132, Exeter was brought into the game with help from Cameron Dennis (32) and a partnership of 48 from Max Cockram and George Heard, steering the game home for Exeter. Closing the tour by winning by five wickets was an incredible end to an unbelievable tour; many thanks go to all of the staff involved in the organising and running of the trip.

BY JAMIE TOWERS AND RAFF PIGGOTT GILL

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 41

THE EXONIAN 2020

Pixies

HOLT An annual highlight, Third Formers explored the wilderness of Dartmoor on a series of exciting weekends throughout September. Fresh from the muddy walks, balloon chair making and weaselling through rocks, we spoke to some of the pupils about their experiences.

BYO EDDIE 42 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O L U KMAYALL

TRIPS

DID YOU MAKE ANY NEW FRIENDS? “I made lots of friends throughout the weekend. When we were climbing, we had to trust our friends not to drop us!” Lucy Netherton “I made lots of new friends and I feel more settled in my class.”

William Hamilton “I learned a lot about other people and it was a good experience. I hope other people were able to learn things about me.”

Rory Clarke

WOULD YOU RECOMMEND IT TO OTHER PUPILS? “I would recommend it to other pupils because it is a chance to find out about new activities that you enjoy and you might make new friends.” Eric Osterland “Definitely because it is an amazing experience.

You get to know your friends and do some really fun activities.”

Tess Hughes

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE ACTIVITY?

“I would because it is a time just to have fun and relax before doing your best at school.” Eli Moss

“The weasling was the best part. Going through the small holes was really exciting. Although, I got a bit muddy!”

Lucy Netherton

WHAT WAS THE FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE WEEKEND?

“I liked the walk because I enjoyed talking to my friends and teachers along the way.”

Rory Clarke

“When Dr Wilson started singing the German national anthem,” Eli Moss “I got stuck whilst weasling.” Guy Harrison “When Mr Hughes sat on the balloon chair and it popped!” Rosie Selley

“My favourite activity was the weasling. I was nervous beforehand because I don’t like tight spaces, but once I did it I felt really proud of myself.” Tess Hughes

WHAT KIND OF ACTIVITIES DID YOU DO IN THE EVENING? “We played games like beetle drive and we saw who could make the best balloon chair.”

Eric Osterland “We made spaghetti towers and played Chinese whispers, which ended with some peculiar answers!”

Tess Hughes “On one evening we played two truths and a lie. This went well because we got to know more about each other.”

Eli Moss

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 43

THE EXONIAN 2020

CCF SUCCESSES T

he CCF had a busy and successful year despite the disruption caused by the pandemic in the spring and summer terms.

In the autumn term all Middle Fifth recruits completed the Tri-Service Common syllabus course where the recruits were given basic training in drill, first aid, navigation and military knowledge. This training was led by Lt James and the Upper Sixth cadets. The core training was completed on October field day which included fieldcraft and navigation activities on Woodbury Common and drill, leadership and first aid activities on the school site. Following the training phase, the recruits had two taster sessions in each of the three sections before selecting their sections in December. The award for

top recruit this year went to Luca Di-Vincenzo who has now joined the Army section.

In October Stan Hart of the Army section was invested as a Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet for Devon for 2019-20. This is awarded to approximately five cadets across the county each year. Stan has accompanied the Lord Lieutenant on official visits, including Remembrance Day and various VIP visits.

The Tri-Service competition took place in December, with the three sections competing in a range of activities, including a tug of war final.

The winners this year were the Army section.

The best Upper Sixth NCOs were awarded medals for outstanding contribution to the CCF. These were: Alexandra Byron, Andrew Donovan, Harry Emmett,

44 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

Evan Evans, Kiran Lake, Archie Leather, Tabitha MacphersonJorgensen, Sam Mullan, Kit Seale and Archie Tamblyn.

Each year the Jack Sadler award is given to the most outstanding cadet and this year the award went to Kit Seale.

Unfortunately, the disruption by the pandemic meant that many of the CCF highlights this year had to be cancelled including the adventure training trip over Easter, summer field days and summer camps and courses.

BY SQN LDR SMALE (CONTINGENT COMMANDER)

OUTDOOR PURSUITS

CCF: ARMY

T

he Army Section have had another busy year and a huge amount of enjoyable and worthwhile training has taken place.

The Upper Fifth started working towards their Advanced Army Proficiency Certificate in the autumn term and visited the Footsteps of Discovery site in Cornwall for an overnight exercise on the October Field Day. Here they completed survival and leadership training and were able to practice the skills they learnt in an outdoor, remote environment.

Meanwhile, the Lower Sixth began their Leadership course, completing command tasks and studying different styles of leadership. They enjoyed a field day at Blackrock Outdoors where they participated in a high ropes confidence course and a range of team building challenges.

In January the new intake

of 30 Middle Fifth cadets joined the Army Section and were split into three sections.

They then commenced their Basic Army (cadet) Training under the watchful eye of their Upper Sixth NonCommissioned Officers and the Directing Staff. This included weapons training and all Middle Fifth cadets began to learn and practice the drills for the SA80 (cadet) weapon. The Upper Fifth cadets all completed their Basic Signals Certificate with Sgt Hodgskins from the Cadet Training Team.

The Lower Sixth NCOs completed their CFIT (Cadet Forces Instruction Training) course which trained them to become Cadet Instructors.

They will use the skills and techniques they have learnt in the next academic term when they will conduct lessons and training for the lower years.

BY MAJ TRIM (HEAD OF ARMY SECTION)

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 45

THE EXONIAN 2020

CCF: NAVY

I

n early September, the Upper Fifth and Lower Sixth cadets took to the water for two sunny Friday evening sessions of water-based training at Haven Banks Outdoor Education Centre and race training at Exe Sailing club. For the first time, stand up paddle boarding was offered as an option and was very popular. Back in school, the Upper Fifth completed first aid qualifications and started working towards their Able Cadet 1* promotion, while the Lower Sixth began their Leadership Cadre.

During the autumn term, Upper Sixth cadets from all three sections worked together to conduct the basic recruit training for the new Middle Fifth cadets. The sessions covering navigation, first aid, drill and military knowledge culminated in the October Field Day, an exercise on Woodbury Common with stands testing their knowledge, communication and teamwork. The Middle Fifth cadets then went through a rotation of two-week taster sessions with each of the sections. The RN taster included the completion of the CCF swim test in the swimming pool, a requirement for many camps and courses, and a team and ropework challenge that involved building a ‘gyn’ (pronounced gin) which is a freestanding structure used to support a pulley system as an improvised crane. Some groups fared better than other at this!

During the October Field Day, the Lower Sixth concluded their leadership training at Haldon Forest with SLt Reynold’s orienteering challenge and a treetop adventure at Go Ape. The Upper Fifth were put to the test with team challenges and raft building at Haven Banks.

46 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

A highlight of the activities this year was the trip to HMS Raleigh at Torpoint to take part in firefighting and training using the DRIU (damage repair instruction unit), a life size model of a ship’s cabin which slowly fills with water to train crews how to save a sinking ship. After a training session to practice using the wooden chocks and hammer to plug holes, the cadets got stuck in! It is quite an adrenaline buzz to be trying to plug a hole in the wall with water pouring through at you, while the ship is rocking and the water is waist-deep!

We were joined by the 30 new Middle Fifth cadets in January who immediately began working towards the first qualification in the Royal Navy cadet syllabus, taught entirely

by Lower Sixth cadets fresh from their leadership training.

Meanwhile, the Upper Fifth learned self-defence and started learning how to instruct with the Upper Sixth running sessions in leadership styles and instruction methods.

The section was ably led throughout the year by Warrant Officer Cadet Kiran Lake, assisted by Chief Petty Officer Cadets Archie Leather and Sam Mullan. Many thanks to them for all of their hard work.

None of the activities or training would be possible without the time given by our experienced staff. A huge thank you to Lt A James, SLt Reynolds, SLt Sheehan, SLt Charters, Lt Cdr Chapman, Lt C James, Ms Shrubb, Mr Lowles, Mr Tear and WO Smith for all their hard work running activities and trips, driving minibuses and supporting the Royal Navy cadets this year. BY LT K MORLEY (NAVY SECTION COMMANDER)

OUTDOOR PURSUITS

CCF: RAF

T

he RAF section completed a range of activities this year.

After the recruit training, the new RAF section Middle Fifth cadets completed their First Class Cadet course.

The Upper Fifth completed their Leading Cadet course, had sessions in self defence, climbing, shooting and a certificated first aid course.

They had an exciting field day of outdoor activities, leadership and the infamous mud run at Escot Park.

The Lower Sixth completed Methods of Instruction training which enabled them to deliver training to the Middle Fifth and Upper Fifth. The Lower Sixth Field Day was a trip to Haldon Forest Park for Go Ape and orienteering. They also had a flying trip in the autumn term.

One of the highlights in the RAF calendar is the annual night exercise on Woodbury Common which involves the Sixth Form NCOs leading the Middle Fifth and Upper Fifth

through training exercises before an evening meal of ration packs followed by the main exercise. This year the main task involved navigating the area to find clues to solve a murder mystery.

Another calendar highlight is the Royal Air Squadron Trophy Competition in which RAF sections from across the South of England compete in a number of training tasks including, first aid, leadership, drill, aircraft recognition, RAF knowledge and shooting.

The competition took place at Blandford Camp in Dorset.

The team had notable performances in shooting and first aid, coming second in both and achieving fifth place overall. Well done to the team of Kit Seale, Alexandra Byron, Josh Seale, Rory Shirazi, Sam Allman, Harry Cornford, Tom Harris-Deans, Lily Howe, Oliver Irons, Charlie Kerr, Luca Riezzo, Finlay Scott and Finlay Tabor.

BY SQN LDR SMALE (RAF SECTION COMMANDER)

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 47

THE EXONIAN 2020

NEVER GIVE UP H

aving battled through a series of challenges during their training, this year’s Ten Tors hopefuls could well be forgiven for believing that the fates were against them. They had faced all manner of miserable weather, put up with hastily rearranged training days, and faced the looming prospect of the event itself being cancelled. The 1633 Challenge however, fortuitously placed shortly before the start of lockdown, offered them a chance to prove their mettle and they came through with flying colours.

The early part of the season had given no hint of the trials that lay ahead, with the traditional curtain raiser, the Abbott’s Way Walk, being completed in good spirits. Many then opted for and benefited from Colonel Sharpe’s excellent NNAS

48 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

OUTDOOR PURSUITS

Silver Navigation course and the pleasant initial training day weather allowed tent and stove training to be completed.

The first day out on Dartmoor though quickly set the scene for what was to be a series of wild, wet and windy training weekends. Waterproofs, boots and kit were tested to their limit as yellow weather warnings regularly emanated from forecast websites, forcing staff to reconsider their plans and relocate pupils to lower lying areas.

Throughout it all, still, the Exeter School pupils struggled on, determined to show that they merited a place in one of the teams on offer. Their spirit, teamwork and organisation consistently impressed both the Ten Tors school staff and the many volunteers that give their time to make the training possible, to a point where picking the final groups was going to prove a challenge in itself.

With the Ten Tors event eventually being cancelled, the 1633 Challenge took on greater significance, newly based this year at the Princetown Community Centre. Saturday’s weather started promisingly, but gradually deteriorated.

With a sodden Dartmoor underfoot, teams nevertheless performed well, completing a long day out on the moor.

The inclement conditions forced groups to camp back at the town, but they were in good spirits on Sunday morning, resolute in completing their task.

As teams faced the final hike, and indeed downpours, of the Ten Tors season, parents gathered to welcome them back, resulting in a lively, celebratory atmosphere. Mr Griffin awarded certificates, photos were taken, tea and cake were consumed. It had been a strange Ten Tors year, but one that the pupils had clearly enjoyed and would always remember.

A special mention of gratitude goes to Mr Porter who retires this year. A stalwart member of the Ten Tors staff team for many seasons, Mike has provided advice and support to many pupils in their preparation for the event, always with a friendly smile and unfailing energy. He has been Colonel Sharpe’s right-hand man, sorting out the logistics of operations at the school and has been the force behind much of the catering that accompanies training sessions and events. This has included arranging food for 100 pupils and 25 adults from four different schools on the 1633 Challenge as well as the buffet that welcomes parents and participants at the finish line. Those of you who have completed the event will have benefited from the breakfast he prepares on the morning of the first day and supporting parents will have enjoyed the subsequent bacon butties provided after the teams have set off. With an open-door policy to pupils and staff, Mr Porter’s classroom has always been welcoming, from pupils wishing to complete their route planning, to staff new to the Ten Tors family looking for advice. We will miss him at school greatly. We hope and expect to see him back on the moor, however, in future training events so that others will benefit from his vast experience. Thanks Mike and happy retirement! BY MR HALL

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 49

THE EXONIAN 2020

JUST KEEP PADDLING

W

hilst the onset of the pandemic significantly curtailed the year’s activities, pupils were able to complete both a practice walk and also the Bronze stage of their Duke of Edinburgh scheme in October.

Thirteen intrepid Middle Fifth planned to complete their Duke of Edinburgh expedition on stand up paddle boards (SUPs). The original plan was to start at Exmouth, paddle across the Estuary and visit Starcross and Topsham.

Unfortunately the weather forecast on the day was for a 35mph Southwesterly. This meant that standing up paddle boarding was likely to become lying down and holding on very tight paddle boarding!

So, Plan B was created. Starting at school, the group walked down to the Quay and got on the boards near the old shipyard.

A gentle paddle along the canal was made significantly harder by a strong headwind. The group camped at the Turf Locks and then on the second day paddled up to Topsham followed by a paddle with the wind along the Eastern shore of the estuary, finishing at Exmouth.

All the group found the expedition a real adventure and wholeheartedly recommend it to the Lower Fifth cohort.

BY MR SCHRAMM

50 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

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MO’MONEY

S

taff and pupils, led by Mr Boddington and Buller House, took part in the hair-raising challenge to grow moustaches for the whole month of November.

The proceeds went towards helping men’s health charities,

including the Movember Foundation, which deals with issues such as prostate and testicular cancer.

Raising the money through sponsorship and selling fake moustaches, we reached a staggering total of £1,401.39!

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 51

THE EXONIAN 2020

FUNDRAISING!

THIS YEAR WE RAISED

£25,907.94

E

ven with lockdown Exeter School has had a successful year of fundraising with over £25,000 raised!

Each year a committee of Sixth Form representatives selects three charities for the school to support during that academic year. For the autumn term pupils chose Toilet Twinning, a charity that helps to fund projects in poor communities enabling families to build a basic toilet, have access to clean water and learn about hygiene.

The Senior School mufti day raised £1,476, meaning that we could pay for six toilet blocks in schools. Six of our toilet blocks now have certificates in them indicating that they are ‘twinned’.

The Junior School’s mufti day and cake sale raised £400 for Children in Need, whilst a staff and pupil quiz in the Senior School, organised by the Crossing Club, raised £82.

One of the most popular events of this term was the

of festive carols led by Mrs Singapore and Malaysia Guthrie, whilst enjoying a Sports Tour mufti day and treasure hunt. For the treasure mince pie! Mr Wilcock hosted the event with his usual cheer hunt pupils had to search whilst a mixture of staff and for the numbered red tags Sixth Formers distributed around the school and to place their position on a map sherry and nibbles. of the school grounds. Just over £2,000 was raised as a result, all of which will go towards the two charities In one of Revd Tom’s the Singapore and Malaysia virtual one-minute Sports Tour are supporting: assemblies, he Yayasan Sunbeams Home dressed up in school in Kuala Lumper, a selfsupporting multi-racial uniform to make the foundation supporting point that every day is displaced, abused and currently a mufti day! neglected children, and St Joseph’s Home in Penang, In addition to these schoolwho help poor children and wide events, many Houses currently house 39 very made efforts to raise money deserving children.

The final day of the autumn for their chosen charities.

As ever, there were many term saw our Junior Singers cake sales for a number of from Upper One entertain charities and other creative pensioners from nearby events, such as carol singing rest homes as part of the school’s community outreach by Crossing and Townsend House and Christmas card programme. Our guests sales by Dowrich House. The always love listening to the Junior School and Buller children singing a selection

52 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

House collected money for Movember, this year raising a fantastic £1,401 with many members of staff growing impressive moustaches!

Pupils and staff from the Junior School to the Sixth Form participated in the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal raising an impressive £916.36.

The Sixth Form contributed to local charities throughout Advent. Five Senior School Houses made Reverse Advent Calendars for OpenDoor, Exmouth. The Lower Sixth in Acland, Buller, Daw, Dowrich and Drake all collected together a great range of items that were needed for this really deserving charity. The rest of the Lower Sixth and the Upper Sixth contributed to Exeter FoodBank and collected almost 50kg of food to be distributed to families in need.

In the spring term, the Junior and Senior Schools both held a mufti day to raise money for Age UK in Exeter, bringing in over £1,500

CHARITY AND COMMUNITY SERVICE

for this local cause. Sadly we were not able to hold a cheque presentation for them, but received a delighted phone call thanking us for supporting them at such a difficult time for charities.

This year, the Chaplain’s Charity of the Year was Hospiscare, a cause very local to Exeter School. Revd Tom raised money through collections at carol services and at the Christmas Concert by selling cups of water and squash in the two intervals.

He would have run the London Marathon in April and so instead ran two halfmarathons over the same weekend to keep the money coming in for the cause. He still plans to run the London

Marathon when the event takes place and will continue to support Hospiscare for the next academic year.

Just before the closure of the school site in March 2020, Revd Tom appealed for donations to Exeter FoodBank and the response was huge.

It was sad, of course, not to be able to hold a mufti day to raise money during the summer term. In one of Revd Tom’s virtual one minute assemblies, he dressed up in school uniform to make the point that every day is currently a mufti day! He challenged pupils to raise money themselves in order to help charities make up a potential £10bn shortfall due to Covid-19. It has been good

to hear reports of what some pupils have been doing: Oscar Lovell (Middle Fifth, Goff) and Harmony Evans (Upper Fifth, Drake) running halfmarathons for St. Petrock’s and the Stroke Association (over £800), and the National Emergencies Trust (over £400), respectively; Dan Graves (Upper Sixth, Dowrich) and George Heard (Upper Sixth, Goff) completing a different challenge each day in May, raising over £400 for ARC (Axminster); the Sari family completed a cycling

challenge by ‘travelling’ 2160km, the distance between Exeter and Budapest, in 39 days on a spinning bike, raising £590 for the Médecins Sans Frontières coronavirus crisis appeal; James O’Connell (Upper Two) raised over £190 for Little Valley Animal Shelter by walking and running around their garden and fields covering 26 miles in two days; Gryffin Gordon Clark (L2B) ran over 75 miles and raised over £2,000 for the Jenner Institute’s Covid-19 vaccine research and development.

We were also delighted that our pupils got involved in their local communities, from making and distributing personal protection equipment (PPE) to delivering meat to vulnerable people. BY REVD TOM AND MR WOOD

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 53

THE EXONIAN 2020

EXTRAORDINARY WORK: ST PETROCK’S S t Petrock’s is a transformative local charity based in Exeter, which we at Exeter School are proud to support through bake sales and regular donations of food and sleeping bags. They work tirelessly to improve the lives of homeless people and provide life-changing support through their homelessness resource centre and housing system. This year, St Petrock’s visited us to talk about the Harvest Festival and their charity, following our collection of food donations for their clients. I was fortunate enough to have a chat with Lucy Patrick, the external communications manager for St Petrock’s.

When asked what kind of support St Petrock’s offers, Lucy explained that the shelter has an open-door policy, and is open to all.

Apart from providing urgent support, rapid response and a housing service, they also run enrichment activities staffed by volunteers, ranging from cooking classes to oil painting. Lucy tells me that the clients really enjoy being painted because it gives them

a sense of value and worth.

When asked how mental health impacts rough sleepers, Lucy explained that over 70% of her clients have a mental health condition and the charity supports them by providing a clinical psychologist who helps them overcome any difficulties that prevent them from finding accommodation as well as helping them adjust to living indoors. The clients also receive support from project workers who conduct oneon-one sessions to create a plan of action to support them and get them the help they need. Medical support is offered through referring clients to the Clockhouse Surgery. The centre also has a weekly visit from a chiropodist who can identify other health problems.

Volunteers undergo thorough training in safeguarding and health and safety. Lucy says the volunteers have an amazing work ethic and that professionalism is very important. She emphasises that the charity is 58% funded from the local community, and is financially

54 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

independent. The public can get involved by participating in independent projects and contributing to harvest festivals. Donations are also extremely important to St Petrock’s and Lucy showed me their storage room where they keep warm clothes and sleeping bags for rough sleepers — one aspect of the charity that we have been able to help donate to in recent years.

Another fantastic aspect of the work they do is provide housing for rough sleepers. In this process, the team assess the client, before collating all of the necessary information

required to ascertain how they can best provide help.

The housing is run by a private rental service team: Lucy informs me that they have recently launched “Fair Lets”, a professional rental management and letting service, which is a brokering system between clients with a range of needs, landlords and Exeter City Council.

As a community we are lucky to have the inspiring members of St Petrock’s organisation and we look forward to continuing to support them in the coming years. BY TESS GEBBIE

CHARITY AND COMMUNITY YOUNG ENTERPRISE SERVICE

PLOOM AND HARMONIA

T

his year Exeter School had two Young Enterprise teams, Ploom and Harmonia.

Ploom developed a business selling jewellery and decorations made from feathers. This team had a strong focus on being environmentally friendly, using recycled materials to make bespoke designs including wreaths, baubles and earrings, which all proved to be very popular. They used feathers, a by-product, to make their products, not only upcycling, but also reducing the carbon footprint by sourcing local materials.

They were successful in bringing back beauty and life to a material which would otherwise be wasted. This team successfully sold at numerous events. These included the HSBC pop-up event, Met Office Christmas Fair, Buckerell Lodge Christmas Market, Silverton Christmas Tree Festival and

Exeter Market, as well as school events such as the school play, the Christmas Concert and various parents’ evenings, making an excellent profit every time.

This team also were very successful in the Devon regional competitions.

Harmonia created a range of products with an emphasis on mental health and mindfulness, topics at the forefront of modern

society. The team behind this product found that during their GCSES, they would have loved a product that helped them with stress and wellbeing, as well as a product that would help to plan their revision and day to day lives. They used this to their advantage, creating something that school pupils would personally benefit from. They developed their product into a mental health jar, including little things such as stress balls, highlighters, weekly planners to help organise their time and keep calm, and various cards designed by the team to focus on mental health. This team were also successful in making good profit at various events inside and outside of school, working well as a motivated group, being passionate about their product and having a unique selling point. BY THEA PURSER E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 55

THE EXONIAN 2020

I

YOU’RE HIRED!

n October 2019, the Upper Sixth took part in the annual Upper Sixth Interview Scheme. This programme provided them with an insight into corporate and university interviews, a fundamental experience for their future career. The pupils were exposed to two different types of interviews: the first, a general interview and the second, subject specific. All of the interviewers kindly gave up their time to volunteer and help out the Upper Sixth, whom were extremely grateful. We asked some of the pupils who took part how they found their experience. Many of the pupils felt unsure and nervous at first but afterwards the thought of subsequent interviews became less daunting. BY MOLLY OLDRIDGE AND DAISY BRET T

TOP TIPS: •

Prepare well to make sure you get feedback more useful to you

•

Try to envisage it as a conversation opposed to an interview to avoid unnecessary nerves

•

Research your interviewer in order to tailor your answers to their background

•

If you don’t have a personal statement then write as much information as you can on the interview form

56 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

QUICK QUESTIONS

(FROM THE INTERVIEWS THEMSELVES): •

How does survival of the fittest apply to modern society?

•

What would you do if you ordered cod at a resturaunt and they gave you octopus?

•

How many genders are there?

•

How many giraffes are there in the country?

•

If you were in the theatre would you rather be front of house, centre stage or backstage?

•

What do you think about Extinction Rebellion?

