2026 is National Year of Reading and we are going all in here at Norwich School! We know reading expands worlds, sharpens minds, and fuels creativity, so let's get inspired! Every month we are focusing on a different genre and hearing from a member of staff about what they like to read, why, when and where! For the start of a new school year, we’re talking to Mrs Hewitt about her favourite genre. Let's find out more about why Mrs Hewitt loves the great American novel... . Tell us a little bit about the genre; what common themes or elements do you particularly enjoy? I’m not completely sure this is an accepted genre, but I have always been drawn to American novels from the 20th century. Characters in these novels live harder lives than me. Life is not generally kind to them and they are not always kind to others nor make the ‘right’ choices. You can explore human frailty and resilience in the face of poverty, social disapproval or upbringing without ever leaving your cosy armchair. What was the book that introduced you to American novels? Was there a particular book or author that made you fall in love with this genre? Children’s books were nowhere near as varied and diverse when I was young. I grew up reading Noel Streatfield, Enid Blyton and Louisa May Alcott and other books written when my grandparents were young and if they weren’t written ‘in the olden days’, they were set ‘in the olden days’. Studying A-level English, French and German literature meant that I had many weighty tomes to plough through in my late teens, so discovering The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger in the school library opened my eyes to the idea that a book’s hero could be my age with a teen’s outlook. They put me in the shoes of people who were far bolder, more unconventional and exciting than me. Has your taste in this genre changed over time? Yes. I am less inclined to accept misogyny in books now. You could argue that Charles Bukowski intentionally set out to make his nihilistic alter ego Henry Chinaski to be unpleasant and repellent, but if I were to reread, I would rather choose The Best of Everything by Rona Jaffe, which is a great insight into life for young women in the early 50s dealing with such attitudes. Would you recommend this genre to someone who doesn’t usually read it? Why? I’m happy to tell people about books I’ve enjoyed, but rarely recommend any, as enjoyment of a book is so personal. I’ve recommended some of these to my son, but he won’t be told and flat-out refusal is just annoying. So, all I can say is that millions of people have loved them, but you may not. What do you enjoy most about reading, whether an American novel or anything else? I read to experience lives I will never live and to get to know people I will never meet. When and where is your favourite time and place to read? On public transport, as there are no other tasks or distractions to take me away from my book. I can fully disconnect from what is around me. A three-hour train journey? Divine. Yes please. Tell us a little bit about the genre; what common themes or elements do you particularly enjoy? I like the fact that I never know if the ending will be happy. The genre is typically described as ‘gritty’. These books focus on people who are on the edges of society, whether by choice or by circumstance, in a time of powerful, narrow-minded social judgement. I saw New York through the eyes of James Baldwin’s gay, black jazz musician Rufus in Another Country ; I enjoyed pool-hall hustles in Hard Rain Falling by Don Carpenter, a 24-hour dance competition in They Shoot Horse Don’t They? (Horace McCoy) and came face-to-face with the grim reality of war for young soldiers in Norman Mailer’s debut novel The Naked and the Dead. If you could step into the world of any book, which would it be and why? Well, I certainly wouldn’t step into In Cold Blood by Truman Capote and I’m not sure if I would survive On The Road in the way that Kerouac did, although I’d certainly enjoy travelling across America. Perhaps I would do this with Joan Didion instead in The White Album , or with John Steinbeck and his dog in his caravan while he wrote Travels with Charley and I could tell him how much I love East of Eden . Click here to see the monthly reading list!

