Congratulations to our latest published authors from Writers’ Bloc! Last summer Writers’ Bloc were invited to enter a national competition run by Young Writers UK, responding to the prompt Mission: Catastrophe! They responded with a fantastic range of ideas and mini sagas, and we’re very proud to say that seven of our young writers have been chosen as winners: Beth Stockham, Luca Patacconi, Mohid Sandhu, Amelia Braidwood, Charlotte Purling, Oscar Lawrence, Hayden Nundy. These young authors have had their writing published in Survival Sagas - Mission Catastrophe! Future Authors, alongside other young writers from across the country. Well done to our talented young authors!

Below, L6 Pupil, Katerina DiMaria shares her experience of the British Swimming Championships and the lead up to it. "My name is Katerina, and I am a national level swimmer for the city of Norwich swimming club as well as being both a sport and academic scholar. This year was m y third year swimming at the Swim England national summer championships and qualifying for the British swimming championships as part of the relay team. This year was also the year of my GCSE’s and, thanks to the support the sports scholarship program provided me with, I was able to manage my heavy training whilst still performing to the best of my abilities in all my 11 subjects. I have been swimming 7-8 times a week for the past few years of my life and I think it was the fact that I continued to train throughout the exam period that led to my success in both fields. My experience at Nationals continues to change as I learn more about what works for me. Physical training, psychology and nutrition all play a huge role in preparing for a competition such as nationals. The physical training starts as young as 10 in a serious context, but the competition season begins in February when I was privileged enough to attend an international competition in Antwerp, Belgium, where some top-level Olympic swimmers were present. This helped me to be independent in planning my pre-race routines and doing everything I needed to before racing. Throughout the year we build on skills and fitness in training, and this leads up to a peak at the end of the season, Nationals. A couple of weeks before the competition the nerves start to hit as we begin the tapering phase before the big competitions. You might feel doubt about your training, “have I done enough?”; your nutrition becomes important as you go into the rest and recovery period; your skills will feel odd as if you are re-learning them every session and, as you get older you learn strategies to deal with the nerves. My first British champions experience was not a good one, my stress levels were too high to enjoy myself an d I didn’t s wim well. I have since learnt that performance is best when the adrenaline is just high enough to get you excited but not so much that it tips you over the edge. This is valid for any aspect of life where you are expected to perform on the day, I would say that this knowledge really helped me to study effectively for my GCSE’s, enjoying myself and taking breaks is ultimately wha t help ed me to achieve the high grades that I did. This year at nationals I also learnt a lot about recovery, over the 4 days I was there racing heats and finals every day I really struggled to get enough rest especially the first few days, by the fourth day I had already done 6 races, and I managed to qualify for the 100m backstroke final. Listening to my coach I ended up sleeping on the floor of the gallery in ponds forge international sports center in Sheffield after which I swam a new PB and had my highest placing of 4 th . The whole overview of my swims was as follows: British swimming championships week 1 (1 st Leg of the relay) 100m Freestyle- split 1st in a PB of 59.56 Swim England national summer meet 50m Freestyle- PB 27.46 7 th ] 50m backstroke- 31.77 9 th 100m Freestyle- 59.86 8 th 100m Backstroke- 1.07.40 4 th Overall, I was incredibly pleased with the results , and I can’t wait to go again next year."

We are thrilled to announce that the Lower School Colour Run, held on the last day of the Trinity term, was a resounding success! Thanks to the enthusiastic participation of pupils and staff, we exceeded our fundraising target for Water Aid UK, raising an impressive total of £2,480! This amount will fund the installation of a handpump in a rural African village, benefiting a community of around 250 people - approximately the number of children in the Lower School. The event featured an exciting range of obstacles, including a giant sprinkler, water guns and laser ropes, and along with lively music it made for a colourful and fun way to end the school year. A huge thank you to everyone who supported this fantastic cause! Miss Temple and the School Councillors Total Raised: £2,480 for Water Aid UK