ALUMNI LINKS

Turning back time:

Old Exonian Day I

n the autumn close to 200 alumni and their families visited the school. Throughout the day there was a plethora of activities to be enjoyed, including reminiscing on their times at the school with archive displays, interesting tours of the school, taking a dip in the pool, or trying out the shooting range; this was accompanied by samples of the catering whilst taking in competitive rugby and hockey fixtures that took place throughout the afternoon. We were glad to be able to host a large group of former pupils from the class of 1989, who were able to enjoy special celebrations to mark their 30th anniversary of attending the school. For many alumni it was their first time returning to school since they left and a great opportunity to remember their time here. BY AJ GOODMAN

How did you spend your time at OE Day? “A tour of the school with a Sixth Form guide, looking at archive material in the Butterfield Hall and in the marquee, and lots of catching up with former classmates.” Ross Saunders (1984–1989) What did you think of the school in its current form?

“Incredible! Really impressive, with massive improvements throughout the campus. Our 5-year-old son was really impressed!” Torquil Home (1988–1994) How has the school changed since you attended?

“The sports hall has been expanded with the welcome addition of the indoor pool. The library has moved to a new location and has been impressively updated. The Butterfield Hall is much lighter and more welcoming than I remember it before.” Sharon Hiley (1986–1988) Which staff members do you remember from your school days, and why? “Staff from my day who are still at school now are Mr Fryer, my great German teacher. Also Mr Wilcock and Mr Porter.” Ross Saunders (1984–1989) How did Exeter School help you with your career path?

“I didn’t have specific career goals while I was at school apart from wanting to go on to uni, preferably Oxford. I did get in to Oxford, so I went on to study there, and when I was in my final year there I started thinking about careers and ended up in advertising/film production. So the school did help by making me good enough at languages to get in to Oxford!” Ross Saunders (1984–1989) E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 57

THE EXONIAN 2020

“I

learned my trade from working with exceptional ethnographic specialists from across the world.

Whether they are hunter-gatherers from Borneo or nomadic tribesmen from the Sahara, I’ve tried to absorb as much of their skills, knowledge and lifestyles as possible. I have just completed my Master of Arts in experimental archaeology at Exeter University but have been running my own company (Survival School Ltd www.survivalschool.co.uk) for over two decades.”

Jonny Crockett (1982–1987) Survival Instructor and Wilderness Guide, Survival School Ltd

Old Exonian

exploits

BY ROSIE CROMWELL

“

I can be diving anything from

60m cargo-ship wrecks and war ships, to shallow reefs and drop-off walls packed with hard and soft coral

with any number of sharks in a variety of species passing by.

“W

“I

came up with the idea when I was about 10 years old, but never did anything with the idea as it didn’t seem viable until later on in life. At the age of about 40 I decided to return to my pipe dream, and set up my company. I don’t have any specific tour guiding qualifications, but I do have the attributes to be a tour guide, and work and life experience that I’ve gathered along the way has proved invaluable to the success of my business. Twice I’ve made it into the final of the Wanderlust World Guide of the Year Awards, and last year was voted the Top UK Guide. I’ve certainly found my niche in life!”

Alex Graeme (1984–1989) Owner and Tour Guide, Unique Devon Tours 58 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

hat made me stand out for this position was my experience of working full-time as a diving instructor in the UK for two years. We have a saying in the industry which is: “If you can dive in the UK, you can dive anywhere.” What we mean is that, if you have trained in the UK in some of the most dark, hostile and challenging conditions you can come across, anywhere else where there is crystal clear visibility, warm water and no adverse conditions, is going to be easy for you.”

Ellie Stewart (2009–2017) Extended Range Trimix Instructor, Worldwide Dive Travel

”

COMMEMORATIVE DAYS

Chris Hines on changing the tide Once upon a time Chris Hines MBE was marching into political meetings wearing a wetsuit and gasmask, surfboard under his arm, fuelled by a desire to change the world. Although he was clothed slightly more formally during his visit to Exeter School, that didn’t distract from his passion for environmental change, which still bubbles under the surface. The Exonian’s pupil editor Lily Alford asked him a few questions HOW HAS THE PERSPECTIVE ON THE CLIMATE CRISIS CHANGED SINCE YOU STARTED SURFERS AGAINST SEWAGE (SAS) IN 1990?

Well, there’s a great book called 50 Key Thinkers on the Environment with quotes from ancient religious figures to environmentalists to modern architects.

This has always been talked out by humans, because there have been ongoing changes all the time. But now, compared to 30 years ago, there’s a sense that this can’t be argued against. I see it as the final dawning on people that we have 10 years to sort ourselves out.

When we started SAS back in 1990, we were much more fringe… almost like the hippies of the ‘70s and ‘80s. It was only in the early 2000s that the connection was made, and we realised that technology, among other distractions, has turned humans into consumers. But I think there’s been a shift — I was giving a talk to about 70 ten-year-olds earlier today, and most of them expressed real irritation at their parents’ seemingly constant use of their phones.

Maybe we’re finally realising that technology impacts society, nature and us.

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THE EXONIAN 2020

Take one day a week off your phone. Just switch it off and reconnect with those around you.

IT’S EASY TO BE PESSIMISTIC WHEN YOU READ THE HEADLINES ON THE NEWS, SO HOW DO YOU STAY OPTIMISTIC? Humans are an incredibly resourceful species, but we sometimes use those skills for the wrong end goals. We make things that we think will make us happy. Also, I truly believe the realisation is coming — more and more people are becoming aware of their own power to help the climate. Jonathon Porritt’s The World We Made, set in 2050, demonstrated that our survival is possible using actual data — there will be challenges and adjustments to work through— but we can get through this. It’s you guys, too — the youth. The awareness of the younger generation — which we see through the Extinction Rebellion and school groups like EcoSoc — gives me great hope of what you will achieve.

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR YOUNG ACTIVISTS? Take one day a week off your phone. Just switch it off and reconnect with those around you — play games, go for a walk, talk to each other. It’s so good for you mentally and it brings you closer to nature.

For those of you who are applying to university this year — try and set yourself a challenge of asking them about their Green Rating, and maybe tailor your choices to the eco-friendliest of the bunch.

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When we started SAS back in 1990, we were much more fringe… almost like the hippies of the ‘70s and ‘80s. It was only in the early 2000s that the connection was made, and we realised that technology, among other distractions, has turned humans into consumers.

ART

Artists of the MOMENT

O

ver the year we have gathered a diverse selection of key pieces of impressive artwork which we believe convey the hard work involved in producing these eyecatching pieces.

BY EVIE OLDLAND

Kitty Wenss (Upper Fifth) created a detailed etching of an eye as part of her GCSE coursework.

Francesca Giannachi-Kaye (Lower Sixth) painted an impressive watercolour study in response to the work of the artist Joel Penkman.

Isabelle Bland (Upper Sixth) produced a striking A1 acrylic painting of a set up in a café tying in with her A Level coursework title of ‘Food’.

Tess Hughes (Third Form) created an artistic response page using collage to create a journal-like format.

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 61

THE EXONIAN 2020

Oliver Capps (Middle Fifth) started his GCSE course with an excellent piece of work.

Harmony Evans (Upper Fifth) painted, using watercolour, a detailed study of sweet packets, capturing both highlights and tonal depths.

Tess Gebbie (Upper Sixth) through the development of her coursework title ‘Human Condition’ created an oil composition looking closely at the human embrace.

Aris Chauhan-Barker (Middle Fifth) produced a lino print for his GCSE coursework, incorporating autumnal colours.

Chiara Luxmoore (Upper Sixth) produced a brilliant oil painted response to her A Level coursework title of ‘Fashion’.

Thalia Hill (Third Form) produced a 3D creative artist response to Damian Hirst, including a striking portrait of him.

Sorrel Mitchell (Lower Sixth) created an A2 oil composition in relation to her title of ‘Consumerism’, as she concentrates on the physical process of consumption.

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ART

U5th visit stunning St Ives

D

uring the autumnal half term, GCSE Art pupils in the Upper Fifth visited St Ives in Cornwall for three days of artistic research and experience. Working with local artist Greg Humphries, they visited galleries, sculpture gardens and Porthminster beach, collecting photos and studies for their coursework project, while learning new artistic techniques and exploring the artistic history of the coastal town. The trip took place in the Halloween season, so

BANKSY IN BRISTOL

pupils also had fun carving pumpkins to celebrate.

The group were also able to spend time in the Tate St Ives where they not only saw artwork presented by former Exeter School pupils but were also able to meet and talk with Old Exonian artist and inventor Tom Duggan and watch him create art with porcelain and robotics in real time. It was an instructive and inspiring experience for the young artists of our school and should be highly beneficial to their upcoming GCSE exams. BY EVA CASEY

A

t the beginning of the year our Sixth Formers kick-started their A Level courses by visiting six different art exhibitions across Bristol. This varied from the Arnolfini Gallery, where the pupils were presented with a large-scale exhibition based on feminism, to the Royal West Academy of England, which held an open exhibition on a wide range of artistic themes suiting the variety of topics studied by students across the Sixth Form. The city itself was a source of inspiration; the tour included abstract architecture and street art by the likes of Banksy. A large majority of the street art was related to the prevalent topic of global warming, which tied in perfectly with the Lower Sixth’s topic of consumerism.

BY EVIE OLDLAND

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 63

THE EXONIAN 2020

CONSUMING Fine Art T

he Art department hosted a presentation of Lower Sixth interdisciplinary work based on their theme of consumerism in February. There was an array of work, ranging from fine art and oil paintings of the consumption of food, to sculptural pieces reflecting shop windows and street art. What was particularly notable was the diverse spread of directions in which pupils took their artwork. Some artists considered physical consumption and its effects, whereas others took a more graphic approach, focusing more on the advertisement aspect of consumerism. BY EVIE OLDLAND

64 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

ART

T

Sensational staff artwork

his year we again celebrated the artistic talent of the staff, displaying their creations in our annual Staff Art Show. This year, staff were invited to work on small box canvasses for the exhibition using any subject matter and medium of their choice.

The 25 contributors showed a wide variety of technical skills, including mix media, collograph printing, acrylic painting, textiles and even interactive art. BY EVIE OLDLAND

Back to our foundations

T

he inaugural Alumni Architecture Exhibition at Exeter School took place on Friday 31 January in the Senior School Art Gallery. The event was wellattended by pupils, parents and staff and celebrated the innovative and creative work of 13 past pupils working in the field of architecture, with the alumni spanning the last 43 years. It encompassed both professional practice and undergraduate projects and highlighted a variety of specialisms, including conservation, listed buildings, infrastructure and residential design. BY EVIE OLDLAND E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 65

THE EXONIAN 2020

Art

in the Junior School

E

ven in this most unusual academic year, the artwork has flourished throughout the Junior School and creativity has not been dampened. BY MRS HANDLEY

Autumn term highlights included these fabulous autumn and winter tree pictures. The children used a variety of oil and chalk to create the stunning backgrounds. They then added their silhouette trees on top.

Spring term allowed Lower Two children the opportunity to experiment with water colour techniques. We were really pleased with the results.

The medium of clay proved as popular as ever, and Form One and Upper One spent the spring term investigating and experimenting with techniques. Form One created very cute hedgehogs and even hedgehog houses. They studied the text of The Hodgeheg by Dick King-Smith and enjoyed linking their learning.

Upper One created these beautiful sea turtle clay tiles, linked to their Geography topic of turtles. We loved the colours they chose.

In contrast, the Upper Two children studied the loud colours and features of the Pop Art era. In addition to their own portraits, they worked collaboratively to produce murals based on Warhol’s soup cans.

66 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

With the arrival of remote learning in the summer term came the opportunity to think ‘outside the box’ and the whole school united to focus on the British sculptor and artist, Andy Goldsworthy.

From thorough artist research of his environmental ethos and techniques, to recreating their own nature sculptures, the Junior School did themselves proud.

ART

Upper One pupils made some magnificent Mexican mirrors and fantastic fish all linked to the Aztec topic.

In the latter part of the summer term, we collaborated once more to upcycle bottle tops. We are currently collecting the beautiful and varied patterns and creations to construct a whole school mural. We cannot wait to see the final result!

Lower Two pupils were completely immersed into the world of art with a wonderful selection of lessons all centred around the focus picture of The Battle of San Romano by Paolo Uccello.

This included listening to soundscapes which helped to conjure up great imagery and descriptive writing in English, composing battle music and being picture detectives in History, then unpicking the geometry of the painting in Maths.

This all culminated in a range of artwork based around the picture, from observational close up sketches of the actual picture, to creating fun photos that convey a story or message, to a final collage piece entitled ‘Lockdown Selfie’.

Form One created Roman mosaics fit for an Emperor’s villa!

We are well on our learning journey and have a few more avenues to explore when the Lower Two pupils become Upper Two. You never know, the journey may take us on a return trip to The National Gallery Take One Picture Exhibition in 2021 if we are successful again!

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 67

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COMPUTER SCIENCE

How Computer Science has helped in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic

A

s we all know, the Covid-19 pandemic has been devastating to the economy and society. It has caused mass unemployment, large amounts of national debt but most importantly, the loss of many lives. However, without advances in modern technology in subjects like Computer Science the outcomes would have been even more disastrous.

First of all, back to the beginning of lockdown the ability to quickly generate and update online graphs and predictions of the ‘R’ value and the ‘COVID curve’ meant that the government were informed on how serious the pandemic was going to be so that they could put in the right restrictions at the right time. Even now, while we exit lockdown the government still relies heavily on the data they receive to ease restrictions in order to prevent a second spike. The controversial new Track and Trace app tracks your contacts to see if anyone close to you has tested positive in order to reduce the transmission rate. This obviously comes with some security concerns and plenty of encryption would be required to keep your private information safe.

Secondly, without developments in Computer Science there would be little entertainment available. No Netflix, no playing videogames with your friends, you wouldn’t even to be able to scroll through your Instagram feed! Studying Computer

Science at IGCSE has given me a basic understanding of the complicated processes occurring behind the scenes when I stream a video. A request is sent from my device and routed around the world to the right servers to find the right files.

These are then divided into many, many small packets of data which are all labelled up and sent back to my device. It then reassembles them into the right order and interprets the 1s and 0s of binary as video and sound to play through my TV. And the WiFi router manages to keep track of all the different devices online at the same time so that I never end up with a snippet of my brother’s programme in the middle of mine.

Little wonder that sometimes it takes a moment to buffer the data!

Personally I think we realise how grateful we are for technology, just to have something enjoyable to pass the time and keep in contact when we are unable to meet face to face.

Finally, it has given us the possibility to continue working remotely with the ability to receive and return school work easily without needing to post bundles of worksheets around Devon. Overall technology, and Computer Science, have played a large role in keeping the country going during these tough times, whether it’s saving lives or setting you some school work to keep you learning! BY CARRICK BUCCI E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 69

THE EXONIAN 2020

MINECRAFT CLUB O

ver the course of the year Computer Science clubs have been a source of great excitement to pupils in the Junior School. Alongside the Lego Robots and Makey Makey Club that have run in previous years, this year saw a new addition — Minecraft Club. Throughout the year this has been a popular choice with our younger pupils.

In the lead up to World Book Day in March the librarians worked hard to build a Minecraft world based on different book worlds. It featured scenes from Holes, Matilda, His Dark Materials, Alice in Wonderland and The Magic Faraway Tree, among others. As part of the World Book Day celebrations all pupils in the school explored the book world in their lessons and tried to identify the various scenes.

Minecraft has also proved to be a great tool for other cross-curricular links. Form One pupils explored The

70 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

Fantastic Mr Fox world linked to their English topic. Upper One built farms linked to their Geography farming unit. They considered how they could invent machines to improve an aspect of farming. As part of Form One’s Egyptian Day, pupils built pyramids and sphinxes, expressing their knowledge of the Ancient Egyptians within a different format.

One of the best things about Minecraft Club has been that it has been able to continue throughout the summer term. During Form One’s Roman Day, pupils logged in from home to explore the virtual Roman worlds of Exeter and Bath that had been built within Minecraft. In the club, pupils were able to log in from their homes across Devon and beyond and whilst they could not be physically together in school, they were able to work together virtually in Minecraft to build the Junior School.

BY MRS MORGAN

DESIGN TECHNOLOGY

F1 IN SCHOOLS

T

he F1 in Schools South West Regional Final was held on Wednesday 26 February at the Bristol Science Park. Three Exeter School teams called Saola, Momentum and Energia entered the competition against nine other teams with the aim of testing and racing their designs and achieving a place in the National Finals in April.

The competition asks teams to design a brand, raise sponsorship and design, develop and race a vehicle to a strict set of regulations, much like real F1. The pupils design their compressed gaspowered racing cars using 3D CAD then CNC mill and

3D printed the final design.

Designs were validated using the school low speed smoke tunnel to observe the air movement over the designs and teams also used CFD virtual wind tunnel software.

Teams are assessed on their verbal presentation and pit displays to explain their activities to a panel of judges from Airbus and Rolls Royce amongst others. The racing down a 25-metre track is much like drag racing, a traffic light system tests team’s reaction times, which is added to the track time. Momentum’s Barnaby O’Brien consistently posted reaction times around 0.2 seconds. This added to the

best track time across 25 metres of 1.028 seconds gave a winning time of 1.239 seconds — ­­ enough to win the professional class category with a very low drag design made very close to the minimum weight permitted. Momentum won the awards for fastest car and best engineered car in the Professional Class.

Team Saola won praise for their unique environmental concept to promote the rare Saola, winning the award for marketing and sponsorship.

Freddie Fitt said: “One thing I learnt from the event was that you need to have something unique about you that makes you stand out to the judges.”

Energia also won the fastest car in the Development Class with a vehicle that impressed the judges by not breaking any scrutineering rules and thus incurring no penalty points. Will Olney and Charlie Harvey were responsible for the design.

Momentum and Energia secured places in the twoday National Final held in Bristol in April, where the track was due to be under the wing of Concord at Aerospace Bristol.

Unfortunately, this event was cancelled, however a virtual event streamed live is due to take place in July. BY MR ROSE

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 71

THE EXONIAN 2020

Green power

T

he Greenpower team have made great progress this year: the electric endurance vehicle is almost ready to race. The teams have progressed with their work on the drivetrain and electrical system and were hoping to compete in the 1.5-hour race events this season. The team have been receiving additional support from Kirsten Berggren, an alumna who has worked with Jaguar Land Rover. The final development and testing will commence in the next academic year. BY MR ROSE

Inspiring crafts

GCSE projects ranged from lamps and furniture to mechanical toys this year and great skill was shown while developing and crafting these ideas.

The A Level projects featured a working water wheel charity collection point, golf putting ball dispenser, and mountain bike maintenance stands among other projects. BY MR ROSE

72 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

DESIGN TECHNOLOGY

AUTOMATED AUTOMOBILES D

esign and technology pupils from the Middle Fifth visited the Jaguar, Land Rover and Morgan automotive factories in the midlands on Monday 9 March. The visits were preceded by indoor electric go-karting and virtual reality simulator racing at Teamworks in Birmingham on Sunday afternoon. Mr Rose, Mr Lowles, Mrs Tamblyn and Mr Mackintosh accompanied the pupils.

Both Will Olney and Beatrix Wickers posted some fast times around Brands Hatch driving Formula Fords in the simulators. The Jaguar F-type production line at Castle Bromwich was visited by half the group on Monday morning while another group visited the Land Rover production line at Solihull, catching a glimpse of the new Defender model while there. The huge investment and automated production lines were fascinating. In one assembly hall 350 robots and 50 people assembled the aluminium Range Rover chassis, a job

I really enjoyed the two factories, however the Morgan factory was the highlight for me.

WILL OLNEY

I really enjoyed the go karting and the simulators and I would recommend it to everyone.

OLLIE STEWART

completed 15 years ago by 1,500 people. The pupils pondered the minimal five hours stock of parts held at the facility and the importance of the supply chain.

Later that afternoon the pupils toured the production facility at Morgan. This stark contrast is like stepping back in time, where the craftspeople of Malvern build up a rolling chassis which is then wheeled into the ash wooden framing room, and from there has its aluminium body hand formed over the frame. BY MR ROSE E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 73

IN GOOD

COMPANY This year, Exeter School’s thespians and musicians took on the considerable challenge of performing the hit Broadway musical Company. Hundreds of hours of rehearsals later, the finished product was an enormous success — and we’re not just talking about the boys’ dance moves…

PLOT: It’s Bobbie’s 35th birthday and he struggles to think of a wish as he blows out his candles. The bachelor, surrounded by married friends, is uncertain whether he should resign himself to what he has or whether he should wish for a wife of his own. Over a series of dinner parties, dates, and thoughtful conversations, Bobbie contemplates the benefits of marriage through observing his friends’ unconventional relationships, and begins to understand why he is still single.

74 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

It’s been a really exciting experience and a challenge that I’ve enjoyed taking on.

ARIANA BEKA CATHY

The rehearsal process has been really incredible. The whole cast is like a family.

ANNA BLUE-RENSHAW CATHY

It was exciting to see the whole play come alive.

ALICE BRADY CHORUS

I found that finally getting in front of the audience and being able to interact with them took the performance to the next level.

CHARLIE KILLEN BOBBIE

Company was the sort of production that gave stage hands sore feet. A whirlwind of props, songs and dances, it was an amazing experience that ably demonstrated the depths of talent within the school, even among those who normally don’t get involved in school productions. It was spectacular.”

ROSIE CROMWELL

E X E T E R S CSTAGE H O O L .MANAGER O R G . U K 75

THE EXONIAN 2020

THE

TRIAL A NO TE FROM TH E DI RE CTOR

T

his play holds a very special place in my heart: the visceral, physical and cerebral style of Berkoff has stayed with me ever since rehearsing it as my own A Level piece. The original story by Kafka is a dense, complex and unfinished story that few 15-year-olds would access easily. However, the mastery with which Berkoff has adapted this story to suit his style has allowed us to focus on creating a wild, ever-changing world that embraces the confusion of Joseph K as he attempts to fight a foe that refuses to fully reveal itself. I find it best to embrace the chaos and accept that some of the answers to your questions simply do not exist.

Working with this talented group of young people, who have also embraced the chaotic nature of this play (and, at times, its production!), has been an absolute delight.

BY MR HARKNET T

76 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

DRAMA

CAST: K – Emily O’Connor Guards – Kyra Stout and Oscar Lovell Inspector – Alex James Narrator – Isabelle Bill Mrs G – Megan Rhodes Miss B – Faye Chapman Whipper – Lauren Cornfield Assistant Manager – Evie Murray Laundress – Summer Hill Student – Theo Richards

Bailiff – Luca Di-Vincenzo Leni – Rosie Hobbs Huld – Jodie Blackmore Block – Alex Bartle Titorelli – Sophie Shore-Nye Judge – Will Olney Priest – Louis Sadeghi Chorus – Phoebe Jerreat, Katie Clark and Adam Norsworthy

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 77

THE EXONIAN 2020

Thespian three join NYT Every year over 6,000 young people audition for places which are limited to between 600700. This year, for the first time, Exeter School hosted a day of workshops and individual auditions arranged by Head of Drama Mr Brough

E

xeter School is proud to announce that three pupils have been offered membership to the National Youth Theatre. Upper Fifth pupil Harriet Bridgwater and Lower Sixth pupils Stephanie Seedhouse and Emma Bates have all been offered places with the sought after theatre company.

“The NYT is highly competitive and therefore it is a huge achievement for Emma, Stephanie and Harriet, who join fellow Exeter School pupil Rachel Honeyball who is already a member, and we heartily congratulate them. It is a testament to the dramatic talent we have here at Exeter School.”

Emma said she was beyond happy to find out that she had

78 QDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

a place and was so excited to get started.

“I could not have done it without the help from the school and especially Mr Brough who helped me prepare my audition monologue. I take Drama A Level and am hoping to carry on with it after school in further education. This opportunity opens many doors and contacts for the future that will undoubtedly help me improve and pave my way into this industry.”

