WHAT? WHERE?

A selective co-ed day school with over 1000 pupils aged 3 to 18, spread over the main city site and the Pre-Prep at Exminster, Exeter School is known as being Devon’s high achiever, and it looks the part: a sympathetically extended red-brick Victorian Schoolhouse and Chapel located in 25 acres of Exeter’s leafy suburbs. The long-serving head, Bob Griffin, retired in 2021, paving the way for the school’s first ever female head, Louise Simpson, whose passion is character education.

Exeter School started life in the 17th century as a boys’ grammar, moving to its current site in Victorian times and went fully co-ed in the late 20th century. Most of the intake hails from dual-income professional families who live locally and who care less about snob-factor than getting a good education for their children. Notable Exonian alumni include Olympic sailor, Ben Rhodes, and two of the comedians’ Jennifer Saunders and Ade Edmondson’s daughters were educated here.

Academically, it’s known for being a fast-paced STEM school, but teachers are keen to promote their good grades in the arts too, and the fact they’ve snaffled top South West billing in The Sunday Times Parent Power over the last five years.

The focus on academics is balanced with a massive extracurricular programme, including either DofE or the Combined Cadet Force, an option to do the rigorous Dartmoor trek, Ten Tors, stacks of after-school and weekend clubs, and oodles of options in sport, drama, art and music.

FACILITIES

Given the acreage, the greenery is roomy for a city school, laid out in campus style around the original Schoolhouse and Chapel, and surrounded by sports fields and astroturf pitches with sympathetic extensions and a range of separate blocks, including a Junior School and Sixth Form Centre.

Once you’ve clocked how incredibly well-maintained the school is (not a peeling bit of paint anywhere, thanks to a large Estates Team) the star turn is the purpose-built Music Centre, as well as the extensive sports facilities which ensure kids aren’t wasting time travelling off-site.

The feather in the school’s sporting cap is a new’ish indoor 25m heated swimming pool and changing rooms. How’s that for impressive?

If your child isn’t musical before they get here, they probably will be by the time they leave. All Form One Junior School children are offered a choice of free lessons in either cello or violin (easier to learn than guitar apparently), and from here around a third go on to take one of 500 lessons offered each week. And should they take up the bassoon, don’t panic! There’s stacks of space to jam on site, with 17 practice rooms to choose from.

Regular performances take place in a 200-seat recital hall boasting two grand pianos, but understandably the hot tickets are for two annual concerts at the magnificent Exeter Cathedral, including The Choral Society Concert which brings together students, staff, alumni (and a professional orchestra) in what sounds like true egalitarian harmony.

With a fully working theatre, a drama department teacher (a former actor) told me it’s better equipped than some of the professional theatres he’s worked in, so ample opportunity for kids to learn the stagecraft ropes.

LITTLIES

While there’s no provision for children younger than 7 on site, the Exeter Pre-Prep School campus, formerly The New School at nearby Exminster, has long been a feeder and is now properly part of the Exeter School family.

Head of Exeter Pre-Prep School, Dan Ayling with Ruffles

Set in a former chapel located on a private road it’s a charming, tranquil setting with an equally appealing new head, Daniel Ayling. He’s quick to a quip and delightful, and he brings in his trained therapy dog, Ruffles, who is happy to have her tummy tickled when kids need a cuddle. Mr Ayling has even put Ruffles’ profile pic on the staff page of the website – very cute.

The school recently underwent a much-needed £200k top-to-bottom refurb which has retained the period charm and ditched the dated floors, ceilings and loos. Big ticks for the leafy 1-acre playground, the newly launched Forest School, small class sizes (max 18) and the daily shuttle bus to and from the Exeter School site (no dodging the rush hour traffic!).

children in outdoor classroom at Exeter Pre-Prep School

Because children visit the ‘big school’ really regularly for swimming lessons and art workshops (and the Head and Junior Head visit them in return), you’d struggle to get a smoother transition when they hit age seven.

JUNIOR SCHOOL

Set in a bustling yet incredibly pristine double-storey Georgian building, the Junior School comprises four year-levels from 7-11, across 10 forms. Star billing goes to the brand-new £200k playground and outdoor learning area filled with exciting play equipment which the children helped to choose. The Junior Headmistress, Mrs Saskia Van Schalkwyk (call her Mrs Van) clearly adores her job and has been in post for four years, a Devonian by birth and with two children at the school herself, so walks the talk as head and parent.

