Head's Address at the Beginning of the 2024/25 Academic Year

September 4, 2024

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. 

Freddie and Arthur Dannatt Ran the Sierra Leone Marathon in Support of Street Child

By Eleanor Lewis • November 11, 2025
In October half term, Freddie and Arthur Dannatt travelled to Sierra Leone to take part in the marathon for Street Child, as well as seeing some of the charity's brilliant work. Arthur and Freddie commented; "Of course we expected to be impressed by the work of Street Child but we were blown away by the scale and spirit of it. The day we spent visiting families receiving enterprise support from Street Child in the Kroo Bay-a slum of Freetown; and our day visiting ‘first ever’ schools Street Child had built in remote villages outside Kenema - will stay with us for a very long time. The marathon will also stay with us a long-time! It was so beautiful, totally shattering and great fun! Finally, although we came primarily to run the Sierra Leone marathon and to visit the work of Street Child - we also want to say how beautiful Sierra Leone is! Tokeh fishing beach is incredible. The landscape everywhere is stunning. We also visited the former slave fort at Bunce Island which was both fascinating, and horrifying . You don’t need a marathon to justify a visit to Sierra Leone - it is amazing!!" To find out more or donate click here

Mrs Curtis Delivers an Uplifting Assembly on Making Mistakes

By Anna Stevenson • November 10, 2025
No one is perfect; making mistakes is part of our growth. Instead of crumbling under the weight of regret, as difficult as it might sometimes seem, we should try to learn from every experience. So often we slip up, do things that get us in trouble or make us feel silly and we see it as a massive error, and can even spiral into dark and dreadful mental places. Today I want to convince you that mistakes are not just normal – they are essential. In fact, some of the best things in life started off with someone doing something wrong. The Bible encourages us to turn our failures into stepping stones for improvement. This transformation requires a willingness to reflect, ask for guidance, and lean on God for wisdom through our struggles. We can all develop greater strength and character when we commit to learning from the errors we all make.  Illustrating this point is not too difficult as things go wrong all the time. Just the other day I walked into the packed common room at breaktime, only for a colleague to point out that I was wearing my jumper inside out. It turned out to be back to front as well. There are of course several personal anecdotes I could use, but instead let’s look at some other examples… My favourite piece of stationery came about in the world due to a mistake. You've probably all used these items at one point or another, for revision or making lists. In the 1960s, a scientist called Dr Spencer Silver was working on creating a super-strong adhesive glue. What he actually made was... the exact opposite; a glue so weak it could barely hold paper together. His colleagues initially laughed at him and dismissed his efforts, and probably went onto invent something ostensibly much better….But then someone had the genius idea of using this pathetic looking non sticky glue for bookmarks, and the Post-It note was born. In 1999, NASA lost its Mars Climate Orbiter because one engineering team made their calculations using imperial units (inches/pounds) while another team used metric units (centimetres/kilograms). This was very silly. The spacecraft entered Mars’ atmosphere too low and disintegrated. This maths mistake cost a whopping $125 million. But it led to better communication protocols in space engineering. In 1928, Dr Alexander Fleming – a Scottish surgeon who was famously untidy, went on holiday and left a dirty petri dish out by mistake. Many of you know what happened next. This was pretty normal for him – his experiments took place in a tiny little turret room in St Mary’s hospital, London. He had around 30-40 plates of bacteria on his bench, sourced from infected hospital patients, and when he returned from his trip, he noticed, as he inspected the staphylococcus bacteria, that something had changed – mould was now growing on it. Noticing that the mould seemed to be preventing the bacteria around it from growing, he started experimenting, and soon identified that this mould produced a self-defence chemical that could kill bacteria. There is a far more technical word for this but I will refer to it as mould juice. He'd discovered penicillin - the first antibiotic. Well, this mistake has saved lives – an estimated 500 million lives in fact. You'll make mistakes - we all do. In your studies, in your singing, in your tests and in class; (maybe even before class) in your relationships; in your hairstyle choices even. They won’t feel good at the time, especially when made in public. Think about how embarrassing and inconvenient it is when you leave your lanyard at home. But it's important not to fear them. Most are solvable and most lead to learning opportunities. They’re brain gold. They’re how you grow. Because mistakes don’t mean “stop”. They mean you’re exploring, you’re trying. Mistakes are indeed lessons. The Bible provides a robust framework for understanding the human experience. Through its various books and verses, it offers insights into the nature and consequences of making mistakes, and urges us to push on and to ensure that we live life to its fullest, despite our imperfections. I also think that trusting in God allows us to learn valuable lessons from our mistakes – in the book of Proverbs (chapter 3, verses 5-6) which is a collection of brilliant little pockets of wisdom and advice, the writer tells us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”. Instead of relying on our flawed and human understanding, we can seek His wisdom and grace which guides us towards better choices in the future.