The pupils are now life members and will take part in a training course — via Zoom — with industry leaders and professional coaches.

Once this course is complete, they will have access to all of the courses and training

the company offers, as well as having the opportunity to audition for any of the productions they put on.

The NYT tends to put on about 15 productions a year, performing in theatres such as the Soho Theatre, the Criterion Theatre, the Garrick Theatre, Café de Paris and the Southwark Playhouse.

When members are 18 they can audition for the NYT REP company which tours shows nationally and internationally.

BY MR BROUGH

DRAMA

La Nativité

E

arly December saw one of the highlights of the Form One calendar — La Nativité. Each of the Form One classes gave fantastic performances of a specially created nativity play spoken entirely in French! They were able to use words and phrases learned in French lessons while enacting the Christmas story in a wonderful array of colourful costumes. They also sang two songs in French, including Vive le Vent (to the tune of Jingle Bells), alongside the traditional Away in a Manger and We Three Kings in English.

Every pupil was involved in both speaking and singing and parents were able to enjoy a great deal of superb acting as well as some excellent French!

Joyeux Noël! BY MRS GUTHRIE

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WE’LL MEET AGAIN

I

n more normal times, the Junior School children of Upper Two would have been working very hard learning lines, songs, dance routines and putting them all together to perform a musical extravaganza over the summer term. However, Covid-19 has put paid to that.

Not to be beaten by these extreme circumstances, the Junior School came up with the Alternative Upper Two End of Year Production: We’ll Meet Again — a wartime collection

of sketches, songs and a bit of dancing which we filmed over two weeks.

English and Drama Coordinator Mrs Pettet said the children were fantastic.

“They learnt lines in double quick time and took to performing in front of the camera, using a green screen, acting out several different scenarios within their class ‘bubbles’ and all while socially distancing,” she said.

Mrs Guthrie rehearsed the songs with each ‘bubble’ and

Revd Tom recorded each group separately. Through the magic of modern technology, Revd Tom merged them into one cohesive choir with accompaniment by Mr Pettet.

“The children took it all in their stride and approached it with minimum fuss and huge enthusiasm,” said Mrs Pettet.

“The result is an end of year film that is a fitting tribute to this wonderful year group – The Upper Two Class of 2020.”

BY MRS PETTET

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ECONOMICS

Fascinating Finance

T

he Economics Department took 15 Upper Sixth pupils to London in December 2019. The trip started with a guided walking tour of the City of London, explaining the historic development of financial institutions in London, from the growth

of the Guilds and the Stock Exchange to the establishment of the Bank of England. After visiting a light and sound art installation at the 180 The Stand gallery, pupils had a chance to visit Hamley’s toy store, and the Christmas Market on the South Bank. Dinner in Soho

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capped off the evening.

The following day, pupils attended an Economics conference where leading Economists including Tim Harford (the Undercover Economist), Kamal Ahmed (BBC Economics Editor), Hugh Pym (BBC Health Editor) and Geoff Tily (Senior

Economist at the TUC) talked about various economic challenges facing the UK. Special thanks to Dr Bawn who helped ensure the smooth running of the trip with Mr Mackintosh.

BY MR MACKINTOSH

ENGLISH & LIBRARY

A magical night N

ow into the second year of the magical experience of seeing Exeter School turn into Hogwarts, we sent some of our house elves (and possibly the odd goblin) to navigate the dangers of the newly-reopened Chamber of Secrets…

Presided over by the indomitable Professor Umbridge (played by the amazing Mrs Jackson), one of the greatest experiences of this year’s Harry Potter Night was the Great Feast, wherein an assortment of delectable foods were presented to our lucky set of Third Form witches and wizards. They seemed wildly enthused by the quality of the sausage rolls and themed cupcakes, and before long, the food had disappeared! At this point, it was finally time for the long awaited sorting of houses amongst the many eager pupils. With six House Elves, across four Houses — Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor — the children were spoilt for choice. The pupils picked their designated house out of the Sorting Hat. The potions class was nothing but magic. Professor

Morley turned water into wine, before also creating a self-stirring potion, a scrying ball to see the future and a plethora of colourful potions, much to the delight of the watching witches and wizards. With this wonderful new-found knowledge, they then went on to create their own magical bubbles and balloons that could grow themselves. We ended with Professor Booth who showed us a myriad of mystical tricks, from the roaring flames of the Norwegian Ridgeback to the vivid colours of the Chinese Fireball. The audience was enthralled by the spectacle.

Our entire school was transformed into Hogwarts and the pupils were given free reign to explore the different classrooms where they could take part in various activities including playing quidditch, making butterbeer and trying Bertie Bott’s Every Flavoured Beans. They marvelled at spells in the forbidden forest and fought a basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets. They even got to meet the famous Dumbledore, played by Mr Griffin himself. All the while, they were challenged to find hidden letters within each classroom in order to solve E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 81

THE EXONIAN 2020

an anagram and to partake in various mystical activities, which would win them house points to bring them one step closer to a chance of winning eternal glory in the form of the House Cup. While all of the pupils were enchanted by the magical activities, Luc Barrett and

Sophie Gledstone (Lower Sixth) were making magic of their own, producing a video of the night. They visited all the activities and using equipment including SLR cameras and sliding tripods, they produced an enchanting video, still available for all to view on the school’s social

media accounts. We would like to thank both Luc and Sophie for their hard work throughout the night.

Whilst many staff were involved in the production of such an incredible night, an enormous thank you must go to Mrs Jackson, our school librarian, who crafted

a stunningly immersive night for all. Her hard work and inspirational management make these nights possible, and we can’t wait for next year’s event already.

BY EVA CASEY, TAMARA LETTS, EDDIE MAYALL, LIV PORTER, CATHERINE BROWN

TEKI MARKETING

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xeter School’s very own Luc Barrett manages the video production company Teki Marketing outside of school (along with four other colleagues). Luc’s speciality is managing the overall business, and he also enjoys some work as a director when it comes to shooting the videos. The group has been involved in a lot of ambitious projects, all of which have been successful. Luc explains that the most ambitious project that the group have ever undertaken was a video they shot for an international technology business: “they intended to show their video to some of the leading firms in the field.

We had to be very specific with the image we portrayed so as to complement their existing and established brand, including the music choice, frame compositions, even down to the colour grading. Despite this, the video has been a real success for our client, and has been used on trade stands all over the world as well as on the internet.”

The most challenging project Luc feels he has ever taken on was when he was in France filming a concert in a town on behalf of the town council. Luc was filming alone, which didn’t make the project any easier, with it being a live event.

Luc was on his toes for seven hours filming the concert. It was all a success in the end, and Luc added another great video to his portfolio. Luc has big plans for the company in the future and hopes that Teki Marketing will grow and become a successful and renowned business in the media industry. Visit www.tekimarketing.com. BY RAFF PIGGOTT GILL

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ENGLISH & LIBRARY

Creative Writing

Competition T

his year, The Exonian ran a creative writing competition, open to all year groups. Pupils were given the prompt ‘all that glitters is not gold’ to use at some stage in their story, which could be any genre or style. The entries we received demonstrated a vast array of talent and imagination from our pupils, and we are proud to be able to print the winners here, as well as some extracts from runners up ­— the judging was no easy task!

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THE EXONIAN 2020

T

he winner of the 500800 word competition was Beth Rayner, Middle Fifth. We were really impressed with the beautiful use of imagery here, creating a tale which is both evocative and focused, and intriguing.

Congratulations, Beth!

T

here are places further than most people go, that scrape the edges of crinkled parchment maps. Places surrounded by fortresses of solemn trees, where only the bravest, or the most stupid, carve out a place for themselves in the isolated villages that scatter the land. Though the sun shines brightly overhead, few rays ever reach the ground. Many travel towards these lands, drawn by tales of hidden riches and jewels, but be warned travelers, all that glitters is not gold.

They say he came from far away, that bold adventurer. Stood among the villagers and told them of his cunning plans, his daring deeds, of how he would one day be richer than a king, the king of kings! They warned him then, of the way the forest seems to swallow those who enter its dark and deep depths, how the cries of its birds sound almost almost like screams, but he scoffed at their cautionary tales, renounced them as legends told to unnerve those who wish to make their fortunes. So they showed him the narrow path into the forest, and sent him on his way with only their good wishes to guide him.

The path was almost too small for him astride his sturdy horse, and the brambles crowding the edges of the trail seemed to snatch at the horse’s hooves, clutching at his heels as he passed. The trees stooped over him, and although it was barely noon, it felt more like twilight. He held his head high, distracted himself from the rustling in the bushes and the way the trees seemed to be watching his every move. Though the undergrowth was wild, the small path itself was immaculately kept. That should have been his first warning, for no human hand had swept the fallen leaves from his way. He had a map to guide him, sold to him for an extravagant price by a merchant of dubious reputation. But though he tried his utmost to follow the inked directions, he seemed to be travelling in endless circles. It was not a great loss then, when the wind snatched the map from his grasping fingertips. Maybe he hummed to himself as travelled further into the trees, but stopped when the echo came back distorted, as though the forest itself was mocking him. Maybe he tried to convince himself that the chittering in the twisting branches was just the sounds of squabbling squirrels, not something more sinister, but still kept glancing nervously upwards.

Maybe he saw something, a glittering light, beckoning him away from the path.

Maybe he followed it deeper, filled with greed for what he thought lay ahead, dreams of gold crowding his head.

When his horse returned to the village alone, a wild glint in its staring eyes, nobody was surprised. They unpacked its saddle bags of uneaten food and money, and led his horse to the crowded stables, still full of the horses of previous fools. Just another tale to tell their children. Another way to warn those who looked for wealth. And sometimes when they listened closely, they could almost imagine they could still hear his cries.

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ENGLISH & LIBRARY

R

eading the entries for this competition has taken us to the beaches of Normandy in World War Two and to 18th century England; to glamorous catwalks and nightmare schools. The range of ideas that the Exeter School pupils took from the same prompt was wonderful to see: there couldn’t just be one prize. So with this in mind, here is a short extract from the story we have decided to award second prize.

Although this author doesn’t want to be named, their words speak for their talent. Congratulations!

L

ots of things glitter to Bella. Eyes glitter. Long tear encrusted eyelashes glitter. They still glitter as the saline solution leaves a tangible trail that can be traced onto the tongue. Bared teeth glitter. Blood glitters as it seeps from wounds, sometimes just a trickle, sometimes a gushing, glittering current, permeating clothes, draining the chamber that holds it. Because once it’s all gone that is all that’s left. An empty hole. Mirrors glitter. Foreign currents glitter as they break the shoreline frothing and foaming at the mouth. Bella watches them snake away, desperately clutching at anything they can seize, you could almost believe that they wouldn’t return, like clockwork, three seconds later.

Lots of things glitter to Bella, but none of them are gold.

Anonymous

W

e also asked the school to have a go at writing Flash Fiction of 10-50 words. This genre is increasingly popular in the world of writing competitions, requiring serious care to ensure that every single word serves its purpose. The winner of this competition was the entry we felt achieved this perfectly; reminiscent of the six-word story “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” popularly attributed to Ernest Hemingway and frequently called the shortest story ever written. This entry is both complete unto itself as suggestive of so much more beyond its few words. Congratulations to Amber Moeller, Middle Fifth, on her brilliant winning story: To-do: 1. Pick up suit from the dry cleaner 2. Buy white lilies for the service

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 85

THE EXONIAN 2020

Dear Santa…

A

mong the many missives sent to the North Pole over the festive season are some from the great and good of literature, past and present.

Can you guess which famous author wanted what for Christmas? (Some are written from the author’s point of view, others are from famous characters). CONTRIBUTORS:

1. Now, here’s the deal Santa, since you’re just a phoney made up for stupid kids: I’m only writing this goddamn note to kill some time. I’m all laid up and awful wretched cause this guy named Robert’s got all mean about some lie I told him and won’t have me near his goddamn party and I’ve only got a couple of cigarettes left. If you really want to know, I’m miserable and there isn’t nothing I want for Christmas. That’s just as well, since you’re a phoney, like a lotta people - only difference is, you got that red suit which makes it more goddamn obvious if you ask me. I mean, it looks kinda swell and I like red and all, but honestly Santa, I figure I’ll just lay low this Christmas okay? If you’re passing through for the kids or whatever, leave me a new lighter will ya?

J.D.S.

TAMARA LETTS, ELEANOR CLARK, SOPHIE GLEDSTONE

3. Dear St. Nick,

I am writing to you 2. It was a grea to confess my deepest , darkest desires. The ap of light which shrot and swathed immensity proaching demand of which I will soon reve yet impalpable, asuded me, impenetrable al, stems from the de pths regarding the sky I found myself of my artificial soul , on an d I can only hope that th at day of the furthest fog some you listen with an op en mind, free of prej determined then, 37 years ago. I had udice.

Lo neliness has plagued a li tt le lad of little heart, me, as everyday a crus that there was no hing sen se of isolation consum es the darkest recesses whom I write. S such being as the one to of my mind; I fear it wi ll turn me to a savage occurred, great mince then, matters have , an d at corrupt my soul with te rs of incalculable force which have le the cruellest sense d of m de e pr to av a new - and lesser ity. However, this co - understanding. rruption may be reparable through the me, then, truth: thI entreat you to grant cr ea ti on of a sentient mate, one who will pr cleave to in this fo at insoluble thing I ov id e m e with a cocoon of unconditional love presided over the g. Tell me, patriarch and , and therefore a life w ar m es time of t eve on which snow contentment. It’s th ever fell, tell me yo is an ch or u sh of ho al pe l no th at acts t deny me sweet as a single facet of sa repose in the ster nity for my tortured mind, me this: might Inest of truths and answer and I beg of you, thou gh your divine state for Christmas? have a new fountain pen of omnipotence, to see J.C the lack of human ity, and vast injustice in the way society has struck me from existence.

Yours sincerely, Monster

4. Dea re st, Y es, of whe n I stood out course, it was fi ne ye st erd ay sparklin g lig ht of on th e beach, whe re th e sh ards of all my hoth e su n on th e sea m ad e child in th e frock, pe s. Y es, of course, si ng s th e 5. I realise th is seems an un ye s, ca ll th e bi rds lily-white on th e sa nd an d fathomable re an quest - but co d ye s th e waves brea k. as k, what is th ere nsidering you Y ou have magic as your ally I do not believ m e with your ta lk to as k? Why do you both er e it is beyond the of re th al e se m s of possibilit a an d th e sa ndth e waves? T he re, y. For Christm an d I would like to as be young aga open about m e. T I a m free an d th e world is in . p hi re M nk se y of n t th d ays are filled is, an d th e th ro bb heart of th e crowd with the monoto in g of working lif ny e and I yearn by d ay, by night, ed, sm ok y town, whe re I sit, for ete th by os rn th e al e su tu mmer days whe rn in g of th e year, lock ed up, lock ed n the sun was brighter and st rawberries wer into th e wat ers, w in or lock ed out. D rop a pe bble e sweeter.

Nowadays it seems the trees th e world. Wat ch at ch th e ripples, out, wid e into h av e lost their emerald leaves , flower s ne ve th e world, an d th th e leaves at th e d eath of r bloom and I e am ra in tr at app th ed in the disco e d eath of th e sk y: th ey fa ll- free. So ntented pain of winter. I wish to be blissfully ag ai nst a grey sk I stood th ere, ye st erd ay, bl ack unaware of the darkne ss in the world neve r fe ll, an d I y, to rn up fo r sn owfl ak es which aga spend my day in, and s painting cou th ere ca n be on ly kn ew th at, if trut h is st ea dfast, ntryside la on n e ds th ca in pe g s th under the shad is seas ha ve. I m ust ha ve e of a yew tree EW a room of my own. on I wou ld .

L ove, V.W. Answers: 1. J.D.Salinger 2. Joseph Conrad 3.Mary Shelley 4. Virginia Woolf 5. Evelyn Waugh

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ENGLISH & LIBRARY

POETIC TALENTS I

n September the Junior School English department ran its annual Poetry Competition to coincide with National Poetry Day. The theme this year was ‘Truth’. As well as having winners and runners up from all year groups, we also introduced our first Junior School Poet Laureates. Two overall winners, Monty Houghton and Sienna Mitchell, became the Junior School’s promoters of poetry throughout the year. They created poems for special occasions in the Junior School, for example, Remembrance, Christmas, Easter and lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Their poetry was beautiful, thoughtful and surprising. This is certainly a tradition we will continue in the Junior School.

BY MRS HARDY

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 87

THE EXONIAN 2020

MACBETH

A

s part of Shakespeare Schools Festival, pupils of Lower Two and Upper Two Drama Club performed Shakespeare’s Macbeth at Exeter Phoenix in November. The children learned the outline of the story, worked on short scenes, worked on improvisation and experimented with style. As a result we had an unusual portrayal of the witches as little girls in white, singing the famous “hubble bubble

toil and trouble” lines. This provided an unusual and unnerving dimension. The cast created the set using their bodies only — no props.

The castle, complete with drawbridge, was hugely imaginative. After many weeks rehearsing after school and an intensive Saturday, the children were ready to collaborate with professional directors from the Festival Team in a day-long workshop. The

children performed the play in the evening to a packed audience. As one of three schools taking part they displayed maturity and interpreted the story with exceptional clarity.

One pupil describes the experience: “We watched Ide Primary School perform Henry V and the real performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

They were both very good and during the interval we

SPEAK UP! T

The panel of judges consisted of the Headmaster of Senior School, the Headmistress of Junior School, and the Head of Drama in the Senior School

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he Exeter Junior School Public Speaking Competition has become a highlight for pupils in Upper Two. This competition is the culmination of a term’s work looking at how persuasive language is used in all areas of life. The pupils work in groups of three, with each participant generally needing to know their speech off by heart, which should be on a topic about current issues of debate in society. Each of the participants has a time limit and they will have to answer an unseen question posed by one of the judges. A winning team from each of our Upper Two classes present their arguments to a panel of

discussed what we thought were the best bits. Then it was our turn. We all worked so hard and now we had the chance to show everyone how much we had learned.

We were all very nervous but we used breathing exercises to calm ourselves down. We got on to the stage and took our positions. It was fantastic — we loved every second.

Our parents told us how much they had enjoyed the performance.” BY MRS PETTET

judges. The winning team receive a plaque, plus their names on our impressive Exeter Junior School Public Speaking Competition shield.

This year, the winners were Toby Kenefick (Speaker), Alexander Ludman (Chair), and Frankin Harreld (Vote of Thanks). Their topic was “Should developing countries have the same rules on climate change applied to them as to wealthy, first world countries?” The team was then part of the Rotary Club’s Youth Speaks Competition, where they performed brilliantly and were put through to the Regional Finals (later postponed due to Covid-19). We are hugely proud of them. BY MRS HARDY

ENGLISH & LIBRARY

Characters we will remember forever!

O

n Thursday 5 March, World Book Day 2020 was set in motion with the prancing of furry paws, a shoal of rainbow fish and all-round creative costume excellence!

Our playground was truly vibrant with colourful characters from our most treasured books, delving into our memory banks and recalling the many wonderful books our community of adults and children have read. Pupils were delighted to parade their costumes on stage, accompanied by singing, dancing, clapping and hilarity.

The celebrations were introduced by our pupil librarians eloquently and with enthusiasm in an assembly which revealed each World Book Day activity a chapter at a time. The librarians also played a large role in selecting and organising the activities such as the Minecraft ‘Book Realms’ they designed during Library Club for other pupils to explore in Computer Science lessons throughout the week.

An exciting challenge was assigned to each class; to decorate their door as a book cover, illustrating the wide range of genres we read. Each class chose a book that represented their class and the doors were transformed into innovative book

covers, donning underpants, crayons and characters galore, attracting the attention of all book lovers.

Throughout the day all year groups were treated to workshops with award winning author Tamsin Cooke. The workshops were interactive and highly entertaining. She shared tips on writing exciting adventure stories, using her Cat Burglar and Stunt Double series. She talked about her inspiration, research, character and plotting. We delved into the world of spirit animals, cat burglars and thrilling stunts, and even watched footage of a real stunt woman!

Librarian Evie Handley (L2P) said: “I loved my workshop. We literally let our imaginations run wild.”

Our School Library Service Advisor, Nicola Cowling, talked to the librarians about the new stock they had selected for the library. Throughout the year, librarians add to a wish list and each term we stock up our library with the children’s own book choices.

The librarians loved hearing about various poignant and humorous stories and will enjoy passing on their recommendations to other pupils. Izzy Wills said: “‘I loved hearing Ms Cowling’s extracts from the books. It makes me

want to read all of them!”

Excitement filled the air at 3.40pm each day when the Book Fair opened.

It was very clear that our pupils relished the chance to browse through and purchase new books. L2B particularly enjoyed their preview of the book selection and enjoyed choosing a book to advertise, using their persuasive skills and expert opinions of what children love to read.

We ended our World Book Day celebrations with a suspense-filled writing session in Comets Club. Using various writing techniques, we created suspense and made our audience feel desperate to know what happened next. Such techniques included short sentences to build up tension, powerful verbs, dark shadows with hidden characters and menacing beasts.

In honour of World Book Day, Art Club recycled old books creating beautiful pieces of art that represented a book that was meaningful and memorable to them. Books give us so much joy whether old, new, long, short, funny or factual. Exeter Junior School thoroughly enjoyed World Book Day 2020 and long may we continue to be a book-loving community. BY MRS HARDY E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 89

THE EXONIAN 2020

INTREPID EXPLORERS

O

n a blustery day in October, the Third Form headed to Beer to explore the Caves and walk along the Jurassic Coastline. They were treated to an exhaustive history of the caves which included the scandal of a covered-up murder as well as hidden priests and smuggled contraband. The afternoon was spent battling some strong onshore winds as the pupils moved eastwards along the coast towards Beer. Fortunately, the rain stayed away as we followed the cliff-line taking in the Hooken landslip of 1790. For a lucky few (the faster walking sets!) there was an ice cream waiting on arrival in Beer before returning to school.

The Middle Fifth were treated to two field trips over the course of the year. Their first visit was to Dawlish Warren which allowed them to collect data on a number

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of different physical themes in order to understand the importance of the physical processes and sea defences that operate along the coastline. It also served as a revision session of all the engineering strategies that were taught in class.

Their second visit was to Bristol to look at some more methods of data collection relating to congestion of Bristol city centre. A boat trip around the Harborside also enabled the pupils to see the significant changes since deindustrialisation. Head of Geography, Mr Hyde said: “A trip like this is invaluable in helping the pupils to see how Bristol, such a dynamic and beautiful city, has evolved to the urban space of today.�

The Lower Sixth Geographers visited Brampford Speke to further enhance their understanding of the fluvial processes and landforms that occur in the

GEOGRAPHY

Exe Valley. They also had the opportunity to see how the settlement at Brampford Speke had changed over the last few decades in terms of its population and services. The pupils spent the afternoon analysing the Exeter flood defences that keep the floodwater at bay.

A nice walk from Exwick through to the quay allowed the pupils to recognise the strategic importance of the many engineering strategies implemented along this busy stretch of water.

To extend their learning beyond their studies of A Level Geography, 12 Sixth Form pupils attended the University of Plymouth’s Geohazards Conference to enjoy a number of experts discussing a range of natural hazards, and how they have impacted societies and their environments. The five lectures not only developed a greater appreciation of some of the themes studied in class, but also showed how Geography, supported by science, can be used to understand geohazards today.

BY MR BIRD

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 91

THE EXONIAN 2020

Lulworth Cove FARMWISE

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upils in Upper One experienced a fun-filled and hands-on day at the Farmwise event at Westpoint Arena. This was a wonderful experience to gain a better understanding about the farming industry and to bring their autumn term topic of ‘Farming in Devon’ to life. The children spent the day in small groups where they had ample opportunities to experience different aspects of farming. Children participated in a number of workshops, including: bread making, milking cows, sheep shearing, sausage making, vegetable planting, environmental lessons, plus many many more! BY MISS ROBINSON

Exeter walks

L

ower Two braved winds and unpredictable showers to walk into Exeter on separate days during the spring term. This was to aid their learning on Exeter and to study land use around the city centre.

