Friends of Norwich School (FONS)

The Friends of Norwich School (or FONS for short) is a registered independent charity (charity number: 1170059)


Our community is open to all parents, guardians, carers and grandparents from the Lower School and the Senior School, current and past, as well as to friends from the wider community who support Norwich School. 


Our mission is simply to support Norwich School and to provide fellowship amongst the community. 

We do this by hosting regular events (coffee mornings, social events such as our legendary biennial ball and periodic raffles) and running professionally the successful Second-Hand Uniform Shop, both of which are of particular help to new parents.


Funds raised though these activities allows us to support the school generously in three key areas: to funding bursary support to foster social inclusion and diversity; to provide grants to fund equipment for a multitude of clubs and societies for pupil enrichment and to encourage participation; and to provide an annual prize fund to inspire achievement.


We hope to be a force for good in the school community and we hope you will join us.

We would be pleased to hear from anyone with ideas or who wishes to help out in any voluntary capacity.

About Us

The Friends of Norwich School is a registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation (1170059) run by Trustees:


The Head: Steffan Griffiths
The Head of the Lower School: John Ingham
The Development Director: Jonathan Pearson
Three general elected Trustees: Madelé de Lange (Chair), Jonathan Hook (Treasurer), Janine Taylor (Company Secretary) 


To find out about what the Friends have been up to, for upcoming or recent events, and how funds are being spent, please follow the Friends Facebook and Twitter pages or send an email:

Facebook: Search ‘Friends of Norwich School’

Twitter: @NorSchFriends

Email: friends@norwich-school.org.uk



FONS Privacy Policy

Second Hand Uniform Shop

Friends of Norwich School volunteers run a Second Hand shop for parents. All items provided by parents are either donated or sold on a 50/50 basis. The shop sells a wide range of pre-used uniform and sportswear, in addition to specialist footwear (Astro/rugby/hockey etc) and sports equipment/protection as donated. The income generated by the sale of second-hand items not only supports a wide variety of projects for pupils within the school but is a very useful service for parents and pupils alike.


Sale dates

We are pleased to announce that the Uniform Shop will be open again this term between 15:00 and 16:30, at 15 Upper King Street.


OPENING TIMES - LENT TERM 2024


15:00 to 16:30 

Tuesday 7 January, Wednesday 22 January

Wednesday 5 February, Tuesday 25 February

Wednesday 12 March, Tuesday 25 March


09:00-13:00

Saturday 11 January


Location

We are located on the first floor of 15 Upper King Street. Access to this school building is restricted so parents will need to press the buzzer for access. There is no on-site parking available for weekday sales but may be available at other times, we’ll let you know in parent email.


Contacting Us

You can also email friendsshop@norwich-school.org.uk with any queries you may have but please note we do not reserve items or advise on stock levels as these are constantly changing.


Donations

Items you would like to sell or donate can be dropped off at the shop when open or 71A Reception during business hours. For T & C's on donating/sale of items, please refer to the information on Parent Portal, under the 'School Uniform' page



Where does your money go?

We are proud that finds raised through the activities of FONS go towards improving the experience of the pupils and further afield. Some examples of how funds raised are used, see below:

Thank you to FONS from the Jubilee Wellbeing Garden

By Eleanor Lewis • February 13, 2025
Thank you, FONS, for supporting the Wellbeing Garden again. Your help is greatly appreciated. Below is a quick update! Purchases made: Wooden sleepers £440.80 (to replace the old ones) Garden sieve £39.99 At the time of writing this, we have plans to grow vegetables, primarily heirloom varieties, which are more engaging for the pupils. With the assistance of the estates team, we are constructing a wooden arch designed to support melons and courgettes. The objective is for the ripe plants to hang through the arch. Additionally, we are transforming the wildflower bed into an ornamental garden, featuring the steel sculpture from the Art and Design department as its centrepiece. Photo below: replacing the old with the new

Friends of Norwich School Transform the Fourth Form Garden!

By Eleanor Lewis • February 5, 2025
The Friends of Norwich School have furthered the development of the Fourth Form Garden by purchasing outdoor seating pods, games and table tennis equipment. It has been wonderful to see Fourth Formers coming along to enjoy the space. It has been particularly pleasing to note that it became a safe space early in the Michaelmas term, when our new L4s joined us; it allowed them time to integrate into the Senior School and to have their own space, ensuring that they did not feel overwhelmed by the size of the school and the number of pupils. The Fourth Form pupils love using the space during break times and lunch times. The pods provide some much-needed shelter during the wet and windy days and the garden games, including the table tennis table, are being used all the time. In the works are some bug houses (made by the Art and Design department) as well as some bird boxes which are ready to go into the space; Dr Richardson's bird watching club are hoping to set up some cameras too, to allow us some live action footage! We are incredibly appreciative of the support from the Friends of Norwich School and for their generous award; all of the above would not have been possible without it.

Amnesty's Bicycle Restoration Scheme

By Eleanor Lewis • December 11, 2024
This week, the school's Amnesty Group delivered five donated, restored bicycles to a refugee point in the city. Rosie Pank (L6), a member of the Amnesty Group, tells us more: "Today, I had the pleasure of joining Mr Bedford-Payne in dropping of 5 bikes that we had restored throughout the term to a hotel that is acting as a refugee point for asylum seekers and refugees who enter the country with nowhere to stay. It was so rewarding to see the refugee’s excitement as they helped to unload them from the van, and speaking to the ladies who run the hotel about what it’s like for many of their residents. Many of the refugees who are staying at the hotel walk into Norwich for school and classes which takes them up to an hour and a half! The bikes will enable some of them to shorten that journey to 20 minutes, making a huge difference to their lives, as it is common for them to only receive around £10 a week so paying for the bus to get in is out of the question. It was incredibly heart warming to see there reactions, and has inspired us to relaunch the project again next term!" Mr Bedford-Payne, who is the member of staff responsible for the group added: "The FONS awarded the school's Refugee Support Group £400 to purchase tools and equipment for the Bicycle Restoration Project. Some of these funds were used to procure helmets, locks and lights for these five bicycles. Since there are 160 people staying at that hotel on the outskirts of Norwich, our plan is to continue to provide donated bicycles. However, we need to launch a fresh appeal to the school community for second hand bicycles that can be dropped off here or indeed collected from elsewhere. Look out for more information next year!" Thank you to FONS for the support and generous funding!
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