She describes the vibe as ‘busy’ and says ‘learning is cool here’, which explains all the eager hands shooting up in the Form One English lesson I sat in on where the kids were studying The Twits. It was taught by Mrs Hardy who the kids clearly love (small wonder, she’s Roald Dahl’s Miss Honey personified). I also had a hilarious interaction with the very fun Mrs Cox and her class (she’s a published author btw) curious to see if my footwear matched my job title.

Parents who are worried about their young ‘uns mixing with older kids needn’t be. It’s the best-of-both worlds: the nurturing aspects of Mrs Van meeting children at the gates on Victoria Park Road, their own secure playground, a STEAM studio, library, reading room, The Hub wellbeing room, and a 24-station computer room where kids recently built Buckingham Palace on Minecraft married with access to the benefits of Senior School, including class iPads, and fabulous sporting, art dept, drama and music facilities.

Engagement is high with the number of pupils wanting to run the lunchtime library reaching 60 applicants for 30 places. Those successful will be replenishing an already rich selection of books thanks to a termly delivery from the Devon Book Library Service.

Sure, it is academic, says Mrs Van, with around half an hour’s homework a night but it’s ‘never homework for homework’s sake’. To help parents, there’s a late room until 5.30pm at no additional cost and daily after-school clubs (many free, yay!), including cookery, ballet, mindfulness and podcasting.

SIXTH FORM

Around 200 students attend Sixth Form, a mix of existing pupils (an impressive 75-80%) and intake from the local grammars and state schools. The sixth formers I met said they’d either stayed on or moved here for its enhanced Oxbridge prospects, good sports facilities and clubs.

There’s no option to study for IB, so everyone signs up for four A Levels or BTECs in Lower Sixth from a choice of over 20 subjects including Sport BTEC, with the option to drop to 3 A Levels in Upper Sixth is widely adopted.

In preparation for life after school, Sixth Formers are taught how to cook as part of the Futures Programme, and they’re allowed offsite to enjoy the bright lights of the Exeter and beyond with permission. They liked the fact they could wear their own clothes, and that the new head has re-defined their uniform from stuffy suits to more real-world business clothes.

The dedicated Sixth Form block, which includes a communal area with a kitchenette, quiet area, pool table and study rooms are set to have a huge overhaul this summer to inject some up-to-date personality, guided by the sixth formers themselves.

ACADEMICS

The last ISI report in 2021 reported that the school was at ‘the highest level, excellent, in each of the eight areas’. Since then, Exeter School has maintained its reputation as a first co-ed choice in Devon for bright sparks. Class sizes are around 20-25, often less, and you certainly can’t fault the scores on the doors: with A-level results in 2023 standing at 23% A* grades, 61% A*A and 83% A*AB grades. At GCSE, 73% achieved 9-7 grades and four pupils gained 11 grade 9s each – a feat only achieved by 126 pupils nationwide.

Selection is done by entrance assessment which can be taken at any age from 7+ (if there’s space), but the standard intake is in Years 3, 5, 7, 9 and Sixth Form.

How hard is the test? According to the Junior Head, children performing at average levels and up should be fine, and the test contains no curveballs. For the best chance of a pass, she also advises visiting the school with your child beforehand, so it’s less intimidating on the day. (Children attending Exeter Pre-Prep can take the test there.)

PASTORAL CARE

Responsibility for each child’s pastoral care goes to the Head of House, their deputy and the form tutor. There’s also a Head of Safeguarding and a Chaplain. Both Junior and Senior have a wellbeing room; The Hub in Junior has a Pastoral assistant and TAs. The Senior School’s wellbeing room, aka Room 3, is one of the things the Sixth Formers say they like about the school – ‘a place to hive off with stuffed toys and a dog, a real one not stuffed!’ – and that it was great for younger pupils. There’s also a Buddy System, whereby mentors keep an eye out for younger pupils to ease their settling-in.