The Junior School children spotted several areas of multiple use in Princesshay and the High Street. They also compared the shopping experience of the High Street

and Princesshay. After a brief break in the Library cafe they then walked around the Northernhay area and through Gandy Street to the Cathedral Green. The children were very knowledgeable about the city, sharing information with one another from their previous leaflet research. They even squeezed through the smallest street in Europe. BY MISS ROBINSON

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U

pper Two pupils spent an educational day at Lulworth Cove as part of their learning on ‘Coasts’.

Although the sun was not shining for us this year the children still gained valuable knowledge to support them with their learning back in the classroom. The rangers at the centre spoke to the children about the threats to the Jurassic Coast before taking the group on a guided walk to view Stair Hole. At this stage, the pupils paused to complete a field sketch of this spectacular formation, focusing on the different costal features they could see. As we explored

Lulworth Cove, the children learnt about different rock types as well as how erosion occurs. During the afternoon the heavens opened!

Unfortunately, we were unable to make the walk to Durdle Door (although some were quite pleased that they didn’t have to face the steep climb). However, the rain did not stop us: a short bus ride round and we were able to catch a glimpse of Durdle Door. It was a brilliant day and allowed the children to gain the relevant information they needed to develop their understanding of rocks, erosion and coastal threats.

BY MISS ROBINSON

GEOGRAPHY

Ocean depths to mountain tops

G

eography has been jam-packed this year with a number of exciting topics covered across all the year groups. Form One enjoyed their walk around the school in the autumn term, led by Mrs Jones. This was part of their studies on the topic of Kampong Ayer, comparing the similarities and differences of this small community in Borneo to the area around Exeter School.

Upper One thoroughly enjoyed their topic on sea turtles during the spring term.

They were all keen to find out the reasons why these

reptiles are endangered and what can be done to protect them. Local author Jo Earlam spent an afternoon with Upper One. She read her story Tuamor the Turtle and spoke about the effects of plastic on our oceans and sea turtles. Upper One enjoyed linking their Geography learning to their Art work, and they were all successful at making a beautiful clay tile that included an underwater scene and of course, a sea turtle.

Lower Two very much enjoyed their practical lessons with Miss Wright whilst

learning about rivers. The children loved being outside and acting out the different features of a river. There were: waterfalls, meanders, upper course, U-shaped valleys, oxbow lakes and not forgetting the source, or in this case the sauce (the ketchup kind)!

Upper Two completed some superb work on mountains during the spring term. They all took on the challenge of demonstrating their knowledge and understanding of mountains as part of a home learning project. They were given the

freedom to present their work in a way of their choosing.

Miss Wright and Miss Robinson were astonished by the quality of the posters, models, pictures, Lego and even mountain cakes that came pouring in to school.

The summer term was slightly different for us all but all the pupils were able to complete a fantastic selection of work via Google Classroom, rounding off another great year of Geography learning in the Junior School. BY MISS ROBINSON

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 93

THE EXONIAN 2020

BATTLEFIELDS

2019

T

he fourteenth consecutive Exeter School WW1 Battlefields Trip to Belgium and France was enjoyed by 113 Lower Fifth pupils and 12 staff. As usual we visited a range of sites in the Ypres and Somme theatres on the Western Front and learnt about the campaigns and strategies used. Again there was much debate about the futility of war and the tragic loss of human life. In the recent centenary years there has been a reevaluation of the view that the war was pointless and conducted by incompetent generals, the “lions led by donkeys” perspective popularised by the highly entertaining Blackadder series and expounded by historians such as AJP Taylor, John Laffin and Sir John Keegan. Work by Gary Sheffield, Sir Max Hastings and Gordon Corrigan, for example, challenges this view and looks objectively at the problems faced by the high command and the issues of fighting the first major war in the Industrial Age where the combatants had almost unlimited supplies at their disposal and where the conflict became a war of attrition

to wear their opponents down, “materialschlacht”. We made time to visit smaller cemeteries where pupils had the personal connection of a relative buried as well as the larger Tyne Cot, Langemarck, Thiepval, and Menin Gate memorials. Recently retired Mr Nick Keyes kindly accompanied us on the trip and regaled the group with detailed and absorbing accounts of individual battles and the soldiers involved, including several Old Exonians and famous poets. It was sobering to walk in their footsteps and see where the action took place at first hand. Revd Tom led a moving service at Devonshire Cemetery on the Somme where we remembered the dead and all those that had taken part in the war, whilst Lower Fifth pupil Imogen Daldorph played The Last Post.

As always it was a thoughtprovoking, informative and stimulating trip where pupils and staff alike had time to reflect on this huge moment in world history and to spend some time in each other’s company sharing such a valuable learning experience.

BY MR TRELAWNY

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HISTORY

es

The Devonshir

ping hills ntly over the slo ill he sun rises ge ht begins to sp lig d ground the re shells ar nt sc te e is th rs g Alon dded by pe re sh d an d pe l The ground rip is free from Hel hours, the land f ie e br ak w fe aw t e th For uddy ye the dugouts, m eadful fate.

Men crawl from most certain, dr al r ei th s ow kn em th of Each one h s held the trenc The Devonshire s hold it still The Devonshire st we forget. le r, We remembe brave and still ion, every one nt te at d kill to d an They st ined to fight an s, they were tra ill ets of tweed w r ck ei ja r th t ei ns th Agai ps through hi w d in ads w s ou eat into cold be The icy, nerv rning their sw tu , er iv sh em er Making th , stagnant wat deep in murky .

Standing ankle be slaughtered no y they will t da to at th g in Hop h s held the trenc The Devonshire ill st it s hold The Devonshire st we forget. le r, be em m We re r. fill the dusty ai ls and tension spair. de ith w d le Exploding shel fil look down, rs ie ld um so e a os The mor eat, loud as dr hear his heartb n alk not run.' ca r 'w ie to ld ld so Each top, they're to e th er ov s, ie ly fifty feet The whistle cr down after bare em th d. ow m ns at Mametz Woo Machine gu ht audaciously ug fo s ire sh on The Dev h s held the trenc The Devonshire ill s hold it st The Devonshire st we forget. le r, be We remem ng-lost dead the buried or lo read by thread But now from e landscape th th ild bu re s er w flo battered ground The trees and fade from the ly w slo s oud ar sc t be sad but pr As the deep e war should no th of s ow ie gr or w em Our m the roses no ires’ graveyard on row.

In the Devonsh ing there row ly , es av gr r ei th of Between each h s held the trenc The Devonshire ill st it ld s ho The Devonshire st we forget. le r, be em m re We

T

EM EN TS L5 C

BY O SC AR CL

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 95

THE EXONIAN 2020

Excited about Egypt!

F

orm One children enjoyed a day of Ancient Egyptian themed activities and came superbly dressed for the occasion ­— thank you very much for the amazing costumes!

Firstly, they embraced the role of their character within some role play activities.

They imagined what their character might be doing back in Ancient Egyptian times and then performed in front of the camera and our new green screen. We were very grateful for the technical assistance of the wonderful Mrs Morgan, who then magically transported our drama scenes to the realms of Ancient Egypt!

We loved watching our video at the end of the day.

We then learnt some important facts about Howard Carter and the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb and discussed the impact of this on our understanding of Ancient Egypt. Lucas Pittson (archaeologist for the day) said he loved finding out about the tomb.

After break we were very lucky to experience the storytelling skills of Katie Cawkwell. The children were enthused and entranced by her

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dramatic versions of Ancient Egyptian myths and legends.

Henry Culley was amazed how Katie managed to remember all the information in her stories and Sienna Sclater-Black liked Katie’s gong to symbolize the start of each new story.

Miss Lunn’s dance workshop after lunch allowed the children to walk like an Egyptian. They used lots of energy and concentration to perform a whole year group routine. They will continue to use these skills throughout their P.E. dance curriculum later in the term. Thank you, Miss Lunn, for your enthusiastic workshop!

The latter part of the afternoon was split between an Ancient Egyptian Minecraft World session led by Mrs Morgan (a highlight for many of the children) and a craft session in the art room. The children began creating their own diary, which needed a sacred amulet and a cartouche, decorated on the cover. Katie Sykes said the craft session was her highlight of the day.

The day was very successful and enjoyable, culminating in lots of fun learning opportunities. BY MRS HANDLEY

HISTORY

FORM ONE STEP BACK IN TIME

F

orm One pupil Henry Culley was inspired so much that he walked around the village dressed as a Roman Centurion to begin his week! Indeed all pupils were delighted to create their own Roman costumes to wear throughout the week, causing much excitement.

Pupils investigated how the Romans invented and used Roman numerals; once they had cracked the code of using letters instead of numbers, they were off. They were also tasked with budgeting and designing a garden fit for an Emperor with some very impressive results. Mrs Handley noted “We surely have some budding landscapers and architects in the making!”

Pupils enjoyed logging in from home in order to explore the virtual Minecraft worlds of Exeter and Bath as they would have been in the Roman times. Mrs Morgan commented that “Bath was so large that it took some of us 25 minutes to locate the baths!”

During the course of the week, pupils also compiled Roman God Top Trumps cards, made their own working sundials and baked Italian pizza. The vine leaves and the honey cake were also very popular! Beautiful mosaics were created, inspired by the Romans, with very impressive results. In P.E. and Games, pupils looked at the origins of the Olympics and they undertook their own pentathlon.

Historical literature Escape From Pompeii inspired wonderful descriptive writing. Pupils were Detective Chief Inspectors as they solved ‘The Case of the Missing Toga’. To crack the case they had to solve clues and check information using their best spelling, grammar and punctuation skills. Thankfully they were able to solve the mystery and return Caesar’s toga before the thermae closed for the day.

On the day of their banquet, the courses were punctuated with amphitheatre performances of Roman poetry and myths, a gallery of works from throughout the week and the grand finale of a Roman Olympics. When we joined together in our Google Meet to sing our Roman-themed action song, we were thrilled to see other family members joining in the fun and sampling the carefully designed menus — ­ though perhaps not the dormice and eel soup!

Rome might not have been built in a day but Form One planned the best ever Roman banquet over the week!

BY MRS HARDY

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Hildesheim Exchange

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uring the autumn half term a collection of pupils from Exeter School and The Maynard School travelled to Hildesheim to take part in one of the longest running exchanges between England and Germany.

After meeting our host families at the airport we spent the evening getting to know them more. Joining our partners at school and enjoying a couple of lessons, we then took a tour of the town, learning about the effects of air raids in WW2 and seeing how the town used to look. We also climbed the tower of the Saint Andreas Kirche which had 365 steps.

Despite the climb and the cold it was incredible to look out over the landscape and be able to see how flat the area was.

One highlight was Reformation Day, a bank holiday in Niedersachsen, and while most spent the day in Hildesheim, a few from Upper Fifth and Lower Sixth spent the day in Berlin discovering how life in East

Berlin was whilst the wall still stood, and exploring the German Democratic Republic Museum. There was even a model of a Trabi which allowed us to have a go at driving! The most interesting part of the day was a tour of a former Stasi prison where we learned how they imprisoned people they saw as political threats, which was fascinating although it truly showed the nature of the GDR government.

On the Friday, after a three-hour train journey, we took a tour of Bremen before spending the weekend with our exchange partners. When visiting an area where the wall had not been destroyed it was shocking to see how all the defences were on the East side, including barbed wire, watchtowers and tank stoppers.

We finished the trip quite tired but enlightened, and looking forward to seeing our partners come to England in the future. BY MARK PUGH

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LANGUAGES

They say a picture paints a thousand words… Enjoy some of the highlights of magnificent Montpellier!

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THE EXONIAN 2020

F

Conjugating the Caribbean

TO BE FRANK Y

PHOTO: FRANK GARDNER/TWITTER

ou may know Frank Gardner as the BBC’s Security Correspondent, but that’s only part of the colourful career launched by his degree in The best way Arabic and Islamic Studies from to pick up a Exeter University — not that he language is to was expecting it. Rather than go there and premonitions of warring nations or of the Arab Spring and oil live in it. Throw crises, it was visiting the house yourself into it, of Arabian explorer Sir Wilfred and you’ll pick it Thesiger as a 16-year-old, stocked with camel saddles and guns, up by osmosis. that first piqued his interest in the language.

He is full of anecdotes of his polite relationship with a Muslim girl, and their romantic walks along the river with her brothers close behind, and of children knocking his hand over sketches of Islamic architecture as he squatted in the streets. He speaks about his brave career change after nine arduous years in banking, when he swapped the calculator for the notepad and became a 34-year-old intern on the newsroom floor, fetching coffees and printing articles.

It was only when he excused himself, leaving for an interview with the BBC, I finally noticed his wheelchair.

The reality of his work as a foreign correspondent These was dangerous and men were increasingly hostile. On criminals. the 6 June 2004, Al-Qaida gunmen shot Gardner in the 100 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

ive brave linguists spent an afternoon exploring the globe through language, as part of the UK Linguistics Olympiad. Faced with ancient stones, modern scripts and transcriptions from Cyprus to Japan, the pupils had to find patterns in the language in order to form it themselves.

Despite these skills being relatively new to our contenders, the results were very impressive and showcased their promising linguistic ability. Lily Alford won a silver award finishing in the top 15%, with Sam Mullan, Holly Cromwell and Ollie Bennet taking bronze as recognition of their placing in the top 35%. BY LILY ALFORD

stomach six times, paralysing him from the knees down. He expresses no bitterness, and certainly no fear at the hostility towards Westerners in more extremist areas of the Middle East. Allowing one day of interviews, he jumped straight back into journalism upon his recovery as a stand against becoming that “bloke in the wheelchair”. Perhaps part of this determination to continue in the role — despite suggesting that most journalists should avoid Egypt in the current political situation — is because he understands its significance. He argues that, with the internet allowing the broadcasting of information at a click, the role of foreign correspondent is only more important. In the midst of all the confusion online, people want to hear from people they trust and the jobs given to native representatives has been a welcome development in his eyes.

The keen Sixth Formers studying Modern Languages who ventured off-site for Frank Gardner’s talk in January 2020 were a given fantastic insight into living, working and surviving using their language skills and we’d like to thank Exeter University for organising it. BY LILY ALFORD

LANGUAGES

DEPARTMENT: Junior

School Modern Foreign Laguages

GRADE: A*

The leitmotif of Modern Languages in the Junior School was captured by Professor Sara Smart, leader of the German faculty at Exeter University and governor with special responsibility for overseeing MFL at Exeter School, when she visited the school in the autumn term. Arriving hotfoot from preparing our Sixth Form German language debating team for a national competition the following week, she settled in to observe a Lower Two class practising talking about the weather and learning about Martinstag celebrations. Within a moment the class was filled with music and singing to review language areas previously encountered. “They certainly don’t lack confidence!” she reported to me afterwards. “Was the lesson what you were expecting?” I asked. “Oh it was wonderful. I gave up observing and just joined in the dancing!”

While not all lessons of French in Form One, Spanish in Upper One, and German in Lower Two are inspired by the terpsichorean muse every week, the accent remains firmly on spoken language, presenting new words and worlds with sound and colour. A French lesson might involve body parts and colours being learned using the petit lapin au derrière tout vert story; a Spanish lesson might involve attempting to recreate the sound and atmosphere of a Moorish palace on a hot day, and learning the g and z sounds through an interview with BASE jumpers jumping over the Angel Falls in Venezuela. The aim remains to see ‘other’ as ‘different’ without judgment, and that learning someone else’s language extends a hand of friendship which everyone likes to receive. Learning someone else’s dance moves may be a development point for next year..

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SENIOR

7 18 28 GOLD Charlie Pullen (Best in school) Joshua Grier Joel Seaward Susannah Benson Edward Lister Samuel Allman Mark Pugh

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Up for a challenge

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n November, around 80 members of the Sixth Form and Upper Fifth took part in the annual Senior Maths Challenge in school. Approximately 70% of them were awarded certificates for their efforts; with 28 Bronzes and 18 Silvers achieved. There were also seven Gold certificates awarded to the following pupils: Upper Sixth Formers Charlie Pullen (who also got the highest score in the school), Josh Grier, Joel Seaward, Susannah Benson and Eddy Lister, along with Lower Sixth Former Sam Allman and Upper Fifth Former Mark Pugh.

These pupils were invited to take part in some followon rounds (the British Mathematical Olympiad for Charlie and Josh, along with the Senior Kangaroo for the others). Congratulations to everyone who took part in this challenging competition.

BY MRS CARTWRIGHT

up adds

MATHS

Perplexing puzzles enrichment morning

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athematicians are fond of solving puzzles, whether they involve numbers or not, and figuring out the way through a problem is a key mathematical skill. Fifty primary school mathematicians were welcomed to the Andrews Hall to pit their wits against a series of puzzles designed to challenge their problem-solving abilities.

Senior School teachers Mr Hall, Mrs James and Mr Parry were ably assisted by members of the current Third Form, as pupils tackled alphametics, matchmatics, kenken and two very different bridge problems. The visitors from Ladysmith Junior School, Sidmouth Primary School, Clyst St Mary Primary School and Exeter Junior School tackled their tasks with enthusiasm and imagination, leaving with the challenge of finding a secret code from three final puzzles.

One of the Third Form helpers, Will Russell, who joined Exeter School from Sidmouth Primary, said: “It was fun to catch up with all my old classmates and the Maths we did was quite challenging.” BY MRS CARTWRIGHT

Maths Feast

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n Friday 6 March, a team of four Middle Fifth Formers, comprising Isabelle Bill, Oscar Brooks-Feller, Oscar Lovell and Fred Croft went to the Met Office with Mr Parry to take part in a Maths competition called the ‘Maths Feast’. They finished a creditable eighth out of around 20 teams.

Isabelle wrote of the day: “As we arrived, we could not help noticing how beautiful the building was. We signed in and went up to where the competition was being held. We sat at our table and, whilst waiting for it to begin, completed a word search as well as writing down useful numbers and patterns we might have needed for later. When the competition started it was a bunch of fun — full of us manically scribbling away trying to get the answers right. My favourite round was the relay as it was fun trying to see how much we could do without the other half of the team’s number. After lunch we went on a tour around the Met Office, which was amazing. The enormous computers were stunning, and it was cool to find out all the fun facts about the building. Overall, the day was really fun and interesting and, if the chance came, I would love to do it again.” BY MRS CARTWRIGHT

Senior Team Maths Challenge

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n Wednesday 13 November, four aspiring mathematicians, consisting of Adam Wajed, Tom Harris-Deans, Josh Grier, and team captain Joel Seaward, ventured to Exmouth Community College to compete in the UKMT Team Maths Challenge. After a promising start, and a bit of good fortune, the team were positioned highly in the opening few rounds, and went into lunch in the top five. However, after the much-anticipated shuttle round, even though the team managed to score the same as the Exeter Maths School, they were not able to capitalise after some basic errors under pressure to catch up. In the end, the team finished a commendable fourth, just missing out on national qualification after being beaten by our rivals, the Exeter Maths School, by 170/186 to our 164/186.

Overall, we look forward to next year where we will have another chance to best our rivals. BY TOM HARRIS-DEANS

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THE EXONIAN 2020

Intermediate Maths Challenge

INTERMEDIATE

T

he annual Intermediate Maths Challenge is open to pupils in the Lower Fifth, Middle Fifth and Upper Fifth and took place in February, with around 120 participants from those year groups.

Nearly 60% of these pupils were awarded Bronze, Silver or Gold certificates — 29, 34 and 10 respectively. The Gold certificates were achieved by Vedang Mandalia, TJ McDonald Muprinyuri, Rosie Fullum and Duncan Brown in L5, Fred Croft and Will Olney in M5 and Mark Pugh, Billy Palmer, Chris Hemmings and Henry Wheatley in the U5. It is particularly pleasing to see the number of Gold (and other) certificates being achieved by pupils in the Lower Fifth this year, which bodes really well for when they are in the M5 and U5 years. The pupils achieving Gold certificates, plus two other Lower Fifth Formers, Will Dean and Albert Hughes, qualified to take part in follow-on rounds known as the Pink and Grey Kangaroos, which took place the day before the school site shut for Covid-19! There has been an understandable delay with the results, and we look forward to hearing how they got on. Congratulations to everyone that took part in the Challenge. BY MRS CARTWRIGHT

10 34 29 GOLD Billy Palmer Chris Hemmings Duncan Brown Fred Croft Henry Wheatley Mark Pugh Rhianna Fullam Tanaka McDonald Vedang Mandalia William Olney

Junior Maths Challenge

Around half of the pupils who took part were awarded certificates, which is a fantastic outcome.

Bronze certificates were awarded to Alex Judd, Gus Lovell, Cadan Park, Matthew Roberts, Will Russell, ome of our keen Jack Solly and Nina Voong. mathematicians from the Silver Certificates were awarded Third and Fourth Form took up the opportunity to complete the to Lucas Randall, Karthik Kammila, Sam Harries, Charlie Dicker and annual Junior Maths Challenge Caitlin Ampleford, along with in July. This time there were no exam desks in the Andrews Hall or Third Former Andrew Reynolds, who achieved the highest score in coding your answers with careful his year. horizontal lines on the answer Prestigious Gold certificates sheet as it was, of course, all online! were awarded to Letty Lovell and Pupils were issued a unique Phoebe Redfern and a special username and password to log in mention to Oliver Stevens who to the challenge on Wednesday 1 was awarded a Gold certificate with July and were able to spend one the highest mark in the school. hour having fun trying out some Congratulations to everyone interesting and challenging Maths who took part! questions.

S

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MATHS

Magic numbers

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his has been another successful year in the Mathematics department. We continue to love all the topics we cover in our Maths lessons, and enjoy problem solving and creating thought-provoking games and puzzles.

Once again we participated in the Primary Mathematics Challenge which this year celebrates 20 years! I remember the excitement in Exeter Junior School when we first took part and realised how difficult the challenge was. Since then, I don’t know how many Golds, Silvers and Bronzes we have achieved over the years, but the total runs into the several hundreds!

The 2019 November Primary Mathematics Challenge was tricky and Ms Barnes and I spent some time mulling over a couple of questions — remember question 24, children? Toby Kenefick (U2A) well deserved his Gold certificate, coming top of the school. In total, we achieved a wonderful five Golds, 14 silvers and 22 Bronzes. 59 children across Lower Two and Upper Two took part in the challenge and the rest of the children in these two year groups later worked on the paper in class. Aimed at the top Year Six children in the country, our intelligent children were very brave to ‘have a go’! Congratulations to everyone who took part and the Maths team for organising it.

Our Upper Two children really look forward to the Virgin Money project we do in the spring term in Mathematics. Some of them start planning what they would like to sell in their

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THE EXONIAN 2020 Upper One year! Mrs Goldsworthy and Ms Barnes launched the exciting Upper Two Mathematics entrepreneurial project, called ‘Make £5 Grow’ at the beginning of term.

The challenge was launched for the first time several years ago and it is a project initiated by Virgin Money, but looked after by the school. ‘Make £5 Grow’ gives our pupils the experience of starting a small business, using a £5 loan from Virgin Money. 500 primary schools and over 22,000 pupils have participated in the programme. The programme gives pupils an insight into how business works and helps them to build skills for the future, such as team working, problem solving, leadership, money management and creativity. It is engaging, educational and great fun as well as delivering key elements of the National Curriculum. The atmosphere on the selling days was terrific, as it was like attending a fete, with things to buy and games to play, as well as lucky dip and raffles. Every Junior School pupil visited the stalls and were provided with a bag to keep their purchases safe.

This has been a wonderfully successful project and we very much hope that all pupils will be inspired by the team

work, ideas and creativity, drive, perseverance, business and entrepreneurial skills of our Upper Two pupils.