World Masters Athletics Championships Back in 1997, I watched my Dad run at what was then called the World Vets Athletics Champs in Durban. 27 years later, athletes over the age of 35 have been rebranded as Masters, but the competition remains largely unchanged. This year, over 8000 athletes from 111 countries gathered in Gothenburg to compete over the full range of track and field disciplines. I’ve always enjoyed running since I was at school, but never made it beyond the status of a decent club runner. However, since turning 35, I’ve dabbled in the Masters scene and following in my Dad’s footsteps by running at the worlds has been on my bucket list. But I’d always told myself I’d only go if I felt I could be competitive. 800 metres is my event, and in my age-group (over 45) it would take something under 2 minutes to win, and maybe around 2:05 to make the final. I told myself that if I could break 2:10 in the indoor season, that I would go for it. At the 3 rd attempt, I ran 2:09 in February, so I told my coach/Dad to put Gothenburg in the calendar, assuming another 6 months of training and racing would get me down close to 2:05. My heat was on Thursday 17 th August. We flew over on the Tuesday, and immediately got a flavour of the atmosphere. At the airport, on the bus, in shops and cafes throughout the city there were national tracksuits everywhere. Australia, Bolivia, Canada, GB, the whole city had been quietly invaded by a multicoloured army of athletes, some middle-aged, some a lot older than that. Three tracks were used for the championships, and I had the privilege of racing in the Ullevi stadium, built for the 1958 world cup and more recently the scene of the Euro ’92 final and Jonathan Edwards’ triple-jump world record in 1995. On race day, I had to report to the call room 30 mins before the race. Feeling rather nervous, I was put at my ease chatting with my competitors, from Japan, Czechia, GB, and a load of Swedes, all of whom spoke perfect English. Knowing that some in my race were capable of running sub-2 minutes, I was determined not to get carried away on the first lap. I achieved this a bit too well, taking the bell in 66, and moved through the field into 5 th place out of 12 by the end. I was disappointed with the time of 2:11, but pleased to have had a competitive race and finished in the top half in my heat. In our remaining time in Gothenburg we saw the sights of the city and enjoyed more of the athletics. Among the highlights was watching people in their 80s clearing over 2 metres in the pole vault, and world records including 1:57 in the men’s over-50s 800m, and 1:39 in the women’s over-85s 400m! There’s a challenge for everyone – can you run one lap of the track faster than an 85 year old? Racing against under-13s on the track at UEA, I sometimes wonder if it’s time I hung up the spikes and left it to the kids. But my time in Gothenburg was a real inspiration, seeing people of all ages from all over the world competing at the sport they love. At 45, I’ve barely reached half-time!

It is terrific to see the whole school back in the Cathedral after a summer apart. I trust you are looking forward to the year, both individually and as part of the wider school community. Regarding this balance of hope for us as individuals and together, I think many of you have already walked past two prominent figures in Cathedral Close, each of whom has something helpful to say. And if you have not yet done so, I think most of you will do so before the end of the day and all of you before the end of the week. Any guesses? I am talking, of course, about the statues which stand either side of the mighty doors of the West End, located behind you as you sit in the Nave: as you look at the Cathedral from the West Front, Julian of Norwich is on the left holding a book and St Benedict is on the right with his finger to his lips. For those who are new to Norwich School (and the less observant of you from past years), cast your eyes up when you next walk past. Mother Julian was an anchoress who chose to live in the walled-up cell of a church not far from here in Norwich during the late 1300s and early 1400s. She is credited with writing the first book in English by a female, Revelations of Divine Love , which describes visions of Christ that she experienced; it is the book she is sculpted with on the statue outside. Among her most famous statements is: “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well”. Whether you are a person or faith or not, one cannot help but be struck by the confidence and optimism of this statement. It is almost certainly the earliest example of manifesting in the English language. I think it is a timely phrase as we set about this new school year: there is much uncertainty in the world and much even in our own lives that we cannot control, but we can trust the process of the educational year which starts up again today after the summer and afford to be optimistic that our own ambitions can be achieved. Indeed, this quality of hope and optimism is one of the reasons I love working in education. Young people, yes you, this amazing group in front, around and behind me, set about life with a collective cheerfulness and joy; it has been wonderful already to hear the babble of chatter as you make new friends or catch up after a summer apart. Sometimes you are not realistic or hopeful, but often you get what you want because you are confident that you can achieve your goal and simply take the steps to make it happen (I mentioned this flippantly before, but it is true that manifesting and visualising are modern terms associated with this process). Regardless of details of your individual ambition, whether in academic work, sport, music, drama, dance, debating, Warhammer or anything in between, I want each of you to be positive and joyful as you start this new year; I hope Julian’s statue will encourage you to keep going for your targets as you walk past it during the year. The right-hand statue as you look at the West doors of the Cathedral is St Benedict, holding a finger to his lips for quiet prayer. From its foundation in 1096 until the Reformation of the 16th century, this Cathedral Church was a community of monks which was part of the Benedictine Order. If you were to attend Evensong this evening, you would hear a passage being read out from his guiding words, called the Rule of St Benedict. At a service in the summer, Canon Aiden, one of the Canons of the Cathedral and a governor of the school, spoke of Benedict’s interest in mutual obedience, the need for the monastic community to pull together to be effective. In a modern world where rights are sometimes trumpeted more than responsibilities, Canon Aiden noted that this concept of mutual obedience is not fashionable. However, its importance resonated for me in subsequent weeks because of the civil unrest that was witnessed in many parts of the country. Sparked by the spreading of misinformation in the wake of the horrific murders in Southport, episodes of civil disobedience involving both violent conduct and expressions of ideological extremism sprung up in different parts of the country during the first part of August. The hostile intensity of these events shocked the country because they demonstrated how quickly respect for the rule of law can be lost in certain circumstances. Mercifully, there was no major incidence of disorder in Norfolk during this period, though nobody should be under any illusions that the significant differences of opinion which underpinned the unrest exist in this part of the country, too. The quality of our Norwich School community is one of our signature strengths, perhaps even the most important. However, this only remains true because we actively work at it, because we behave in a way each and every day that makes it the loving, compassionate, inclusive community that we cherish so much. That does not mean that we all have to agree with each other all the time; indeed, we are so much more vibrant and thoughtful because from time to time we disagree with and challenge each other. However, when that happens there must be a tone of mutual respect and we must be careful not to over-personalise any disputes that arise. Unconditional positive regard for each other is a key phrase we use here; it comes centuries after Benedict’s discussion of mutual obedience, but I believe there is a strong overlap in thought. There is for me a sense in each idea that we may not get exactly what we want from an exchange, we may need to agree to disagree respectfully with another member of our community and we may need to compromise to achieve mutually agreeable practical outcomes. Yet, this compromise at an individual level is worth it for the community benefit. Schools are crucibles which can hold a range of opinions in a framework of mutual respect for each individual. On too many occasions in the modern world, complex issues are broken down into overly simplistic, even binary, choices by people holding extreme views on each side of a particular debate, often by talking in echo chambers only to those of a similar opinion. I should like us to resist such a trend here at Norwich School, to look after each other both as we work together in this amazing environment and as we communicate online when we are not in Cathedral Close. This is very much the collaborative spirit embodied in today’s bible reading: “clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you”. We do not always need to agree, but we should continue to respect each other if and when we disagree. The statues of Julian and St Benedict, which oversee us as we move about The Close during the year, will be good touchstones to encourage our individual ambitions and to harness them positively in the life of the wider community. Both as optimistic individuals and a cohesive, kind community, I welcome you back and offer good wishes for the year ahead.