Lower 3 Pupil, Max Wright, Selected for National Children’s Orchestra Of Great Britain

By Anna Stevenson • November 6, 2025
Lower 3 pupil, Max Wright, has been selected for the National Children's Orchestra of Great Britain. We hear from Max about this exciting new adventure for him... "I was really happy to find out in October that I’ve been selected to play cello for the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain in 2026. I’ll be in the Projects Orchestra for children aged 8-14, and will take part in two weekends in Birmingham in the Spring and Summer, with additional online activities and webinars, which I’m sure will be a great experience. I’ve only played in string orchestras before, so this is going to be a bit of a change playing in a full orchestra and I can’t wait to meet the other players. I’ll have to learn quite a bit of new music too and new compositions but I’m excited for the challenge! The auditions for NCO are by video and you have to record two contrasting pieces without stopping – I found this harder to do than it sounds. It’s quite difficult to get a good video without too many mistakes! I also had to talk about the music I like playing. There will be lots to learn but I’m really looking forward to it!"

Norwich School Welcomes a Traveller into Unknown Lands

By Eleanor Lewis • November 6, 2025
Our cultural programme of lectures held with partner organisations carries on apace this autumn. On 6th November 2025 we welcomed back the illustrious Royal Geographical Society (RGS) to the Blake Studio for a fascinating evening of exploration. Billed as an ‘conversation with a traveller into unknown lands’ we were delighted to host Hilary Bradt MBE. She is the founder of Bradt Travel Guides, a publisher of respected travel guidebooks. She ran the company for 35 years until retirement in 2007. In her long career, she has travelled extensively and garnered multiple accolades for her travel writing and charity work, especially in Madagascar, a country which has long fascinated her. See: Hilary Bradt - Wikipedia . The evening comprised her being interviewed by FRGS and ON parent Sara White, herself a well-travelled conservationist and Trustee of Explorers Against Extinction . With humour and many fine tales of her adventures, the interview covered Hilary’s experiences travelling to lesser-known locations – by hitch-hiking and bus – long before the days of mass travel, and more recently her escapades as a fearless octogenarian. She also reflected on her business ‘adventure’ starting her successful guidebook series introducing travellers to remote places. It was also illuminating to hear her take on sustainable travel and the impact of tourism on vulnerable, remote peoples and places. Hilary also shared her perceptions of the palpable benefits travel can give to local communities when done respectfully and sensitively. A large audience of alumni, staff, parents, Fellows of the RGS and friends enjoyed an informative Q&A over refreshments afterwards. Our next RGS event happens shortly. It sees the welcome return for the fourth year in succession of our Youth Microlectures Series held in partnership with the RGS. On Tuesday 18 th November at 17:00 in the Blake Studio a hand-picked selection of sixth formers from schools across Norfolk will each present a 10-minute talk followed by 5 minutes of Q&A. Our programme of lectures covers a wide range of topical interests relating to our fragile planet and its ecosystems. Mouthwatering prospects include talks on extreme weather, the monarch butterfly, the Antarctic economy, and the human cost of our clothing amongst others. The evening will be led by our own Dr Anthony Speca FRGS FRSA and by the highly acclaimed Tim O'Riordan OBE DL FBA , Emeritus Professor of Environmental Sciences at the UEA, both prominent environmental educationalists and advocates. Entry is free, so do come to support our young geographers. 