Amazing Our charities this year were Great fun experience the Australian bushfire appeal, AN TOBY KENNEFICK ALEXANDER LUDM Cancer UK and the Starfish U2A U2A charity associated with our own RD&E, requested by Alexander Ludman (U2A) and other children. The pupils Great presented excellent reasons I would ce why we should select these Enjoyed perien I x e L OVE to charities and see it as a very and working d o motivating aspect of the task, t it o again l a with my learnt that they will be making a real t i RIVER TINKLER from team difference to other people’s NN U2A A C IE lives. Our total profit made LAMORNA MAY FREDD U2W U2W was £1,000.

Overall winners were Perfect Presents from U2W. Well done to Alex Freemantle, Gracie Blake, Grace Stevenson U2A best team : and Poppy Sadeghi for profits A great Daisy Brough Shooting Stars , Katie McMu and saleswomanship! They rray, Hanna Sari, R way to iver Tinkler were awarded a cup and work on U2G best team Amazon vouchers. : your team James O’Con Fantastic Four Ms Barnes and Mrs n el l, Henry Briar work skills Tom O’Conn , Goldsworthy work or, Tom Mad gwick collaboratively with HARRY ALLEN U2W best team colleagues from across the U2G Alex Freeman : Perfect Presents tle Junior and Senior School Grace Steven , Gracie Blake, son, Poppy Sa and the Bursary. In its first deghi year, Virgin Money stated Special commendations to: that Exeter Junior School had made more profit than U2A Cheeky Monkeys any other school in the UK, Daisy Pritchard, Rosa Fletcher, Lizzie Judd news that reached the then U2G Wonger Winners Chancellor, George Osborne, Cameron McDowell, Sebastian Bosch, Harry Allen when he met Virgin Money staff! A big thank you to Ms U2W Sneaky Sellers Barnes for starting the project Otis Challen, Tom Gordon-Lennox, Eddie Leaver in 2014! BY MRS GOLDSWORTHY

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CONGRATU LATIONS!

MUSIC

Ring in the season IN RUSSIAN!

O

nce again, the annual National Trust Christmas Concert was a superb demonstration of the talent that Exeter School musicians possess.

With 11 different ensembles, from large collectives like the Symphony and Concert Orchestras to small exposed groups such as the Harp Ensemble and even a piano duet by Lower Fifth Formers George Dow and Matthew Lomas, every single one of the 180 or so musicians added to the brilliance of the evening. As always, this concert saw pupils of all ages, from Third Form in the Middle School Choir, all the way to Upper Sixth in the senior groups of Vocal Ensemble and Belles Canto.

Along with the traditional annual carol singing accompanied by the

Symphony Orchestra, this year the display of Christmas music took a certain Russian turn, with works from Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev, and even a Russian folk tale read, in Russian, by Dmitry Barker-Privalov. Furthermore, the musical standard did not disappoint in any one of the multitude of choirs and orchestras, even when not all of the performances were in English! It is safe to say that after this joyful evening of music, all those who enjoyed its delights went home feeling as though the Christmas season had certainly arrived in full force.

BY TOM HARRIS-DEANS

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MUSIC

CHORAL SOCIETY

CONCERT C

hamber and Middle School Choirs as well as a team of assorted instrumentalists joined the Exeter School Choral Society in March, comprising staff, parents and friends of the school for a rousing performance of Carl Orff’s great cantata Carmina Burana. With words in both medieval German and Latin set to impressive music, this was certainly a serious undertaking for the choir, but

the result was well-received by an appreciative audience.

Grace Wildbore took on two sections of solo apparently unfazed and the choir was also privileged to be joined

by Mr Latimer and former pupil Bethany Partridge to sing the tenor and soprano solos respectively. Both sang their fiendishly difficult parts to perfection with poise and skill, leaving many in both choir and audience rapt with awe. To compliment Carmina

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Burana, Middle School Choir sang three movements from Karl Jenkins’ Adiemus under Mrs Guthrie’s smiling and expert direction, producing an impressive sound which seemed out of proportion to their number and ages.

With pupils playing the instrumental parts on the piano, strings and flute, this was an enterprise which displayed an array of homegrown talent. Chamber Choir too had their own moment

to shine, performing Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, which included solos beautifully sung by Theo Collins, Stephanie Seedhouse, Ciara Morris and Francesca Vercoe.

Everyone involved will testify to the exciting atmosphere of the night, and would like to thank Mr Tamblyn, Mr Brimelow, Mrs Guthrie, Mr Daldorph and Mr Crossen for all their hard work.

BY ELEANOR CLARK

MUSIC

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 109

FEELING festive

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he final music event of the year, the Christmas Concert, put everyone in a festive mood. With 14 different ensembles performing and around 240 pupils involved the concert showcased an extraordinary range of musical interests and talents.

Choral ensembles included Barbershop, Middle School Choir and Belles Canto, all of whom were, as ever, both entertaining and inspiring.

The impressive numbers in both Junior Orchestra and Concert Orchestra also demonstrate the early commitment and skills shown by many young orchestral instrumentalists.

Jazz also made an exciting appearance during the evening with both Jazz Bands 1 and 2 performing as well as Mr. Bowen’s smaller

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senior ensembles Swunk and Swunkette.

In addition, a number of ensembles dedicated to particular instruments featured, including the Harp Strings, Maxi Brass, Sax Ensemble and the Senior African Drumming group.

These were all thoroughly enjoyed by the audience.

As the fog thickened outside over the course of the concert, Mr Tamblyn noted that it might even snow later in the evening. It certainly did!

Let it Snow, featuring not only Jazz Band 1 and Symphony Orchestra but also members of Belles were joined by the rugby 1st XV, who, despite moving around the stage with their dialogue, had three flurries of snow land on top of them, much to their and the audience’s surprise. This was a great way of including more members of the Senior School.

The occasion ended with an enthusiastic Hark the Herald Angels Sing sung by both the performers and the audience, thus rounding off a successful and joyful musical season on a merry note.

BY STEPH SEEDHOUSE

MUSIC

MAKING marvellous MUSIC!

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nce again pupils at Exeter Junior School have been busy engaging with a variety of musical activities and events.

The two choirs — the Junior Singers (Form One and Upper One) and the Junior Choir (Lower Two and Upper Two) — are open to any pupils of the appropriate year groups who have an interest in singing; the African Drumming Group is open to all pupils across the school, and other groups provide opportunities for those learning particular instruments to develop their skills and enjoy making music with others. These include the Junior Wind and Brass Group, run by Mrs Goldsworthy and welcoming wind and brass players; the Junior Orchestra, directed by Mrs Guthrie with Mrs Goldsworthy and open to players of orchestral instruments at all levels; Maxi Brass, directed by Mr Moore and open to existing brass pupils from both Junior and Senior School; and Sizzling Strings, directed by Miss Willson, giving string players an opportunity to shine.

Smaller, more specialised groups are also offered, including the Junior Harp Quartet, directed by Dr Grier and the Junior Guitar Group directed by Mrs Stanley.

All of these groups enjoy working towards performances and were looking forward to the musical highlight of our year — the Spring Concert, which was to have taken

place late in March, just after the lockdown began. We were very disappointed that this could not take place, not least because as well as group performances, a whole school presentation of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat would have formed part of the event.

However, the autumn term happily included another musical highlight — the Christmas Carol Service, held in the Senior School Hall on 13 December. This focused on the telling of the Christmas Story, punctuated by songs. The Orchestra, the Junior Wind and Brass Group and the Harp Ensemble also performed at this joyful occasion.

The Junior Choir had a leading role in the Advent Carol Service, and gave a lovely performance to residents at Jack Simpson House just before Christmas.

Some of the Junior Singers then delighted their audience with carol singing at the annual Pensioners Christmas Party organised by the school Community Service Group.

As well as these extracurricular groups, all pupils in the school, through their curriculum lessons, have hands-on experience of instruments such as the violin, the ukulele, the recorder, the keyboard and percussion instruments.

All are also encouraged to enjoy singing and to relish every opportunity to make marvellous music! MRS GUTHRIE

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THE EXONIAN 2020

Informal CONCERTS

F

rom November through to March, every year the Music department hosts a series of informal concerts, which feature pupils from Form One right up to Upper Sixth.

Each family of instruments has at least one 4pm concert, with the aim of providing pupils with an opportunity to gain confidence and performance experience in front of an intimate and supportive audience. The concerts also allow those who are new to learning their instrument to hear and be inspired by fellow pupils playing at the highest and most specialised level.

Along with solo or piano-accompanied pieces, the concerts also offer the opportunities for ensembles to perform in front of family and friends, including String Quartets, Maxi Brass and the Harp Ensemble.

These relaxed events are often attended by parents, grandparents, siblings, friends and staff, and as such, offer members of the whole school community the chance to come together and enjoy some music at the end of a busy day. BY MRS DALDORPH

Rocket dog comes to Exeter!

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n November 2019, members of the English Touring Opera came to the Music Hall and gave a performance of an opera composed for children, entitled Laika the Spacedog. The opera told the true story of the dog Laika, who was the first animal to be sent into space by Russia, in 1957. The dog was represented by a superb puppet which was very expressive and appealing. All of our Lower Two and Upper Two pupils watched the opera, along with pupils from St. Leonard’s Primary School, Exeter.

The performance was very enjoyable, with superb effects and scenery, and wonderful singing by the five characters. They were accompanied by a small instrumental group featuring piano, percussion and clarinet and including a theremin (an electronic instrument used to create eerie space-like sounds). Pupils participated in the performance, joining in with three of the songs, helping with countdowns and even holding up planets! They also enjoyed the opportunity to meet the singers and ask them questions. BY MRS GUTHRIE

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PSYCHOLOGY

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ast year (2019) saw our first set of results for Psychology A Level and we were really pleased with our Upper Sixth results. 85% of pupils gained an A* or A grade. This gave us a great confidence boost moving into the new year of teaching.

The term started off with units on Approaches in Psychology, Memory and Biopsychology for the Lower Sixth and issues and debates, research methods and Cognition for the Upper Sixth. The pupils continue to take part in practical and interactive lessons, where possible, including several key Psychological experiments.

In the autumn term the Upper Sixth had a Psychology day in Bristol at 'We the Curious' where they did several hands-on experiments, based on the Psychology learning from their Lower Sixth work.

In the spring term we had two speakers visiting the Psychology pupils. Harvey Mackintosh, an OE who works as a Psychologist for the MoD, spoke to a mix of pupils from Upper Fifth — Upper Sixth about Psychology degrees and careers in Psychology, and then Rosie Bawn spoke to the Lower Sixth about her Psychology PHD on Theory of the Mind, which the pupils will study at the beginning of the Upper Sixth. Both spoke enthusiastically about the subject and presented ideas about the huge range of options available to those who have studied Psychology at degree level.

Pupils who were expecting to go to London for the annual Psychology trip were unfortunately unable to go due to Covid-19, however, the conference organisers did a series of special interviews and recordings of the conference speakers, which all pupils were given access to. This included exclusive interviews with both Dr Philip Zimbardo and his partner Christine Maslach, two of the world’s most eminent psychologists. With Zimbardo

now in his late 80s the likelihood of him visiting the UK again is small, and so this opportunity of him speaking directly to the A Level pupils in a video is in itself unique.

We also carried out the annual attachment eggsperiment that the Lower Sixth pupils enjoy, started just before school closed for Easter. This was a rather strange experiment this year, as not only did the eggs have to endure a period of lockdown with the pupils, but if breakages happened replacement eggs became almost impossible to get, so the pupils had to look after them with more care than usual. The results, interestingly, meant that not as many pupils bonded with their egg babies as usual, but the eggsperiment nevertheless gave the pupils a good opportunity to study all the attachment theories that they were trying to apply to their relationships.

During the lockdown the department has also produced a brand new pre-A Level course for the Upper Fifth, which is proving to be a really positive introduction to Psychology, which none of the pupils have studied previously. We are hoping that they will start the A Level course in September with more confidence and understanding, having had the privilege of this extra study time. BY MRS GOODDY

Psyched Up!

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BIOLOGY OLYMPIAD

C

ongratulations to the Upper Sixth Biologists who took part in Royal Society of Biology’s annual Olympiad. This competition consists of two 45-minute online tests in which the pupils must demonstrate knowledge and understanding of topics from their A Level course and beyond.

We had 16 pupils take part this year and everyone was recognised for their achievement. Susannah

Benson, Honour Budiman and Holly Maynard were commended for their performance, whilst Ariana Beka, Phoebe Bridgwater, Milly Rew, Lily Ridehalgh, Ruby Scott and Morgan Westcott were Highly Commended. Bronze Awards went to Jack Gibbins and Angus Harris. Jamie Campbell, Emily Dixon and Max Hill achieved a Silver and Sam Mullen scooped a prestigious Gold award. BY MRS METCALF

BIOLOGY CHALLENGE

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he Biology Challenge is the equivalent competition for GCSE pupils. It comprises of 50 minutes of online testing, during which they must demonstrate their understanding of GCSE topics as well as tackling questions that require a breadth of knowledge from beyond the syllabus. Over 23,695 students from 367 schools took part in the competition this year.

From the 70 Middle Fifth pupils who took part, five achieved a Gold award, there were 11 Silver certificates

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awarded and twelve pupils obtained a Bronze award.

29 of the remaining Middle Fifth who took part were Commended or Highly Commended for their performance.

The five pupils achieving Gold are Sophia Bosch, Freddie Fitt, Rosie Hobbs, Alex James, and Sebastian Lloyd-Young, who was best in school.

This is a very pleasing achievement by our Middle Fifth Triple Award group.

Congratulations to all pupils who took part. BY MRS METCALF

SCIENCE

The grass is greener in Nettlecombe O n the last weekend of September the Upper Sixth A Level Biology pupils took a trip to the North Devon wilderness, Nettlecombe, which sits on the top of Exmoor National Park. Our main goal was to complete a required practical, investigating the succession of sand dunes and how the biological community has evolved over time. Despite the torrential rain and arctic winds, which blew sand in our eyes and made our fingers numb, we soldiered on and proved how resilient we are, completing valuable scientific research!

BY MOLLY OLDRIDGE

BIOLOGY PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION

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ollowing the success of the photography competition last year the Biology department launched this year’s title ‘Our Changing World’ to link to the RSB national competition. This was the perfect distraction from online learning and encouraged pupils and staff to engage with nature around them or to reminisce through past photos they have taken. The title was quite a challenge this year but it was fantastic to see the different interpretations of the theme.

Several entries captured animals as they change from young to adult. There were snap-shots of succession, changes to our landscape as well as flowering and seasonal changes.

Clearly the lockdown didn’t stifle the creativity and we were amazed by the number of entries, particularly in the lower part of the Senior School.

Members of the Biology department along with Head of Art, Mrs Escott carried out the judging and all staff involved were particularly impressed with the quality and skill of the photography.

Congratulations to the first place winners, Bodie Blake from Fourth Form for his incredible photo of the fluffy baby owl and Grace Gillingham from Middle Fifth for her peek into the nest of hungry chicks. Well done also to runners-up Rupert Hughes (Lower Fifth) and Peter Moffat (Middle Fifth) for their artistic

BEST STAFF ENTRY MR REYNOLDS landscapes of the dandelion at dusk and the serene graveyard. Third place went to Oliver Gray (Fourth Form) for his perfectly themed naturereclaimed lamppost and to Oliver Capps (Middle Fifth) for his beautifully captured Dartmoor ponies. The best

staff entry was awarded to Mr Reynolds for ‘From winter into spring’.

Thank you to everyone who took part. It was such a joy to see these amazing photos and to know that you are being inspired by nature around you. BY MRS METCALF

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 115

1ST PLACE BODIE BLAKE (FOURTH FORM)

1ST PLACE GRACE GILLINGHAM (MIDDLE FIFTH)

2ND PLACE

2ND PLACE

PETER MOFFAT (MIDDLE FIFTH)

RUPERT HUGHES (LOWER FIFTH)

3RD PLACE

3RD PLACE

OLIVER GRAY

OLIVER CAPPS

(FOURTH FORM)

(MIDDLE FIFTH)

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SCIENCE

A glimpse into the

ALUMNI EXPERIENCE W

e interviewed Old Exonians to explore where Chemistry and Physics had taken them in their lives after Exeter School, and the paths that they took. Enjoy the following (anonymised) responses. BY CATHERINE BROWN AND THEA PURSER (L6TH)

WHAT DID YOU DO AFTER LEAVING EXETER SCHOOL? - MA Oxford, MSc British Columbia, Icelandic Met. Office, PhD Cambridge, then lecturer, senior lecturer and professor at Leeds, Sheffield and Loughborough Universities.

Physics started to come together.

-R esults day and Mr Bone going offsyllabus to explain relevant topics in Physics.

WHAT INTERESTED YOU MOST ABOUT THE SUBJECTS YOU STUDIED? -E xploring the ideas around the curriculum (chaos theory, fractal geometry in particular); sticking to the curriculum is a bit boring and converts learning about a subject into memorising for a test.

- I wanted to know more, it just opened my eyes… A Levels were just a taster really and I needed to study the subjects further.

- Chemistry at Oxford University.

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE? WHAT ARE YOU DOING CURRENTLY? -M ainly work-related in terms of developing and exploring techniques and - Currently in a hotel in Yokohama, having methods I've formulated; it’ll be nice to just given a presentation at an international spend more time in Japan in the future workshop on ‘Data Assimilation and doing this.

Multiscale Techniques for Numerical - Focusing on the rum distillery at the Simulation of Turbulent Flows’. moment, with a strong focus on active - Running a rum distillery! chemistry research in all that we do.

FAVOURITE MEMORY OF EXETER SCHOOL SCIENCE? - Mr Browne’s laugh!

- I really enjoyed STEP level Physics with Trevor Huxtable, where the Maths and

ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD? -T hanks for quality, encouraging teaching!

- I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Exeter School and was very well prepared for my time at Oxford University.

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 117

THE EXONIAN 2020

CONSIDERING Chemistry W

e interviewed Mr Tear, Head of Chemistry and Director of Science, to find out about both his passion for chemistry and experiences of teaching at Exeter School.

BY CATHERINE BROWN AND THEA PURSER

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT TEACHING CHEMISTRY? There are some really cool aspects of the course that really open up pupils' understanding of the world around them, such as chemical structure and bonding. When you teach these topics you can see that the way the pupils see the world around them changes within the space of a single school period.

Also, there are some elegant pieces of science that some unnamed scientists have worked on that are worthy of our respect.

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WHAT ASPECTS OF CHEMISTRY INTERESTS YOU MOST? That we can explain things in the world around us by using a few fundamental concepts about particles we will never be able to see with our eyes. Also, some of the reactions are fun.

DID YOU ALWAYS WANT TO BE A TEACHER? No! Not until I worked for a bit and realised I missed chemistry. I was still not convinced after my teacher training but I then got my first teaching post and loved it.

WHO INSPIRES YOU MOST IN SCIENCE? Science is more about collaboration and sharing. I am hugely impressed by those millions of unnamed scientists working to increase the sum of our knowledge out of the limelight. Those

key names you often hear about are usually very good self-publicists and set out to make a name for themselves. I'm a little suspicious of them.

WHAT IS YOUR FUNNIEST TEACHING STORY? Blowing-up a trough of acetylene and oxygen bubbles outside in a playground. It set off the alarms and closed a building site next to the school.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE PRACTICAL? Ester scratch and sniff. You use a chemical called butanoic acid that smells like vomit and this can set people off if they are very sensitive to strong smells. Pupils often run off to toilets holding their mouths. Or nitrogen triiodide, which explodes into a purple cloud when you shout at it.

SCIENCE

Chemists enjoy brilliant Bristol

O

ne particular highlight of the year was Upper Sixth A Level Chemistry pupils travelling to Bristol University’s Chemistry laboratory to learn all about synthesising and analysing Benzocaine. Bristol University is home to a stateof-the-art laboratory, allowing pupils the opportunity to use for themselves.

After obtaining samples of Benzocaine, a general anaesthetic commonly used in minor medical procedures, students used infrared spectroscopy, ensuring there had been a conversion of functional groups in the preparation work. Pupils also had the opportunity to analyse other samples, using techniques learned during the A Level course such as thin layer chromatography and using an ultraviolet source.

Another highlight was a lecture given by Sbu Mbathu, one of the University’s PhD students. Mbathu was involved in investigating the potential to scale the enzymatic formation of Abyssomicin C, a potent antiMRSA and anti-VRSA agent.

His talk highlighted the issue of global antibiotic resistance, and the complexities of production of drugs at industrial scale, giving pupils a great insight into chemistry beyond curricular boundaries. BY THEA PURSER

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 119

THE EXONIAN 2020

Space Day

A

group of Third Form pupils once again attended the Year 7 Space Day organised by the Ogden Trust’s Exeter and East Devon’s partnership of schools. They learnt about analysing starlight to discover the contents of stars, experienced some

COASTS, CURRENTS, CONFLICT AND KINGS

astronaut training activities and made estimates of the scale of the solar system. This year marks fifty years since the first humans landed on the moon, so pupils also saw a planetarium show about the moon as well as an introduction to astronomy.

Pupils had written an essay on astronomy earlier in the term, and the winner for this year was William Alder.

A

group of Lower Sixth physicists attended Helen Czerski’s talk titled Coasts, Currents, Conflict and Kings hosted by Millfield School in November. Helen has written a number of books on her research of ocean bubbles and can be seen quite often on TV. She also spoke at Exeter School’s Speech Day a few years ago.

With a combination of oceanography and the effects of climate change on the ocean, Helen’s talk shed light on aspects of the physics of the ocean that enlightened all that were there. This all ultimately linked back to humans, our reliance on what covers 71% of our planet and the need to care for and continue to research our oceans.

It was also interesting to speak with Helen after her talk where her passion for her work in the oceans really came through. BY EMMA HALFORD

Festival of Physics

A

group of Upper Fifth and Lower Sixth pupils travelled to Plymouth University to attend a day of Physics lectures organised by the Institute of Physics. The talks included how to make a light-sabre by bouncing photons off each other; a data scientist showing if you would have survived The Titanic; the future of graphene in medical diagnosis; how ice dunes form and were discovered on Pluto; and how to find and identity where meteorites come from. We also were able to play a complex game about quarks. BY OT TO OLDRIDGE

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SCIENCE

I An insight into nuclear fusion

n early December eight Lower Sixth physicists from Exeter School, alongside pupils from Exeter College and Colyton Grammar School, had the rare opportunity to visit the Culham Nuclear Fusion Research Centre in Oxford.

They attended a talk about the challenges surrounding the development of nuclear fusion technology, before receiving a tour of the Joint European Torus (JET).

Flora Gray’s highlight: how amazing it was to see how close they are to making a functioning nuclear reactor, which would have the

potential to provide for the entire national grid.

Tom Harris-Dean’s highlight: seeing the Remote Applications in Remote Environments (RACE) system, where technicians had to defeat their instructor at a game of Jenga, using RACE, practising to operate on JET itself!

Everyone who attended found the trip incredibly engaging and insightful, and would like to thank Mr Tuohey for organising such a valuable trip, and Dr Robb for accompanying them.

BY THEA PURSER AND CATHERINE BROWN

HIGHLIGHTS • A team of four Upper Fifth pupils (Isabelle Bill, Amber Moeller, Tom Metcalf and Otto Oldridge) represented the school very well in the Ogden KS4 Challenge in Exeter in December.

• Engineering careers panel event with alumni and parents (Nigel Annereau, Signe Hulbert, David Salmon, James Tilke and Phil Rydin-Orwin).

• Nigel Annereau, a Director at Arup, gave several workshops in engineering and architecture to Lower Fifth Physics pupils and Middle Fifth Design and Technology pupils, organised with the help of the Alumni Office.

• In terms of competitions, Josh Grier achieved a Silver and Joel Seward a Bronze I award in the Physics Olympiad.

Tom Harris-Deans was awarded a Gold, Theo Collins and Adam Wajed won Silver, Ben Eve and Emma Halford won Bronze I and Ben Browne and Luca Riezzo achieved Bronze II awards in the Senior Physics Challenge (previously AS Challenge). Chris Hemmings won Silver and Barnaby O’Brien a Bronze I award in the Intermediate Physics Challenge (previously GCSE Challenge).