Deep in the summer holiday, my dishwasher broke down. It started beeping maniacally, relentlessly and making a deep, unhealthy gurgling sound. We are dependent on technology in so many aspects of our lives, it is frustrating when that dependency is abruptly cut off. An August of suds and rubber gloves was an unwelcome prospect.  I have little skill to fix mechanical things. Very little. Faced with this problem, I thought I’d turn to someone - or some thing - in my household that might help: my own intelligence fell short so I thought I’d see if Artificial Intelligence could assist me in my predicament. Could one machine fix the other? I fed the symptoms of my dishwasher’s distress into the Large Language Model, Google Gemini. ‘What should I do?’ I asked it, pathetically. It quickly diagnosed the problem: water was trapped in an inaccessible part of the machine. Now, I do own an assortment of under-used screwdrivers; with a flash of inspiration, I suggested that I could unscrew some prominent screws at the bottom of the dishwasher. ‘No!’. Gemini advised me. Sensibly, it told me to not do that under any circumstances or I would break the thing forever. Screwdriver hanging limply in my hand, my exchange with Gemini continued… You will know Artificial Intelligence is the subject of much debate. Some claim, optimistically, that it will revolutionise human life for the better, solving difficult problems and removing drudgery. On the other hand, some claim unrestrained AI development could lead to the extinction of humanity. That would, at least, solve the dishwashing problem. For those of us in schools, the emergence of generative AI poses a challenge to the purpose of education; it can now do many of the tasks that have, until now, been the preserve of humans. Put simply: AI can – efficiently – find any information, read and summarise a text, write fluent and polished prose, offer instantaneous translation, complete every part of a mathematical or scientific problem, and generate music or art in any genre. Is it, therefore, still important to learn to do these things for ourselves. Before Easter, I asked senior year groups for their views on AI. I am grateful to the 400 in U5 and above who responded with eloquence, supported by their experiences. Whilst many noted positives - that AI can bring efficiencies – it was notable that the majority expressed concern, frustration or even anger about the impact that AI may continue to have. Some cited environmental concerns, or problems of biased, deepfake or hallucinated information. Many noted that AI can compromise academic integrity and enable cheating. A majority expressed concern that dependence on AI may result in people losing the ability to think critically or independently. This view is increasingly supported by hard evidence. A study by MIT in the USA last year indicated that dependence on AI for essay writing resulted in students having a much shallower understanding of the subject, weakening their critical thinking and formation of long-term memory. A recent Chinese study of 27,000 students found the exam performance of those who used AI for their regular work was worse than those who did not. Many of you said you are confused about what is permitted and that the school has not given sufficient guidance. That’s a fair point. The answer is not simple, but I can set out some broad principles. Firstly, in the age of AI, the cultivation of your intelligence and creativity remains an intrinsic good. Intellectual and creative effort has value. Even if AI can do a task, we should be interested in developing our own learning for its own sake; to encounter astonishing new things that change us as human beings. To let you into a secret: when I set a history essay to a class, it isn’t because I actually need 25 copies of that essay. It is because the process of producing the essay develops your learning. Efficiency in production is not the goal of education. Learning requires your brain to work hard and you can’t bypass that difficulty or offload it onto someone or something else. It would be analogous to repeatedly driving a car for 26 miles in the expectation that you will be fit and prepared to run a marathon. Secondly, if AI is used, it should be to support learning, not undermine it. There are AI tools that can be powerful in helping to develop thinking and your teachers may introduce these to you. But their use should not circumvent intellectual effort that is a necessary part of learning. Thirdly, we recognise the growing importance of AI literacy; as the technology becomes embedded into our lives, it is essential that we understand its capabilities and limitations, as well as ethical questions that are raised in a world where AI may become ubiquitous. Mr Fisher has done pioneering work on this with his Fifth Form Elective course and I look forward to working with Lawrence Doe on his red gown project to develop how we do this further. Finally, AI must not diminish our humanity or our relationships in this community. The ‘real’ matters and it was clear in your feedback that many of you are repelled by AI-generated material that is synthetic or impersonal. In particular, you felt strongly that if you put time, effort and love into something, that you want it recognised and considered by a teacher, not assessed by a machine. As with all technology, AI should remain a tool in service to our needs. Dependency on technology for intellectual tasks – tasks much greater or more complex than washing dishes - runs the risk that we become incapable. So, what was the resolution of my dialogue with Google Gemini? It concluded – firmly - that I should step away from the dishwasher, lay down my screwdriver, and call out a mechanic; a real person with the knowledge and skills – the human intelligence - required. When he arrived, he sorted the problem within 15 minutes. I could return – sheepishly - to my dependency on the machine.

The final of RELEASE 2026 , Guildhall Young Artists’ (GYA) composition competition, was held on Saturday 12 September at Guildhall School’s Milton Court Concert Hall. The event was hosted by Jeffery Wilson, founder and Creative Director of RELEASE, and actor and Guildhall alumna, Sophia Roberts, and featured premiere performances of twelve new compositions. The finalists were chosen by an adjudicating panel consisting of saxophonist and owner of Saxtet Publications, Tom Bruton, Deputy Head of Electronic and Produced Music and Lead Professor of Film Music at Guildhall School Barbara De Biasi, composer, orchestrator, and arranger Matthew Sheeran, and Sub-director of Studies and Teaching Associate at St John's College, Tim Watts. Upper 5 pupil, Isaac S, won the ‘Release the Song’ category with his setting of two Shakespeare songs. Hear them here on YouTube. He will receive mentoring from ‘Audio Network’ professionals and attend an orchestral session at Abbey Road as well as a live masterclass with Paul Ressel and a cash prize. Isaac was also awarded second place with his string quartet Burnt Norton. Isaac commented: "The joy of the whole thing is that it's such an eclectic competition, there's been a really wonderful breath of entries and it offers opportunities to young composers in all genres, forms and all media. There are so many opportunities across a whole breath of disciplines out there and it represents many of them. It's wonderful to have more recognition wanting to go into composition professionally later in life."