It was fantastic to welcome our 2024 GCSE cohort back to school today to receive their results and there were plenty of happy faces as pupils celebrated their achievements. There have been some outstanding individual performances including: 3 candidates with 11 x 9 or better; 9 candidates with 10 x 9 or better; 32 candidates with at least 9 x 8 or 9. We caught up with a few of our pupils to find out more about their individual achievements and their plans for the future. Healthcare Hopefuls A number of this year’s cohort are dreaming of going on to study medicine and have clear plans about their studies for the foreseeable future but that hasn’t stopped them throwing themselves into school life and all that has to offer…

We are pleased to announce exciting GCSE results for 2024. From the cohort of 138 candidates, overall percentages are as follows: 27% at grade 9 47% at grades 9-8 (A*) 70% at grades 9-7 (A*-A) 85% at grades 9-6 (A*-B) 99%: overall pass-rate (grades 9-4) Outstanding individual performances included: 3 candidates with 11 x 9 or better; 9 candidates with 10 x 9 or better; 32 candidates with at least 9 x 8 or 9. Steffan Griffiths, Head, commented, “Our GCSE Class of 2024 is a wonderful group of young people who have contributed a great deal to our community, particularly through performing arts and sport. I am delighted that they are now able to celebrate academic success, too, with this strong set of examination results. They are well-set for A Levels in our Sixth Form and we look forward to supporting them as they make this exciting transition.”  Assistant Head (Fifth Form), Andrew Curtis, said, “I am delighted with the grades achieved by our Upper Fifth and offer heartfelt congratulations to them all. I should also like to thank their teachers for the professionalism and care they have shown to set up the pupils for these impressive results. I am sure the pupils will now enjoy celebrating with their families, noting the important support they have received at home in recent months.”

Following last week’s A Level results, we are delighted that over 91% of our 2024 cohort have received confirmation that they have been accepted for their first or second choice onward route.  This year’s results have highlighted the diverse routes the STEM subjects at A Level can open up, as reflected in some of this year’s destinations, including: Civil Engineering at the University of Southampton Natural Sciences at Churchill College, Cambridge Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford Theoretical Physics at the University of York Biology at the University of St Andrews Aerospace Engineering at the University of Liverpool Natural Sciences at the University of Durham Bio Medicine at the University of East Anglia Biomedical Science at Kings College, London MORSE (Maths, Operational Research, Statistics and Economics) at the University of Warwick In addition, four of our 2024 cohort secured places at Imperial College, London to study Maths and Computer Science, Computing, Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry and Design Engineering

A Level results day is always filled with emotions, and this year was no exception! Our Class of 2024 has finally seen the results of their two years of dedication and hard work. It’s an exciting time as they embark on the next chapter of their lives. There have been some truly remarkable individual achievements, and our 2024 cohort should be incredibly proud of what they’ve accomplished. We chatted with a few of our students to hear what today’s results mean to them… Friends Forever Dylan, Hal and Alex have known each other for over 10 years and were rarely found without each other in and around school. They even opened each other’s results at GCSE and today for their A Levels.