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 121

THE EXONIAN 2020

SCIENCE AT EXETER JUNIOR SCHOOL T he pupils of Exeter Junior School have really enjoyed Science this year, despite the challenges of 2020. Popular annual field trips may have had to be postponed but this led to a huge amount of investigations and outdoor experiments carried out at home.

Remote learning inspired some amazing home experiments from Aristotle v Galileo, Roman sundials, to pond dipping and sound experiments. The pupils (and sometimes their parents and siblings) have really got into science at home.

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This year, two popular clubs were lunch time Engineering Club and after school Science Club. Science research and exciting experiments were carried out, with some more messy than others (think non-Newtonian substances!).

In Engineering Club, pupils were set difficult practical challenges to overcome.

They produced impressive engineering solutions and thoroughly enjoyed making and refining their designs.

Overall, another exciting year of Science, with remote learning even bringing out the inner David Attenborough in some staff! BY MR PIDWELL

MAKING THE DIFFERENCE The Ashfords Foundation is a grant making charity that aims to make a real difference in the communities in which our people live and work.

SOME OF THE CHARITIES HELPED: • Action East Devon • Art Care Education (ACEnt) • Bampton AFC • Blind in Business • CHICKS • Caring in Bristol • Devon Adventure Therapy • Devon Youth Games Trust • Dexter’s Odyssey • Exmoor Search and Rescue Team • Feeding Bristol • Freedom Wheels • Homeless Shoebox Appeal • Samaritans of Exeter, Mid & East Devon • Soundwell Music Therapy Trust • Tiverton Swimming Club • The Bereavement Counselling Service • The Topsham School Nursery

ashfordsfoundation.org.uk

THE EXONIAN 2020

A catalyst for learning!

T

he Catalyst Club has again had a busy and exciting year. We started off with Revd Tom exploring some philosophical ideas about settling on a new planet, how society would function, and what rules would need to be in place. Following this, our next session, run by the Head Boy and Girl on behalf of the Music department, saw an excellent session on how music in films affects the mood of an audience and how this mood can be manipulated and changed by a change in background music. There was also lots of chocolate consumed, in an experiment on how taste is affected by music… Next up on the schedule was Mr Schramm, who kindly led two very popular sessions in Electronics, with the pupils looking at different logic gates and making circuits testing different ideas. The spring term saw Ms Pinches lead two sessions: one for the Computer Science department on how machine learning works, and a second session for the MFL department on linguistics. We also had an excellent History session run by Mr Trelawny, debating the thought-provoking question of ‘what is truth?’.

We have been fortunate to have strong attendances in all sessions this year, and as always are very grateful to the subject teachers who give up their time to lead these interesting, informative and challenging sessions. BY MRS GOODDY

CROSSING CLUB T

he Crossing Club is Exeter School’s Academic Enrichment society and they have held a range of events this year.

In September, Old Exonian Ed Walker came in to deliver an eye-opening talk on Artificial Intelligence and how it will change the future of work as some roles become automated or move online.

InspEXE is an annual event of inspiring short talks from Exeter School pupils and staff. InspEXE 2019 included talks from Tabitha MacPherson-Jorgensen on the environmental impact of microplastics, George Heard’s Venture Fellowship internship in China, Mrs Cheesman’s previous career, Mr Latimer’s Bog Snorkling, Ariana Beka discussed obesity and its effect on the NHS and Oliver Irons talked about ‘fake news’.

The Israeli Youth Delegation visited Exeter School in November and gave a talk on life as a teenager in Israel. The

124 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

Crossing Club Charity Quiz for Children in Need gathered pupils and staff together for charitable fun.

A group of Gifted and Talented Middle Fifth pupils took a trip to Welllington School for a day of high-level thinking and talks. A series of lunchtime debates led to the Great Debate in February, with this year’s theme ‘the abolition of the Monarchy’.

Alumnus Dan Barnes visited in February and gave a talk on his research for the Oxford Robotics Institute on driverless cars.

The Mock Trial saw Harry Cornford, Oliver Irons, Jasmine Cain and Sophie Gledstone become barristers for the trial of Frankie Digweed (played by Oscar Cobb), who was accused of being the getaway driver in a bank robbery.

Many thanks to all the pupils and staff who have helped put on such great events this year.

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

LEARNING TAKES OFF! C

omets Club have had another super year with a variety of activities taking place across the Junior and Senior School. This year, Comets Club has participated in events from different subjects including Philosophy, Economics, English and Politics. The boys and girls that have participated during this year have had fantastic opportunities to stretch their thinking and enthuse their imagination. Revd Tom certainly got the Comets children thinking during his Philosophy session; they enjoyed figuring out the statements that were a lie and those that were true. Mr Mackintosh led an interesting session on the economics of chocolate and the group were faced with some challenging questions. We were blown away with the suspense stories that the children composed during Mrs Hardy’s fun-filled English session and we all learnt something new during the Politics Comets Club with Mrs Sheehan. All the events have been most enjoyable and lots of new knowledge has been gained by all involved.

Comets Club have had a very successful year! BY MS BARNES

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 125

THE EXONIAN 2020

Exam trouble?

Top 10 tips from the survivors

BY NAOMI REYNOLDS

1: Revise for the small exams you are given throughout the year to solidify your knowledge on small details and make sure you’re not having to re-learn different topics later.

7: Don’t cancel all of your weekend plans as you still need things to look forward to but also make sure you’re not spending way more time on leisure activities than revising.

2: Create a rough exam timetable, spreading out your revision for each subject so you spend the needed amount of time on each one (with more spent on those you are weaker at), but don’t spend hours just creating the timetable!

8: Use different methods of revision and don’t spend too much time making it look pretty!

9: A sk your teachers for past papers as they are probably the most helpful source of revision, even if you don’t do them under timed conditions.

3: Start early with revision but only do small amounts to begin with, just to jog your 10: Ask your teachers for advice, as they know memory. exactly what to revise.

4: Revise with friends to begin with so you can share each others’ knowledge but as you get closer to exams try to revise alone or with friends you trust to not distract you.

5: Try to buy healthy but tasty snacks in order to keep yourself happy during revision.

6: Stay active between chunks of revision in order to clear your head and to stop yourself fidgeting.

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BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

Success in Schools Challenge E

xeter School hosted the Regional Schools’ Challenge Tournament on 23 January. This is a general knowledge competition, which uses the same quiz bowl rules as University Challenge.

Two teams from Exeter School competed, tackling a wide range of challenging questions and gaining wins against King’s Taunton and Mount Kelly before finally playing each other in the Devon and Cornwall heat final. The A Team won and went on to the Regional Final and succeeded in gaining a place in the next round of the National Competition, sadly curtailed by Covid-19. This involved progressing through a tense and tough round against Bournemouth School for Girls, who have regularly won the competition since its creation.

Well done to squad members Freddie Bennett, Ollie Bennett, Eleanor Clark, Oscar Gibbons, Bertie Hawkins, Felicity Partridge, Mark Pugh and Parker Russell.

General Knowledge Club runs every Friday at 1.15pm in Room 82 and is open to everyone. It is a great way to have fun while learning new and interesting facts. Many thanks to the Lower Sixth pupils who have been organising it in recent months. BY THEA PURSER AND CATHERINE BROWN

Your Turn!

1) WHAT IS THE MUSICAL CALLED BASED ON THE LEGEND OF KING ARTHUR? 2) WHAT IS THE CAPITAL OF THE ISLE OF MAN? 3) WHO WROTE A CLOCKWORK ORANGE? 4) WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE LUMINOUS SURFACE OF THE SUN? 5) WHO WAS THE LAST BRITISH KING WHO DIED IN BATTLE? ANSWERS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE

Words of Wisdom: Professor A.C. Grayling

E

xeter School welcomed world-renowned philosophy professor A.C. Grayling ­— and selected pupils were fortunate to attend a special masterclass.

He opened with a discussion of ethics and morality and the meaning of life, linking it to Ancient Greek mythology and the work of Socrates and Plato. It was fascinating to

hear about Grayling’s early life in Africa and how he grew to love philosophy.

Grayling is passionate about the importance of the humanities throughout all levels of education. He pointed to both ends of the scales to make his case; the growing trend of educating primary school children in philosophy and Imperial

College London’s recent effort to “balance the curriculum” by including a co-curriculum based around the humanities to complement the STEM based courses. His own university, The New College of Humanities, is built upon these values. Not only does it promote studying of the humanities in higher education, perhaps most

interesting of all is its efforts to prepare students for life in the adult world, such as by teaching them how to budget.

We would like to thank Mr Chitnavis for organising such an enjoyable and insightful afternoon. BY EVA CASEY, EDDIE MAYALL AND ROSIE CROMWELL

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 127

Answers: 1) Camelot 2) Douglas 3) Anthony Burgess 4) Photosphere 5) Richard III

THE EXONIAN 2020

MUN on the home front MUN reflections

W

e interviewed two key members from MUN committees from the last few years, Allegra Letts and Harry Mayall, who reflected on their experiences.

WHY DID YOU JOIN MUN? Allegra Letts: I wanted to acquire a greater understanding and experience of international relations.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE DEBATE TOPIC? Harry Mayall: The topics where you have to think about issues from new perspectives are always quite interesting.

I very much enjoyed representing Kuwait at Cambridge University MUN last year, where we debated military intervention and the situation in Gaza.

HAVE YOU CONTINUED ON YOUR MUN PATH IN UNIVERSITY? Allegra Letts: No, but I have gone on to study Politics and International Relations at university.

DO YOU HAVE ANY INTEREST IN WORKING FOR THE UN, AND IF SO, DO YOU THINK YOUR MUN EXPERIENCE WILL BE USEFUL? Harry Mayall: I don’t have plans to work with the UN, but I am quite interested in global health. A lot of people who come to MUN do want to pursue a career in politics or international NGO (non-govenmental) work.

WHAT SKILLS DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE GAINED THROUGH JOINING MUN? Allegra Letts: How to speak confidently in public and research topics well.

WHAT WAS YOUR WORST/BEST EXPERIENCE IN MUN? Harry Mayall: There are too many good experiences to choose from, but I have strong memories of having fun representing North Korea and its very interesting views.

My worst memory would be my first ever MUN conference when I was extremely nervous and barely spoke all day.

DO YOU FEEL MORE POLITICALLY AWARE? DID YOU GAIN A GREATER KNOWLEDGE ON DIPLOMACY AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS/RELATIONS? Allegra Letts: I represented Eritrea in one of my conferences and I learned niche politics about Eritrean-Ethiopian relations — so, definitely!

HOW DID MUN CHANGE AT EXETER SCHOOL WHILE YOU WERE THERE? Harry Mayall: The society sadly shrank when I moved into Sixth Form, but it become more dedicated and active. I’m very glad to hear the society is still going strong.

BY EDDIE MAYALL AND TAMARA LET TS

128 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

E

xeter School’s Model United Nations conference commenced on 7 December. The morning started with an opening ceremony where speeches were made by Mrs McCluskey, the Headmaster and the Secretary General, Finlay Scott.

Delegates from seven different schools then debated a wide range of topics in their committees, including fascinating areas such as ‘The Question of Maritime Oil Spills’ and ‘The Question of Separation of Religion and State’. A high standard of debate was seen in all of the committees and all delegates accurately represented the views of their country.

In the afternoon, delegates were challenged with

solving a crisis that revolved around an outbreak of violence between India, Pakistan and China in Kashmir. Delegates had to deal with different aspects of the conflict, such as the environmental impact of war and the impact on the civilian population. The delegates engaged fully in the crisis, but they often escalated the crisis until it reached nuclear war.

Bertie Hawkins from Lower Sixth received an award and it was great to see so many new delegates taking part in the conference.

We would like to thank the chairing team, Mrs McCluskey and all of the maintenance and catering staff for their help throughout the day.

BY EDDIE MAYALL

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

‘Appy days I

n a move to enable pupils to be fully prepared for future education and careers, Exeter School began to introduce iPads this year — initially to the Lower Fifth, before hopefully rolling out to other year groups. The pupils will learn how to use technology in the safest and most effective way. This ability to use technology effectively is an essential tool for the pupils’ futures as increasingly, as suggested by Mr Bone, “every job is a tech job!”. The iPads also offer teachers another valuable resource with which to deliver engaging lessons.

The contents of the iPad will be tailored to the pupil and their year group, with specific apps for the subjects the pupils are studying. One aim of this move towards embedding technology within the school environment is to teach pupils to separate their school life from their personal life, with the devices removing the distraction of social media and games that working on a phone normally allows.

Through careful trials of a variety of applications and software, a committee of staff decided on key apps for the pupils. Certain highlights include: FOR MUSIC: GARAGE BAND GarageBand is an app that allows pupils to easily create music or podcasts using a range of instruments such as piano, guitar, drums, violins and many more.

FOR MATHS: DESMOS Desmos is a graphing app for Maths. Not only can pupils use it to plot equations, there are many classroom activities available to help the students understand certain concepts.

FOR ART AND DT: AUTODESK SKETCHBOOK Autodesk Sketchbook is an app that enables graphical design to be taken to the next level, including tools such as paint brushes and pencils; it even allows you to create animations.

QUIZZES AND REVISION: KAHOOT! Kahoot! is a fun and easy method of revision which allows teachers to create quizzes with questions on any topic, with two to four multiple-choice answers

MOCK the MOCK election!

Let’s not

I

n 2019, Exeter School held its own general election to replicate the UK’s current state of politics as it underwent its second general election in three years. Our prime ministerial candidates were as follows: Oliver Tucker, who stood as Labour’s leader; Bertie Hawkins starring as a bumbling Boris Johnson for the Conservatives; Ellie Pincombe levelling the playing field as the Greens’ hopeful candidate; Oliver Irons delivering the calm optimism of the Liberal Democrats, and finally Finlay Scott driving home the message of the Brexit Party. Once these candidates were selected, a debate ensued wherein each leader had to defend and explore the key policies introduced by their manifestos. In order to regulate the events of the debate, Harry Fishwick was chosen to chair the process

and he also took the liberty of asking our candidates their opinions on Brexit, climate change and the NHS. All in all, the election and concluding debate served to be an impressive display of our school’s Sixth Form’s political prowess and their ability to campaign for each of the respective parties.

The Conservative win of our election caused a deep split in reaction among the student body.

Bitter disappointment for some, others cheered at what they saw as a welldeserved win. In this sense, this microcosmic election served to greatly mirror that of the actual UK election­— in which the Conservative Party won with a 365 seat majority — especially when exploring the voting trends across Devon, and the South West as a whole.

BY TAMARA LETTS AND EDDIE MAYALL

UK General Election 2019

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 129

THE EXONIAN 2020

GETTING OUR VOICES HEARD

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J

ustice-seeking pupils have banded together to make a difference all over the world. The Amnesty International Youth Café, run by Mr Parry, has been firing out letters to distant authority figures as part of a global movement by campaigners to end the abuse of human rights. Writing to world leaders, ambassadors and people in power, as well as the imprisoned and abused, both pupils and staff have felt the rewards of doing something in solidarity with the victims of human rights abuses. So far, Exeter School has made its voice heard over LGBTQ+ human rights, the refusal of medical care for activists, the unjust imprisonment of humans rights lawyers and journalists, ‘missing’ individuals and forced deportation. With letters going as far as Togo, USA, Vietnam, Mozambique, Russian Federation and Iran, those involved certainly feel like they have made a difference through their involvement in global politics. BY THEA PURSER

Mindful Moments for our Junior School pupils

O

ver the year, pupils have been able to attend weekly Mindful Minutes sessions, where they could ‘just be’: enjoy running short PawsB practices, read, draw, colour, and listen to calming music. Our Upper Two Mindfulness Monitors wear their badges with pride, running mindfulness practices, visiting classes around the Junior School every morning and afternoon.

Mindfulness interventions for pupils have shown the

potential to improve attention, social skills, academic engagement, exam anxiety, and psychological health.

Mindfulness trains us to direct our attention to what is happening in the present moment: our breathing, other physical sensations, thoughts, emotions, or even everyday activities like walking. This awareness allows us to respond more skillfully to whatever the present moment brings. This has never been more important than in the

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recent months. Summer term practices moved online with our Mindfulness Monitors sharing recorded videos every Friday. Pupils were also given a range of activities such as creating a ‘gratitude jar’, a mindfulness journal, mindful walking, and to consider skills and qualities developed during lockdown.

Daisy Brough said: “Since doing mindfulness it has changed the way I look at things. I also want to say how much joy it brings me when

I hear that others have done the mindfulness and have enjoyed it.”

Lucy Vosper said: “The mindfulness has made me a calmer person and has been very fun to help other people to be calmer as well.”

Poppy Sadeghi said: “Mindfulness means a lot to me because during the year it has been very stressful, and mindfulness helps not only me but our school to be in the present moment and to stay calm.” BY MS BARNES

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM VOICES

Positives of a pandemic

BY LILY ALFORD

F

or obvious reasons, months in isolation will cause real mental health problems for thousands of people. For me, it’s been a blessing. I feel awful for saying it, in the middle of a pandemic where hundreds of thousands have died, but it’s true.

I’m an A* student. An Oxbridge candidate. A sports player. A musician.

A Senior Prefect. An editor of this very magazine. Narcissistic traits? Possibly.

Exeter School has given me amazing friends, opportunities and memories and I will always feel immensely lucky for my education. But it wasn’t always a breeze, and I think that’s an important take away too.

The fortnight prior to lockdown had been one of my worst mental health episodes. The adrenaline of mocks, a moment of vulnerability on a night out, and I went into a kind of tunnelvision mode which has become a pattern of the past three years. I had four panic attacks. I got behind on homework, missed classes, cried in the loos, ignored friends and spent entire breaktimes trekking to the water

fountain and back in order to avoid sitting down and hearing my own brain.

I have always worked far harder than I needed too. If you ever asked to copy my homework and I refused, it’s nothing personal, just an innate competitiveness. I’ve never had to worry about my grades when I went into an exam. I remember people counting up how many marks they definitely got, possibly got and definitely didn’t get, while I’d already forgotten the questions. And I know I sound arrogant and cocky but when you’ve spent the whole of your school years being told you will succeed, you start believing it. My home life is loving and supportive, I have a great social life and I’m very open with my emotions.

There was nothing to worry about.

But I still did. That’s anxiety for you.

You can be the cleverest, the quietest, the coolest, the best public speaker, the angriest, the most popular, the funniest, the most kind, the most unpleasant, the loudest, the

best looking, the happiest person in the room and you can still get sad.

Most of the time when I feel anxious, I am frustrated: with myself for being ungrateful when I am so lucky, with having to go through the mill again when I thought I was cured after the last one and for being upset about things which I thought I was above worrying about.

Now, I have time and space to think.

I can set my own schedule, exercise off any cabin fever and study as much as I want. That’s a privilege in itself.

But my anxiety is not confined to my education: it might catch me out for the rest of my life to remind me of my own fragility. I will get through it.

I am lucky to have been so well looked after by my House staff and Sixth Form team, but I know there are teenagers at other schools who can’t access such support. This lockdown will be really tough for some people.

Check on your friends and relatives.

Speak up if you’re feeling low. Never feel guilty for your mental health.

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THE EXONIAN 2020

132 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

VOICES

The

forgotten truth about

social media

BY ROSIE CROMWELL

W

e hear a lot about how social media distorts the truth. The posts we see on social media often make up a carefully curated highlights reel of other people’s lives, and we’ve all been told not to compare the worst parts of our lives to the best parts of others’. We know the power of social media as a marketing tool and as a political tool to manipulate voters.

However, while social media can show us a highly-constructed, rose-tinted view of the world, it can show us the reality of uncertain situations far beyond the reach of traditional news broadcasting.

The first time I encountered this side of social media was when Hurricane Harvey hit the USA in 2017. It was a revelation — people used Snapchat to document their experiences and, inadvertently, created an indispensable resource for keeping track of the disaster in real time. Snapchat launched the Snap Map only months before, and it allowed people to track blocked roads, check on distant loved ones, and keep track of the destruction. After that, this use of social media became less vivid. I saw posts online about the plight of Uighur Muslims in China, Wet’suwet’en activists campaigning against a Coastal GasLink Pipeline in Canada, and the recent fires in Australia amongst others, but I saw nothing particularly substantial or evocative. That only came back recently,

in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. Awareness of Floyd’s death was originally spread through social media, as the video of his death quickly went viral, but the reach of social media went far past that. My phone quickly became a battleground: full of posts containing tips for protestors, posts highlighting the disparity between the reality of the protests and what was reported to the media, and snapshots into the lives of those on the ground. I have seen TikTok videos warning protestors of approaching National Guardsmen, and Snapchat videos documenting attacks on peaceful protestors. Even posts not intending to spread awareness about the protests allowed me an insight into the thoughts and realities of those living inside the turmoil.

I am not trying to say that social media produces a completely impartial and objective version of events: plenty of articles point out that misinformation on social media spreads quickly as well.

Social media itself is far from perfect: TikTok, for example, has been accused of blocking #blacklivesmatter, although TikTok claims that was a random error, and it was also accused of taking down a viral video about Uighur Muslims a while ago. My point is this: our generation will stream, video, snap, and tweet the end of the world. And that is not a bad thing, in fact — it is exactly what we’ll need.

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 133

THE EXONIAN 2020

Balanced individuals

BY HARRY CORNFORD

A

s a male, I have only experienced life from the perspective of one gender, so it’s impossible for me to say definitively how somebody of another gender may feel about bias in society, but yes, on the face of it, it does seem that the balance of institutional power lies against women and hands them a disadvantage in terms of reaching success.

Although it is arguably changing, the wage gap is an example of how men are more likely to reach the top, shown by shocking numbers in terms of business leaders. Of the Fortune 500 companies just 24 have female CEOs, and this number is actually decreasing. Although the childcare and biological competitivity arguments might hold some weight here, they surely cannot be used to explain such a large difference, and are themselves based on existing societal imbalances and stereotypes. These stereotypes, we all know them, affect both genders and are of course damaging in attempting to create a healthy discourse between the genders. That women are told to be submissive and weaker is unhealthy for esteem but probably also leads to the imbalanced childcare and domestic

134 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

abuse numbers, for example. Men being told that they must be physically strong and more dominant in society can probably be used to explain the mental health problems which cause extremely high suicide numbers and make them more likely to die or be injured at work. Furthermore, society’s views towards men, that they should be able to look after themselves in a way unlike a woman, can explain why 84% of homeless people, over 90% of prisoners and 40% of domestic abuse victims are men; while women, because society thinks they need help, have over 200 domestic abuse centres; men have just one. Because of the view that women are better carers, men are also far more likely to lose their children in a custody battle. Conversely, calling men who genuinely display these masculine traits “toxic” or women who portray these feminine traits “weak” is not helpful and could lead to different, but just as serious problems arising the other way round.

A clear answer, therefore, is not to try and place people into categories, but instead view each individual for what they are, an individual, with their own character traits, likes and dislikes.

The politics of identity fails; it succeeds

only in alienating people more and separating people whose differences are minor. Where I differ from most in my approach to tackling inequality comes next; it is unusual and generally unpopular.

My argument is that inequality, and unhelpful stereotypes are a result of an over-regulating, over-criminalising and over-controlling state. A government finds it easier to control the population when they are able to group people into these categories with clear boundaries, and it has done this for centuries. I don’t like calling it indoctrination, but the way many are taught to respect and accept authority leads to a society submissive to the control of the state and those the state tells you to believe. Stereotypes are an invisible version of this control. Given all this, I find it counter-intuitive that most activists for equality today, with the best of intentions, think the solution is handing more power to the government, which they themselves recognise as full of old white men. It hands power to the state and the institutions it chooses to support. We often blame big business for sexism, which is probably fair, but most people seem to ignore that the state is the greatest supporter of big businesses and monopolies there is.