THE HEAD

It can’t be easy being the school’s first female head and taking over from a popular head (during Covid!) but Louise Simpson, comes across as authentic and elegantly in control. It didn’t hurt she blazed a trail in her previous post as first woman head of a posh independent in Sao Paolo, Brazil. The social exclusion she witnessed while working there and the fact she’s state educated herself makes her acutely aware of the fabulous opportunities a private school education offers and is eager her pupils – which include her Year 10 daughter – fully engage.

Biology is her subject which she still teaches to Year 7s and, having just completed an MA in Character Education (the study of what makes a balanced, flourishing citizen), she’s appointed a new role of Assistant Head Character to ensure pupils embrace Aristotelian moral, civic, intellectual and performance values. While it’s not a new idea, it seems wise to bring what the school clearly already well under one umbrella, while monitoring which activities are most beneficial and to make sure no-one slips under the radar. Time will tell how she puts her stamp on the school but I found her to be warm, clearly a thinker, and good for an intelligent chat. She’s super-approachable and totally non-scary, and during our half-hour chat I really warmed to her.

QUIRKS

The dual names for year groups take a bit of getting used to, so Form One is Year 3, Upper One is Year 4, Lower Two/Upper Two are Years 5 and 6.

While the opportunity to take part in Ten Tors is familiar to Devon dwellers, a hardcore two-day trek with overnight camping on Dartmoor in all weathers just might seem a bit quirky to parents not from the South West.

The art department has its own gallery space where students can put on opening night style exhibitions and parents can come for a viewing and glass of fizz.

WRAPAROUND CARE

You can drop off from 8am in the morning. After-school, kids can take part in a myriad of clubs or stay in the Late Room (Juniors until 5.30pm/Seniors until 5.15pm).

SEN PROVISION

The school has two Learning Support Coordinators who work with pupils, teachers and parents to support our pupils.

ISI REPORT

The last full inspection was in 2021 when the school achieved an excellent rating in each of the eight areas inspected, with the report commending the quality of the pupils’ achievements across both their academic work and their activities, and evenly through Junior to Sixth Form.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

While pupils below Sixth Form can carry phones with them, they must be kept switched off and used only with the teacher’s permission. Sixth formers can use phones outside lesson time. Lessons on internet safety are woven into the PHSE and tutor time provision.

TRANSPORT

The school have recently partnered with Vectare, a specialist school transport management company, and The Maynard School, to run a comprehensive school transport network, consisting of five routes from Ottery St Mary, Okehampton, Moretonhampstead, Newton Abbot and Exmouth.

FEES

Great value considering the range of extra curricular clubs which give a boarding school a run for its money.

Junior school: Form One/Upper One (Years 3 and 4): £13,200 per year, charged in three termly instalments of £4,400. Lower Two/Upper Two (Years 5 and 6) £13,800, charged in three termly instalments of £4,600.

Senior school: £16, 710 per annum, charged in three termly instalments of £5,570.

WORD ON THE GROUND

“Really efficient, like a well-oiled machine”; “the kindest teachers”; “my children always know how they’re doing in relation to their peers.” Parents I spoke to rate the school’s ability to get the grades without kids feeling pressured or parents being too hands-on. Topnotch parent-teacher comms also get the thumbs-up. Emails from home can expect super-quick replies with equally speedy intervention (including one-to-one help if needed) supported by termly reports to keep you in the loop. School dinners also get an honourable mention. I can vouch for their cauliflower curry, up there with a dish from my favourite veggie restaurant.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: kids who thrive in a fast-paced environment and are happy to throw themselves in; a big choice of after-school and weekend activities without the boarding; introducing children to both beach and city culture; easy proximity to a mainline train station with links to Plymouth, Bristol and London.

Not for: cruising through, kids are expected to work hard and play hard.

Dare to disagree?! Be my guest! Get in touch to arrange a tour of the school and a meeting with Exeter Junior School Headmistress and Exeter School Head. Or head over to the next Whole School Open Event is taking place on May 9 at 17:30 – 19:30pm. Exeter Pre-Prep Open Morning takes places on May 16 at 09:30 – 11:00am.

Exeter School, Victoria Park Road, Exeter, Devon EX2 4NS Tel:01392 307080; Exeter Pre-Prep, The Avenue, Axminster, Devon, EX6 8AT Tel: 01392 496122

Updated April 2024.

Exeter School, Exeter

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