Since the beginning of the lockdown, the government has already spent over £100 billion on bailing out this country’s big businesses, and yet we wonder why it is the small businesses — who pay men and women the same — that are the ones failing.

True equality between individuals doesn’t always mean abandoning all traditional roles or presumptions within personal relationships, and it certainly doesn’t mean forbidding them. As long as it is voluntary, nobody should feel forced to have an egalitarian relationship, because then suddenly you are a oppressing another “minority” that government loves to single out so much.

The greatest minority is the individual.

Modern activism is concerned with enforcing new societal norms regarding equality for all, and handing more power to an already growing state so that they can enforce these rules on private businesses and individuals. This approach does not allow for individuals to express themselves freely, to decide what they are nor how they wish to live.

PHOTO: JMP UK

THE EXONIAN 2020

RESPECT AND RESILIENCE E

xeter School has had a long history with Exeter Chiefs, the South West’s pride and joy in the world of Rugby Union. Even if you’re not one of the hordes of fans off to Sandy Park every weekend, you’ve probably heard about its success in the last few years since leaving County Ground. In the last four years alone, Chiefs have stormed into the Premiership final every year and were crowned champions in the 2016/17 season — all without breaking the financial rules that Saracens fell foul of.

With such a success story just down the road, The Exonian’s Lily Alford and Tess Gebbie jumped at the chance to interview some of the Chiefs’ community at the stadium. With many keen rugby players at the school, it was a great opportunity to learn more about the Chiefs Academy from coach Hayden Thomas and scrum-half Stu Townsend, who offered great advice for young players. Manager of the Community Department, Aron Struminski, also gave a great insight into the outreach work done by the club to inspire children into rugby.

136 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

SPORT

STUART

TOWNSEND

SCRUM-HALF

HOW HARD WAS YOUR JOURNEY TO THE TOP? My journey was obviously tough, but coming through the academy made it even more enjoyable because of the culture here. The older guys help you out and you will gradually be put into training and into the first team squad. But it is tough at the same time, they do come down hard on you — they want you to be the best player.

DO YOU SEE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO WENT THROUGH THE TRAINING ACADEMY ON THE SAME LEVEL AS YOU? Yes, I went through the academy with Sam Simmonds, Max Medilly, that kind of era. We have all done the same kind of journey, lived in the same house, shared the same emotions.

IS THAT WHAT MAKES EXETER CHIEFS UNIQUE? They are very good at bringing boys through the academy, because of the set-up of the academy and the coaches here. It is very professional and we have so many who have come through the academy into the first team squad and I think it is just going to keep building up.

WHAT’S YOUR ADVICE TO YOUNG CHILDREN WITH SPORTING ASPIRATIONS? Do your school work, enjoy playing rugby, keep playing for a club and you will get picked up along the way. Joe Simmonds didn’t get picked up until really late and now look at him: a fantastic player.

HAVE YOU GOT ANY HOPES FOR THIS SEASON? I’m just looking forward to being back out on the pitch after 10 months off with a knee injury. I’m back training and hopefully soon I will get to run out on the pitch.

HOW DID YOU STAY FIT AFTER BEING INJURED FOR 10 MONTHS? The first few months were about rehabilitating my knee injury and recovering well; I didn't worry too much about fitness. But as time went on, I have done little bits here and there to build it back up.

Slowly training will help me gain my fitness back.

WAS IS STRANGE COMING BACK WITH SOME NEW PLAYERS? It can be strange but you get to know them. Whether it’s in the changing room, in training or on the pitch you just get on with it: you are all on the same team wanting the same thing.

Our relationship with the Exeter Chiefs continues to grow and the players have benefitted from the vast experience of Phil Dollman, an original from the team who were promoted 10 years ago, and Sam Morley, an ex-England U18 player who has signed with the Chiefs having played at Exeter University.

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 137

PHOTO: JMP UK

THE EXONIAN 2020

HAYDEN

THOMAS

WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A PLAYER? People with good character and those want to work hard, are competitive and will fight for everything. Then we look at their rugby skills and how they will fit in here. We have a really good academy from the age of 13 onwards. These key characteristics develop as they are exposed to the Chiefs’ environment and its DNA as they come through.

When we’re taking people outside of that, we look at whether they are good people with a good work ethic, respectful and whether they want to learn.

IS THE TRAINING ACADEMY WHERE YOU MAINLY LOOK FOR PLAYERS? There is a big emphasis on the academy. We want home grown players from Devon and Cornwall, and we have a high percentage of representatives of those in the squad. It’s nice to work with kids from age 13, and see them come all the way through. But, when people do come in from the outside, they bring something new to the club which helps enhance our development.

WHY DO YOU THINK IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO HAVE LOCAL PLAYERS? There is an incentive within the salary cap to have locals, we can’t deny that. But it is also nice to have local people playing for your local club because you get that emotional buy-in. Supporters can get behind local players: look at the Simmonds brothers from Teignmouth.

It’s the club they have always supported and for them to have the chance to play for us is even better.

WHY HAVE YOU REDUCED THE WARM UP TIMES TO 19 MINUTES? We reduced our warm up so that we could be a lot more compact and reduce the distance that players were

COACH

running to get them prepared and fresher for the game.

Sometimes I think that less is more and so we condensed it and made it more efficient to give them more energy.

HOW IS IT BEST FOR PLAYERS TO RECOVER FROM INJURIES? It all depends on the type of injury. If it’s very serious, then recovery will be driven by the medical team or the physios. In general, though, you are always going to get bumps and bruises in rugby, but there are protocols that will help and I think things like a good diet and a good night’s sleep will help. A good active recovery is very important after a game.

HAS THERE BEEN MUCH MORE OF A SHIFT INTO EFFECTIVE RECOVERY? The club in general is very

138 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

WHAT WILL THE NEXT BIG CHANGE IN RUGBY BE? You never know. Attack may change slightly to combat the defence and I think that post-World Cup will focus on tackle height. It is more of an entertaining sport now and people want to play an attractive game of rugby HOW DO YOU MAKE SURE whilst winning. It’s very THEY’RE MENTALLY COPING important that supporters WITH THE PRESSURE? have something to cheer All our senior guys are about to get behind the team.

Rugby Players’ Association HOW HAS RUGBY CHANGED (RPA) members so they all SINCE YOU PLAYED? have access to a wellbeing programme within RPA and Since being promoted, if guys are struggling then facilities and following have there is help available. Lots of grown and we have invested experienced coaches can tell heavily in infrastructure. But if a player is out of character the core values of being a and everyone cares about rugby club, where players are everyone here. The nature of looked after and the coaches professional sport is tough care about the players, stuck and not everyone will be with us. It’s a nice place to be. happy the whole time but we have a positive outlook on it. big on recovery and there has been lots of rehab and strengthening that helps with prevention. We try to address weaknesses at a young age and then it is less likely that they will get injured, so they can play lots of games and keep training.

SPORT

ARON

STRUMINSKI

COMMUNITY MANAGER

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN AT EXETER CHIEFS? Four years. Three years as a Community Coach and this year, I got promoted to Community Manager.

WHAT WORK ARE YOU INVOLVED IN? We work in schools all over the South West, offering what we call social inclusion or social engagement programmes, free of charge.

Social engagement is working with children in areas of deprivation or areas of high crime rate. The inclusion side of the projects includes working with people who have disabilities.

HOW HAVE YOU SEEN THE DEPARTMENT EVOLVE SINCE YOU’VE BEEN HERE? As a department specifically, we’ve advanced quite a lot.

When we started we were only working with primary schools, but now we’ve opened up to secondary schools which is really exciting. Working with primary schools is great, but there’s only so much you can do with them. When you work with secondary school kids, you can have a bit more of a relationship with them as individuals and you can see them develop more. Especially with the kids we work with, because they come from areas of deprivation, a lot of them have never played rugby before. We really try to enthuse them about rugby and inspire them. Sometimes you work with a 14-year-old

who had no interest in rugby at all and then they join their local rugby club.

try to increase the fanbase by working with kids who don’t know rugby or the Chiefs.

DO YOU DO A LOT OF WORK FOR GIRLS AS WELL? Absolutely. Girls’ rugby is growing hugely. And we’ve actually found that when it comes to kids of about 14 and beyond, girls pick it up much more because it’s a new sport. Most boys have probably made their mind up about what they want to do, whereas girls, because it’s suddenly new, they’re more willing to learn and take it on.

HAVE YOU SEEN AN INCREASE IN PEOPLE COMING TO WATCH? It’s quite difficult to measure, but if we go into a school for a 12-week period, people come up to you and say that they’ve just watched their first Exeter Chiefs’ match with their family.

WHAT KIND OF AREAS HAVE YOU WORKED IN? All over the South West. We particularly work in areas like Torquay or Paignton, and more locally like down

by Burnthouse Lane. We’re just really trying to bring rugby to people that a) aren’t taught it by their school and b) don’t have a huge rugby following, or they might not even know about Exeter Chiefs. That’s the main thing; we go into these areas and

WHAT KIND OF QUALITIES DO YOU SEE CHILDREN COMING THROUGH WITH? With rugby you have your core values — respect, discipline, teamwork and enjoyment. And a lot of the schools we go into, the kids won’t have that because they might not have had the best upbringing. Alongside coaching rugby, we’re trying to instil these values into them as well. We’re teaching them the importance of respect and discipline, because these values stay with you for your whole life and help you beyond school.

PHOTO: JMP UK

WHAT LED YOU HERE? I got into the job as the result of my University Coach who works here; he’s the First Team Manager on a Match Day. I didn’t necessarily want to go into coaching rugby, I wanted to do strength and conditioning. After doing a bit of work with the community, I actually found it was really enjoyable

working with young children and inspiring them to play rugby. That got the ball rolling. I just fell in love with the job as time went on.

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 139

THE EXONIAN 2020

RUGBY

1ST XV REPORT

T

he 1st XV have had a very successful season.

We kicked off with a convincing win at our annual pre-season Crediton RFC fixture. However, the tricky reality of competitive rugby set in, with some triangular tournaments not going our way, causing the seniors to re-double their efforts in training. Nonetheless, things started to look up after a solid win 31-14 against Plymouth. The boys started to gel, and we found our flow.

We then went on to win the next six games, five of them consecutively, not conceding a single point. The sixth was against King’s Taunton with a 19-7 win to set us up for a tough fifth round of the National Vase against St Edward’s Oxford. We battled to achieve a tough 17-17 draw, putting us through to the national quarter final against our old friends, Wellington.

An unfortunate and narrow loss of 15-23 left us devastated and out of the tournament.

However, we finished the competitive season on a high with a convincing win of 31-5 over Queen’s Taunton.

Special mentions must go to Harry Emmett for

completing his third year playing for the 1st XV: a rare achievement that he excelled in, using his outstanding strength and blistering speed. Another mention must go to Cameron Dennis. Having just joined in Sixth Form, he was put straight in the midfield with textbook and outrageously powerful defence. He also had representative honours playing for Devon and achieving a trial for South West England. Finally, a mention goes to Alex Peacock, who won the Players’ Player Award by proving his ability over the ball at the breakdown and his carrying ability.

2019 was a successful season across the age groups for ESRFC. There were good fixtures against our traditional opponents alongside the introduction of some new fixtures versus stronger opposition that demonstrates the upward curve the rugby club is currently on. The future is certainly bright with the younger years putting in numerous top quality performances, especially the U14s who reached the East Devon final of the County Cup where after a hard fought draw they only went out due

140 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

to the away team rule. With another challenging fixture card in place the rugby pitches will certainly see some exciting rugby being played over the next few years.

Thanks to our sponsor O’Neills. BY OSCAR STEWART AND TESS GEBBIE

1st XI results Opposition

Result

Crediton RFC

Won 33-0

Wellington School

Lost 12-20

Mount Kelly

Lost 14-24

West Buckland School

Won 33-5

Shebbear College

Won 39-12

Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital (QEH)

Lost 0-5

St Andrew’s Scots School

Lost 12-33

Plymouth College

Won 31-14

Downside School

Won 53-0

Peter Symonds’ College

Won 24-0

King’s School Bruton

Won 38-0

Poole Grammar School

Won 61-0

Truro School

Won 61-0

Truro School

Won 26-0

Won - 10

Drew - 0

Lost - 4

SPORT

2ND XV REPORT

I

t would be an understatement to say this year’s second team have had both an arduous and demanding season.

The season started off well with a 33-7 win against a physical Wellington School, allowing our large squad to test our handling and communication under game pressure. Sadly though, throughout the season the squad has suffered from a multitude of injuries and last-minute cancellations, making it difficult for the boys to build up momentum.

However, due to the sheer determination of the squad this still led us to finish with a mixed sheet of a couple of resounding wins and some very narrow losses.

This year the backs have worked effectively, running our plays smoothly yet with pace, allowing us to exploit gaps and play the game how we wanted. This was largely furthered by Sam Moudiotis, our fly half, who displayed great accuracy from conversions to cross-field

kicks. Although the forwards have not had size on their side, the pack pulled together, showing great physicality both offensively and defensively enabling them to make constant up-front tackles and hold their own against all opposing sides.

Certain players consistently showed exceptional skill and talent, leading to several of the boys making 1st XV debuts, two of whom (Stan Hart and Sam Hayes) who were selected to play for the First Team frequently. Players to watch out for next season include Finlay Scott, Toby Bower, Nicky Crighton, Guy Baker, Sam Moudiotis and Joe Sampson. A huge thank you goes to Mr Trelawny for his expert coaching and to Mr Ross as well. It has been a great final season for me: good luck to the rest of the boys in their future at ESRFC.

BY KIRAN LAKE

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 141

THE EXONIAN 2020

JUNIOR SCHOOL RUGBY

I love diving in the mud and the excitement of scoring.

JAMES BIDDICK (U10)

O

nce again, it has been a very busy rugby season in the Junior School, with attendance at Rugby Club being particularly impressive.

It was also a pleasure to see so many of our girls enjoy their first taste of the sport, throwing themselves into the game quite literally. We look forward to hopefully seeing the development of teams for both boys and girls in the coming years.

Form One boys attended two very enjoyable festivals at Blundell’s Prep and Plymouth College, where they developed their tag rugby skills. The U9A team had a challenging season, but real progress was shown at the Blundell’s Prep Festival in November. The highlight for the U9B team was a very busy afternoon at the Plymouth Prep Festival, where they played four matches.

The U10A team generally performed well in the regular fixtures and it was a source of great disappointment that they missed out on the Queen’s College Festival, which was cancelled due to inclement weather. The highlight for the U10Bs was a highly entertaining draw away at Blundell’s Prep in the last game of the season.

The U11Bs made great progress, which was particularly demonstrated by their brilliant performance against Blundell’s Prep

under the expert guidance of Mr Mason, the school’s Director of Sport. The U11As also got off to a promising start, with three comfortable wins and one narrow defeat at Plymouth Rugby Festival and remained unbeaten until their last match, where they were unlucky to lose against Trinity. After a win against Exeter Cathedral School in September, changes were made to the defensive side of the game. After a comprehensive victory at West Buckland the new defence was very much tested against a very good King Edward’s Bath side. The defence stayed firm and we achieved a narrow victory.

The team’s defence was further tested by an excellent Blundell’s team, which launched wave after wave of attack. This was a fantastic game which eventually ended 0—0. Captain Daniel Adams commented: “We worked our socks off in defence and played much of the game on the back foot. I was very proud of my teammates.”

The team went on to finish very strongly, being unbeaten at the Truro Prep Festival in late November.

BY MR PIDWELL AND DANIEL ADAMS (CAPTAIN)

142 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

JUNIOR SCHOOL RUGBY RESULTS Regular fixtures P

W

L

D

U11A

7

4

2

1

U11B

4

3

1

0

U11C

1

1

0

0

U10A

6

4

2

0

U10B

5

2

2

1

U9A

3

1

2

0

U9B

3

1

2

0

U8*

2

-

-

-

Total

31

16

11

2

*Match results not published for U8s.

SPORT

JUNIOR SCHOOL RUGBY RESULTS Festivals/tournaments P

W

L

D

U11A

9

8

1

0

U10A

0

0

0

0

U9A

13

4

3

6

U9B

4

0

3

1

U8*

2

-

-

-

Total

28

12

7

7

I love playing the game and the adrenaline rush I get when scoring a try is amazing.

*Match results not published for U8s.

VINCENT DONG (U9)

There is a friendly atmosphere and the team works well together.

There’s lots of passing and everyone is nice to each other.

OLIVER LISTER (U10)

I like being part of the team, it feels like a community.

JAMES BIDDICK (U10)

Win % = 28 out of 57 = 49% Colours: Daniel Adams, Josh Paget, William Maynard, Jacob Hardy, Ross Jameson Player of the Year (Kilmartin Cup): William Maynard Most Improved Player: Harry Gray House Competition: Gilbert E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 143

THE EXONIAN 2020

HOCKEY BOYS’ HOCKEY

T

here were many highlights in a slightly disrupted season. All teams from the U18s to the U12s must be congratulated for their approach to hockey once again this year. There have been superb numbers at training and a great club spirit. The weather was kind throughout all of the block fixtures which meant we only missed one fixture right at the end of the season due to the lockdown.

The coaching staff have worked hard to build their respective teams with wellstructured and challenging training sessions. Their dedication and passion for the sport helps to inspire the players to commit to the regular competitive fixtures.

The final block fixture of the season against Queen’s College Taunton will live long in the memory as it saw the start of the social distancing we now all know too well.

Elbow bumps and air high fives were the order of the day as we all cherished the last chance to play competitively for some time.

The National Cup competitions are often seen as the pinnacle of the competitions each season.

The U13s performed brilliantly in the Devon round to be crowned champions.

Unfortunately, they missed the chance to make further

progress as the West of England Finals were cancelled in the last week of term. Both the U12s and U13s were a joy to watch in the 7-a-side matches and we look forward to seeing some of them develop their 11-a-side skills next year.

The U14s developed a great team spirit with plenty of fluidity between the As and Bs. Many had the chance to fight for positions in the starting 11 which helped to lift the standard of all involved.

They dragged themselves through the Devon round of the National School competition and were also crowned champions.

They played in their West of England Finals and were unfortunate not to qualify for the later stages.

The U16 team was made up

144 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

of a mix of Middle Fifth and Upper Fifth. They entered the National Plate competition which saw them travel far and wide within the West Country to play some of the

biggest boarding schools.

They marched their way through the early stages with some stunning performances to be matched up against Magdalen College, Oxford

SPORT

in the national last 16. That put them only one win away from a place in the final’s day held at the Lee Valley Hockey Stadium. The lockdown came into place and we will never quite know how we would have finished!

The U18 first and second teams had a pleasing number of players commit to the season’s fixtures. Thanks must go to the large group of Upper Sixth that have given the hockey club many years of dedication throughout their time at the school, many of whom have played in competitive fixtures since their time in the Junior School! The 1st XI had a pleasing run in the National Plate competition but were unfortunate to be drawn away for many of their matches.

The senior players did a wonderful job of welcoming the younger players into the setup and were pleased to have their energy and enthusiasm on the pitch.

We look forward to another great season in 2021 and hope that having such a long stretch without competitive sport will inspire more pupils to take up hockey, making the most of the exciting opportunities on offer.

BY MR JONES

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 145

THE EXONIAN 2020

HOCKEY GIRLS’ HOCKEY

W

ell done to all of the girls on a brilliant season: it has been great to see such high numbers of pupils at training and available for fixtures.

The teams finished with a pleasing win ratio of 64% from a total of over 90 fixtures this season.

A huge thank you goes to all the senior girls who have shown excellent commitment to hockey throughout their time at Exeter School. It is hoped they will continue their hockey careers and they are all to be warmly welcomed to the annual OE match in September. The girls’ 1st XI hockey team had a brilliant season with some highly memorable moments, such as beating Bristol Grammar on penalty flicks to get through to the next round of the cup. Another highlight was the chance to play against a very fast, skilful touring Argentinian team.

We learnt a lot together this season and really gelled as a team. Hopefully next year this can be continued.

Across the season, U18 and U16 teams have competed well in this year’s inaugural Investec National Cup Competitions, progressing through the rounds and

146 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

SPORT

playing some fluent hockey.

Congratulations also goes to the U18 girls’ and boys’ teams who represented Devon at the West of England Indoor Finals. Our U14s finished impressively as Devon runners up, narrowly losing in the final and competing well in the South-West Preliminaries. For the U12s and 13s, it has been great to see so many pupils keen to play hockey and having great success and fun. The U13s were crowned country champions at Blundell’s and proceeded to the West of England finals at Millfield.

Congratulations must also go to the members of both the boys’ and girls’ hockey club who have been selected for the Devon Academy Centres and England Performance Centre. Finally, a big thank you to all the staff who have given up huge amounts of their time and energy to make fixtures and training possible, and to our sponsors Westerly BMW.

BY HOLLY MAYNARD AND ELLIE MURPHY

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 147

THE EXONIAN 2020

JUNIOR SCHOOL HOCKEY

JUNIOR BOYS’ HOCKEY

O

nce again, it has been a busy term for our hockey players, in spite of some inclement weather and the enforced early end to the term. Both the Senior and Junior Hockey Clubs were well attended and fixtures were enjoyed by all age groups.

Form One boys had their first experience of a competitive fixture with a series of games against teams form Blundell’s Prep, whilst the U9s tested their skills in a festival against Blundell’s Prep, King’s Hall and Taunton Prep.

Whilst the U10Bs remained unbeaten, the U10As had a particularly challenging season, although the boys made great progress in the second half of term, finishing off the season with a narrow defeat against Taunton Prep.

This only told half the story, as the standard of hockey on show that Saturday morning in March was quite exceptional and bodes really well for when the boys make the step up to being U11s next season.

It was very encouraging to put out four U11 teams at times during the season. The

JUNIOR SCHOOL BOYS’ HOCKEY RESULTS Regular fixtures P

W

L

D

U11A

6

3

3

0

U11B

5

5

0

0

U11C

1

1

0

0

U11D

1

1

0

0

U10A 0 4 U11Bs won all of their regular fixtures and only tasted defeat 3 1 U10B 2 0 once in a festival at Blundell’s Prep. Meanwhile the U11A 1 0 U9A 0 1 team had a difficult start to the season, but improved 1 0 U9B 0 1 as the term progressed, under the watchful eye 22 1 Total 12 9 of Mr Evans. The boys performed encouragingly at the Blundell’s Prep Festival.

Two days later, they took part in the county finals at West Buckland. Captain Toby Kenefick commented: “It was an enjoyable season, with a large number of games played. Quite a few players moved from the Bs to the As and there has been a big improvement in the skills of the whole year group. One of the highlights was attending the Devon Finals.

In spite of not being at our Win % = 17 out of 36 = 47% best, we scraped Colours: Toby Kenefick, Ollie Johnson, Rufus Lovell through to the regionals on goal Player of the Year: Toby Kenefick difference.”

Sadly, as with Most Improved Player: Tom Madgwick so much sport around that House Competition: Blake time, Covid-19 put paid to our representation at this event!

4

BY MR ASHMAN AND TOBY KENEFICK (CAPTAIN)

148 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

0

JUNIOR SCHOOL BOYS’ HOCKEY RESULTS Festivals/Tournaments P

W

L

D

U11A

5

2

2

1

U11B

3

2

1

0

U9B

3

1

1

1

U8A

3

0

3

0

Total

14

5

7

2

SPORT JUNIOR GIRLS’ HOCKEY

I

t has been an excellent season for all hockey players and it has been fantastic to see the levels of enjoyment that have taken place on a weekly basis in games lessons, at hockey club and when representing Exeter Junior School in competitive matches.

The Form One and Upper One girls have enjoyed developing their hockey skills and knowledge and it was a pleasure to witness the levels of progression the U8 team showed throughout the course of the season. At U9 A and B level, many players experienced a plethora of match day experiences ranging from festivals, tournaments and friendly games against a wide variety of opposition. The U9A team very much enjoyed the Plymouth College festival and the team were able to score a huge 22 goals in 8 games!

The U10A and B teams played in a new tournament this year and competed on a Saturday against Hazlegrove, King’s Hall, Taunton School, Queen’s College and Blundell’s Prep to mention but a few. The U10A team at Taunton were able to celebrate coming third place overall and they also were runners up in the Exeter Junior School invitational tournament held before half term. The B and C teams enjoyed playing in a number of competitive games against schools such as St Peter’s Prep and Wellington School

JUNIOR SCHOOL GIRLS’ HOCKEY RESULTS Regular fixtures

demonstrating their strength and depth.

Lastly the U11s had a full fixture calendar. The A, B and Cs were able to enjoy end to end games against Wellington School, Exeter Cathedral School, Stover and Mount Kelly. Captain of the U11A team, Beatrice Hughes, very much enjoyed the last two games of the season against St Peter’s and West Buckland in a triangular fixture. Beatrice said about the season: “We have been on a brilliant journey this term. We have gelled really well as an U11A team and we have worked hard for each other on and off the ball.” BY MISS WRIGHT

P

W

L

D

U11A

6

3

3

0

U11B

6

2

3

1

U11C

1

0

1

0

U10A

7

4

1

2

U10B

8

5

2

1

U10C

1

1

0

0

U9A

4

3

0

1

U9B

7

2

1

4

U8

5

-

-

-

Total

45

20

11

9

*Match results not published for U8s.

Colours: Daisy Brough, Katie McMurray, Bea Hughes U11 Player of the Season: Bea Hughes U11 Most Improved Player: Poppy Sadeghi House Competition: Blake JUNIOR SCHOOL GIRLS’ HOCKEY RESULTS Tournaments P

W

L

D

U11A

8

2

4

2

U10A

13

8

2

3

U10B

3

1

2

0

U9A

12

12

0

0

U9B

5

2

1

2

Total

41

25

9

7

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 149

THE EXONIAN 2020

NETBALL I

t has been another strong year for school netball and I would like to congratulate everyone involved in the 2019/2020 season. Every team has had considerable success; this is due to the dedication and commitment of the girls and also a reflection of the input and passion from their coaches. I would like to thank all the coaches for their involvement in training and matches. Special mention must go the 1st VII who have had the most successful netball season the school has seen.

The season starts as always in September with the National Schools qualifying rounds and for the first time this year we entered the ISNC Cup. The 1st VII qualified through the Area, County and then reached the Regional round of the National Schools Competition. The girls were superb ambassadors for the school, themselves and netball. Playing against the

best schools in the South West and finishing seventh was a fantastic achievement.

This set the scene for an impressive spring term of netball for all four senior teams. It has been a pleasure to work with such a focused and enthusiastic squad of girls, who have been great role models for the younger years. My thanks go to Martha Halse for her support captaining the first team, Mrs Stewart for her time and input and to all the leavers for their hard work over the years.

The U13 team reached the third round of the ISNC plate competition in November, this earlier exposure to tough competition helped ready the team for the main spring term fixtures. Combined with a strong U12 squad we are looking forward to the juniors moving up through the squads. The U14 and U15 teams have made good progress and were competitive in their end of

150 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

season tournaments. Both year groups have seen large numbers at training and it has been great to see lots of opportunity for participation and competition for positions.

Unfortunately the end of the season was cut short due to lockdown and we missed our final block fixture against Queen’s but this has made us all the more hungry for

next season. Well done to all players on a fantastic season and I look forward to the challenges ahead of next year.

Thanks to our sponsor Exeter Jazzercise for their support.

BY MISS CARTER

SPORT

NETBALL RESULTS P

W

L

D

1st VII

8

6

2

0

2nd VII

5

4

0

1

3rd VII

3

0

3

0

4th VII

3

0

3

0

U15A

7

1

6

0

U15B

6

4

2

0

U14A

10

7

3

0

U14B

7

4

3

0

U13A

8

3

5

0

U13B

6

4

2

0

U12A

8

3

5

0

U12B

5

5

0

0

Total

74

43

29

2

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 151

THE EXONIAN 2020

JUNIOR SCHOOL NETBALL

JUNIOR SCHOOL NETBALL RESULTS Regular Fixtures

I

t has been an exciting netball season for Exeter Junior School, not only due to the brilliant training sessions, Games lessons and matches played, but also for the Form One and Upper One pupils who played the new England Bee Netball game.

All pupils in the Junior School have represented Exeter in a number of matches against other schools across the spring term. Attendance at extracurricular clubs has been outstanding, with players attending every week displaying their commitment and love for the game.

Highlights this season at U11 level were at one of the last games of the season against Wellington for both

A and B teams. The games were competitive and it was fantastic to see the levels of improvement players had made throughout the season.

This was topped off with some excellent score lines, winning both games.

At the U10 level the A team were particularly proud of their results and performance in the Exeter Junior School tournament and the B and C teams thoroughly enjoyed playing against the likes of Stockland Primary School, Exeter Cathedral School and St Peter’s Prep.

As previously mentioned the U9 and U8s really embraced the new Bee Netball format, picking up the skills and tactics well. I know both age groups thoroughly

152 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

P

W

L

D

U11A

11

6

4

1

U11B

11

5

3

2

U11C

3

0

3

0

U10A

11

6

5

0

U10B

8

7

1

0

U10C

1

0

1

0

U9A

4

0

3

1

U9B

6

0

6

0

U8A

4

n/a

n/a

n/a

Total

59

24

26

4

SPORT

U10 and U9 runners up in the Exeter Junior School Tournaments

enjoyed playing at Exeter University in a festival style, playing against St Peter’s Prep, The Maynard and ECS. Captain Daisy Brough said about the season: “Netball has been great this term with outstanding performances from the U8 right the way up to the U11s. Many players have displayed excellent skills as well as sportsmanship throughout and I hope everyone is proud of all of their achievements.”

Colours: Hanna Sari, Lucy Vosper, Daisy Brough, Katie McMurray, Bea Hughes Player of the Year: Katie McMurray Most Improved Player: Emilia Biggers and Poppy Sadeghi House Competition: Scott and Grenville joint winners

BY MISS WRIGHT

JUNIOR SCHOOL NETBALL RESULTS Festivals/Tournaments P

W

L

D

U11A

6

2

4

0

U10A

3

2

1

0

U9A

5

4

1

0

Total

14

8

6

0 E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 153

THE EXONIAN 2020

FOOTBALL 1ST XI FOOTBALL

B

oth the 1st and 2nd XI teams experienced a competitive and rewarding run of games throughout the 2019/2020 season. In spite of an abrupt end (due to Covid-19), we can still look back on successes both individually and collectively.

The first game for the 1st XI came as a bold victory, despite the assembly of a new squad, which included fresh players from the Upper Fifth, Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth. The 4­–1 win against Queen’s College Taunton provided the team with authority and enthusiasm moving forward. Our next friendly was a challenging fight against a strong, wellstructured, Colyton Grammar side and despite an early goal from Joey Bown and multiple injuries throughout the team, the game ended as a close 2–1 defeat. Travelling away to The King’s School, Ottery, we fought hard to earn a high scoring victory (3–1) and showed the great capability of the team to play on all surfaces, as their venue

is a sandy and slippery astro pitch. On Wednesday 27 November, we were defeated

by King’s College Taunton, losing 6–0, after turning up to play and not having enough time for a warm-up, but quickly bounced back with a professional and artistic display of football to beat a ‘switched on’ Exeter College side, 3­–0, marking our first clean sheet of the season.

Due to inclement weather, we were unable to play against The Woodroffe School in January. After not playing competitive football together for several weeks, the team managed to gain a moral victory over King’s College, Taunton in the first ISCA League fixture; a tense 0–0 draw was the final result. We then beat Shebbear College (in a crowd-entertaining friendly!) 6–2 in our first home game of the season, thereby laying down a marker for the games to come. A special mention goes out to Charlie Pullen for scoring our first and only hat-trick of the season. With only league fixtures left to play, we won away Taunton School (2–0) and drew 2–2 with Blundell’s,

154 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

SPORT

1st XI FOOTBALL RESULTS P

W

L

D

10

6

2

2

2nd XI FOOTBALL RESULTS P

W

L

D

4

1

3

0

after a last-minute goal was conceded on a very tricky home surface.

Our last played game against Wellington, away on 4 March, was arguably one of the greatest league performances Exeter School 1st XI has put in over the last 3 years. Even though the fixture was almost called off due to stormy weather conditions, the lads made playing on a waterlogged pitch look simple and went on to win 5–0, with five individual scorers, showing the depth of quality in the team.

Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, our annual fixture against the Old Exonians and the remaining league fixture between Wellington and Taunton School were cancelled, thereby crowning us as the 2019/2020 Isca League winners!

The 2nd XI played four matches in the Isca Combination League, winning one out of four. The sole victory came in a 7–3 thriller against Wellington, with Tom Peters scoring a hat-trick. Moving forward to next season, the 2nd XI has brought confidence and experience to many new players looking to take part in competitive football at Exeter School in the ensuing years.

Overall, a fantastic effort from everyone involved in the 1st and 2nd XI football teams and a big thank you to Mr Ashman and Mr Charters for another season of passionate coaching and love for the game! BY ANGUS HARRIS (1ST XI CAPTAIN 2019/2020)

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 155

THE EXONIAN 2020

Win % = 25 out of 50 = 50% Winners of ESFA Primary Schools Cup (Exeter & East Devon) Colours: William Maynard, Charlie Atkins, Tom Cresswell Player of the Year: Charlie Atkins Most Improved Player: Cameron McDowell House Competition: Blake JUNIOR SCHOOL FOOTBALL RESULTS Regular Fixtures

JUNIOR SCHOOL FOOTBALL

O

nce again, we have had a very productive football season, with all age groups playing matches spread over two terms, running alongside rugby and hockey. As ever, both our football clubs were extremely well attended.

The highlight for our U8s was a convincing win against Millfield Prep in January.

Whilst our U9s struggled in regular fixtures, Mr Pidwell and I were delighted at how the U9As showed great resilience and belief to enjoy a very productive afternoon at our U9 tournament

JUNIOR SCHOOL FOOTBALL RESULTS Festivals/Tournaments

W

L

D

U11A

4

3

1

0

U11B

5

0

5

0

U10A

4

3

0

1

P

W

L

D

U10B

4

2

2

0

U11A

16

10

4

2

U9A

4

1

3

0

U9A

5

3

1

1

U9B

5

1

4

0

Total

21

13

5

3

U8A

3

2

0

1

Total

29

12

15

2

here in March, where they finished as runners-up, after winning three out of their five matches.

Both our U10 teams had encouraging seasons, with some quality games against our neighbours at St Leonard’s Primary School being the high point of the season.

In spite of finding wins hard to come by, the U11Bs showed great progress, with a very large number of boys being given the opportunity to represent the school at this level. The U11A team had a busy season; 20 matches

156 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

P

were played, including those in tournaments. The boys worked really hard in the initial coaching sessions and were rewarded for their efforts at the Exeter and East Devon Round of the Danone Cup in early December, winning five and drawing two of the seven matches played, thereby qualifying for the county finals.

After Christmas, we continued our progression, with a very creditable set of performances at the

Exeter City FC round of the Kids Cup, where we lost on penalties in the semi-finals.

Captain William Maynard takes up the story on what turned out to be the highlight of the season: “After losing the semi-final on penalties to St Nicholas, we were all devastated. However, we brushed ourselves down and put the demons to rest by beating St Michael’s on penalties to finish third overall.” BY MR ASHMAN AND WILLIAM MAYNARD (CAPTAIN)

SPORT

I

SQUASH

t has been an extremely successful year for school squash that was only cut short by the lockdown. The year started extremely well with full squads training on the courts and friendlies showing positive results against West Buckland and King’s Taunton.

In the National Schools competition, the U16 had a tough first round draw against Marlborough and Truro School and despite some gutsy performances and long rallies they were unable to progress in the cup competition. In the plate the opposition remained strong and despite losing to Wycliffe and North Leamington the squad gained valuable experience on court that will set them in good stead for next year.

This year was the first time that we have fielded a girls’ team and they have set the bar high for future years. In the cup competition they beat Wycliffe 141–86, Downe House 135–96 and finally Balcarras in a nail-biting encounter 125–123. Georgia Read and Elle Goldsworthy

Colours: Tom O’Connor, Franklin Herrald and William Maynard Most Improved Boys: Franklin Herrald Most Improved Girls: Lucy Vosper In addition, the U11 team was due to attend the IAPS competition, but due to Covid-19, the event was cancelled George Aplin tournament: Did not happen due to Covid-19

S

quash has really taken off this year at Exeter Junior School and we have 12 pupils who are of match playing standard; indeed, enough for two full teams. In addition, we had fantastic numbers for the coaching after school on Thursdays and at Friday lunch time sessions; it was fantastic to see and be a part of.

Despite the season being cut short, we had a number of excellent and tight fought matches against St Peter’s Prep and all players thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It was a great experience

not only to host St Peter’s but also play away at Exeter Golf and Country Club too. Captain Tom O’Connor said about the season: “I am very pleased with what Exeter Junior School squash teams have achieved this year and I feel that every single player has made immense improvement with their skills and indeed game play.”

MR MASON

JUNIOR SCHOOL SQUASH

Player of the Year Boys: Tom O’Connor

House Competition: Blake

provided crucial wins in their matches. These wins secured them a place in the national cup final and it was cruel that only days before they travelled to Nottingham for the Cup Finals the school term was cut short due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

The senior boys’ team started the year as defending National Plate champions so hopes were high for another good year. In the early rounds the team defeated Bryanston and had tight matches against strong Millfield and King’s Taunton teams. They entered the plate rounds where they faced the same teams as last year in Bradfield and Bristol Grammar School. Dominant performances from all of the squad saw two wins — 165–66 against Bradfield and 152–85 against Bristol Grammar School, securing a place in the National Plate Finals. Hopes were high and the team trained hard on court in preparation but, like the girls’ team, the Covid-19 lockdown prevented their dream of defending their title.

JUNIOR SCHOOL SQUASH RESULTS P

W

L

D

U11

3

2

0

1

Total

3

2

0

1

BY MISS WRIGHT

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 157

THE EXONIAN 2020

TENNIS Deuce-y tennis

A

lthough severely limited by the events of 2020, our pupils did manage to sneak in some competitive tennis at the start of the year.

Exeter School hosted a fun mixed tennis festival with Isca College, West Exe and St James School. Jon Rycroft, the professional tennis coach who comes into Exeter School to coach on a Tuesday and Wednesday organised the event. It was great fun with everyone being given the opportunity to play competitive matches.

At the end of September, Elle Golsworthy, Phoebe Redfern, Roxanne Bosch and Izzy Cortizo represented Devon at the regional Year 7 & 8 Tennis Finals, unfortunately losing out in the beginning rounds to Bournemouth Grammar School, but managing to battle admirably in the later matches and show some real quality.

For the boys, JoJo Yang, Oscar Clements, Jack Wreford and Charlie Hill played in the Regional Division 2 Finals against St Osmond’s. Jack Wreford and Charlie Hill secured an excellent win in the doubles. Overall they secured a win of two singles out of three, then winning one out of three doubles: the future is bright for these talented youngsters.

BY NAOMI REYNOLDS

GOLF F

ollowing two highly successful years hopes were high as five singlefigure handicappers returned for another year. The first round of the HMC Foursomes brought the boys up against Truro who were dispatched 3–0 at Okehampton Golf Club. Millfield lay ahead at exactly the same stage of the competition where the excitement of a last green finish had gone in our favour 12 months previously. Sadly, things could not be repeated and at the challenging links championship course of Burnham and Berrow, the Millfield team just proved too strong on a windy day.

Normally the team would then have had a mid-winter break before returning for the Devon Schools’ Championship and a number of summer term friendlies.

With lockdown it was not to be and despite the departure

158 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

of Upper Sixth Former Tom Peters, Fred Bishop, Louis Hayman, Ben Reynolds, Jack Parry and Niall McCarthy all remain. Competition for the final team spot will be fierce; there are a number of potential recruits at the school and golf is one of the sports which has been able to get going the quickest post lockdown. I hope that I will be able to join them again on a course and watch them outdrive and outscore me with ease!

There is also a rare accolade to report on: Fred Bishop was invited in October 2019 to join the England Golf Regional Squad training programme which incorporates a Diploma in Sporting Excellence (DiSE).

In addition, Fred, Louis, Jack and Ben have been part of the Devon squad training programme. BY MR WILCOCK

SPORT

SWIMMING

I feel the squad has performed wonderfully and every gala is fun and a challenge. I can’t wait to get back to it.

FRAN JENNER

T

he swim team has had a busy term with the three squad sessions per week well attended by both development and competitive squad swimmers. The team has been developing well in both ability and stamina. It has also been great to see many pupils competing for the school for the first time with a number of development squad swimmers stepping up to compete in inter-school galas. There have also been opportunities for the senior swimmers, Grace Gillingham, Poppy McKinney, Amelia Simpson and Luca Riezzo, to start to take on more of a coaching role, and even writing and presenting their own sessions.

The season started with five age groups entering the Regional round of English School relays; technique and determination was strong with the Junior Girls’ team of Fran Jenner, Sara Sari, Connie Croft and Rosie Batchelor

gaining 12th and 13th places, out of 42 schools, in freestyle and medley relays while the Junior Boys’ team of Patrick Eveling, Charlie Simpson, Gus Hetherington and George Gillingham achieved an excellent sixth in the medley relay.

Despite the shorter season the team has competed in seven galas which have included 11 schools. The standards of the swimming in these galas is stepping up.

One of the highlights of these was the most challenging fixture of the year against Torquay Boys’ and Girls’ Grammar Schools. While the win went to Torquay, all swimmers gave their all and stepped up a gear and, as a consequence 13 school swimming records and five overall pool records were broken by Exeter swimmers.

Three of these galas were part of the round robin event against Wellington, West Buckland and Queen’s, which is now in its second year; E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 159

THE EXONIAN 2020

This year the squad has really improved their overall confidence levels with all of the different strokes GRACE GILLINGHAM

SWIMMING SENIOR SCHOOL SWIMMING RESULTS Date

Competing schools and results

13 November 2019

Maynard School 101 Exeter School 85

18 November 2019

Girls: Torquay Girls’ Grammar School 117 Exeter School 56 Boys: Torquay Boys’ Grammar School 98 Exeter School 78

25 November 2019

Exeter School 158 Queen’s College, Taunton 126 West Buckland School 109 Wellington School 107

27 January 2020

Exeter School 147 Exeter Cathedral School 85

3 February 2020

Queen Elizabeth School, Crediton 99 Exeter School 84

25 February 2020

King’s College, Taunton 203 Exeter School 181 Wellington School 143 West Buckland 117 Queen’s College, Taunton 116

26 February 2020

Exeter School 94 The King’s School Ottery 87 Colyton Grammar School 53

160 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

pupils from all schools have enjoyed these regular races in the calendar which always guarantee highly charged events and competitive, yet friendly, rivalry.

Sara Sari in the Fourth Form was nominated for the South West Schools team in the English Schools’ Swimming Association 68th Interdivisional National Schools’ Swimming Championships on 29 February — 1 March 2020. She was selected against some tough competition as one of the five U13 girls to represent the South West and competed in two individual and two relay events.

The pool has been used for other aspects of aquatics.

The Middle Fifth lifesaving course completed at the end of the autumn term with nine pupils gaining Silver Survive and Save Awards. The water polo team trained hard over the spring term under the watchful eye of Lily May Girvin. The school had their first water polo fixture on 2 March away at King’s College, Taunton.

Many thanks to all the coaches who made this possible, namely Mr Jones and Mr Ross. BY DR ROBB

SPORT

W

hen looking at the results table it might appear that swimming didn’t have a particularly “successful” season if you base success on winning alone. However, despite the season being cut short, I would describe the year as being extremely successful and one to be celebrated beyond all measures.

Both the competitive and development squads have been full with 30 members each. Attendance at training and galas has been outstanding and the attitude that swimmers have shown from both squads is inspiring.

Boys’ captain Harry Allen said: “The current development and competitive swimming squads have shown major improvements from Form One to Upper Two. Both squads displayed lots of good sportsmanship, with great performance in galas.”

There are two main highlights that standout from this season. Firstly, it was the swimming gala v Taunton School when we hosted them in January. We had previously swum against them in October and it was clear that Taunton has been training hard and the score line was larger than we had hoped for.

However, when we had our rematch, although Taunton won, it was only by a mere five points. This demonstrated just how much progress both competitive and development squads had made.

The second highlight was the IAPS qualifiers in March. We entered into 24 events and in 22 of the races, swimmers achieved personal bests! In addition to this, we were delighted to learn that we had qualified for the National Finals in five

JUNIOR SCHOOL SWIMMING Colours: Hanna Sari, Emily Bishop, Lamorna May, Harry Allen, Ollie Johnson Swimmer of the Year Boys: Harry Allen Swimmer of the Year Girls: Hanna Sari and Emily Bishop Most Improved Girls: Evie Jenkins and Connie Kemmish Most Improved Boys: Rufus Lovell and Sebastian Hemmings In addition, the U10 and U11 teams attended the IAPS competition and qualified in 5 events to go to the nationals at the London 2012 Olympic swimming pool. Due to Covid-19 the nationals did not happen.

House Competition: Did not happen due to Covid- 19 events. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 the National Finals that were due to take place in London at the 2012 Olympic swimming pool were cancelled.

The girls’ swimming captain Emily Bishop said the following about the season: “I was so happy to be this year’s captain. I loved competing in all the galas and supporting my teammates.”

Harry Allen added: “In galas, the performance was of a high standard and many swimmers achieved a new personal best time. It has been a pleasure to have got to captain such a positive and determined squad of swimmers.” BY MISS WRIGHT

JUNIOR SCHOOL SWIMMING RESULTS P

W

L

D

U11

4

2

2

0

U10

4

2

2

0

U9

4

2

2

0

Total

12

6

6

0

NATIONAL FINALS QUALIFIERS Hanna Sari U11 Breaststroke 50m (3rd position out of 163) Emily Bishop U11 Butterfly 50m (9th out of 113) Evie Handley, Annabel Jenner, Hanna Sari, Emily Bishop (reserve Evie Jenkins) U11 Medley Relay 4 x 25m (8th out of 154) Lamorna May, Evie Handley, Emily Bishop, Hanna Sari (reserve Evie Jenkins) U11 Freestyle Relay 4 x 25m (7th out of 165) Harry Allen U11 Backstroke 50m (15th out of 141) We were also the reserve team for the U10 Medley Relay 4 x 25m (21st out of 105); Monty Houghton, Joseph Lomas, Thomas Byron, James Biddick (reserve Theo Lawrence).

E X E T E R S C H O O L . O R G . U K 161

THE EXONIAN 2020

CROSS COUNTRY

C Colours: Selected from training sessions every Thursday after school in the spring term — Oliver Johnson and Gracie Blake House Competition: Did not happen due to Covid-19

ross country was hit rather hard this year, not only with Covid-19 but also the weather.

Unfortunately all external cross-country events were cancelled and the only slightly formal cross country we were able to do was in PE and Games lessons both in the autumn and spring terms.

Despite this, every week between January and March, the fully inclusive crosscountry club took part for all age groups on Thursday afternoons. The club was new for 2020 and it was fantastic to see the brilliant uptake from runners. Girls’ captain Gracie Blake said: “We worked hard at club training, focusing on developing and improving our endurance and cardiovascular fitness.”

Boys’ captain Ollie Johnson said: “I enjoyed the Cross Country Club and we did so much preparation for the external events. I was devastated when I heard we couldn’t participate in any of the planned events.”

At Exeter Junior School, we very much look forward to a more productive crosscountry season… we have plenty of time to prepare for it!

BY MISS WRIGHT

162 QEDS E X E T E R S C H O O L U K

www.exeterschool.org.uk QEDS ExeterSchoolUK Head/Admissions 01392 273679 Junior School 01392 258738

Exeter School Victoria Park Road Exeter EX2 4NS 01392 258712