Concordia Recital: Lower School

By Eleanor Lewis • November 6, 2025
On Thursday 6 November, we were treated to an exceptional Concordia Recital in the Lower School Hall – a delightful showcase of 3 pupils who are excelling in their chosen instrumental studies. The recital opened with Betsy Chaun presenting a thoughtfully curated piano programme that spanned eras and styles. She began her recital with Germaine Tailleferre’s Sonate alla Scarlatti, a charming neoclassical gem whose bright textures and rhythmic playfulness Betsy captured with clarity and poise. Her articulation in the quick passages showed an impressive command for a performer of her age. Next came Richard Clayderman’s A Comme Amour, offering a lyrical contrast to the opening. Betsy’s sensitive phrasing and gentle rubato conveyed a real sense of musical maturity, allowing the melody to sing beautifully above a delicate accompaniment. With Béla Bartók’s Stamping Dance, Betsy shifted gear once again, throwing herself into the percussive rhythms and bold harmonies with confidence and energy. The performance was vibrant and rhythmically assured, a testament to both her technique and her evident enjoyment of the music. Her penultimate piece, Haydn’s Sonata in F Major, Allegro, brought a return to classical elegance. Betsy’s crisp articulation and buoyant tempo captured the composer’s wit and grace, while her dynamic contrasts lent freshness to every phrase. She concluded with Alexis Ffrench’s Last Song, a modern, expressive work that allowed her to show her lyrical side once more. The quiet, reflective ending drew a gentle hush from the audience — a perfect way to close a beautifully balanced programme. Following Betsy’s virtuosic performance, Georgia Cornell du Houx brought a touch of magic to the evening with repertoire for the Harp. Beginning with an excerpt from Christina Perri’s A Thousand Years, Georgia wove familiar melodies into shimmering textures that filled the hall with warmth. Her second piece, Jeremiah Clarke’s Chaconne, was an elegant nod to the Baroque period, performed with remarkable control and poise. The clarity of her finger work and her sensitivity to phrasing demonstrated impressive technical assurance. Georgia concluded with the popular Flower Duet from Delibes’ Lakmé, its graceful harmonies perfectly suited to the harp’s luminous tone. The performance was serene and lyrical — a lovely reminder of the instrument’s ethereal beauty. Our final performer, Moli Li, brought a sense of bright classical refinement to the programme. Her opening work, Clementi’s Spiritoso, sparkled with crisp precision and joyful energy. Moli’s steady tempo and poised dynamics reflected an excellent understanding of classical style. She followed with Kuhlau’s Sonatina in C Major, a piece full of youthful charm and elegant simplicity. Moli’s performance was both disciplined and expressive together with bright energy and clean articulation. The scalic and arpeggio passages flowed effortlessly while maintaining the poise and symmetry so characteristic of Kuhlau’s writing. She captured the conversational quality of the music, phrases exchanged naturally, cadences neatly shaped, and dynamics carefully graded to reveal the movement’s buoyant character. Overall, the recital was a true celebration of young musicianship. Each performer displayed not only skill and dedication but also an authentic love of music. From Baroque dances to contemporary lyricism, the programme offered a wonderful journey through sound — and the audience’s enthusiastic applause made clear that these young artists had left a lasting impression. Head of Music Mr Vine said ‘ what wonderful and spellbinding performances from all 3 of our young artists. Excellent choice of music and delivered with such professionalism and musical brilliance! Bravo to all 3 of you!’

Natalie Lauren (09-13) behind short film 'Unauthorised Absence'

By Sonja Mitchell • November 5, 2025
Launched on Kickstarter today: From lived experience to national action, this film inspires action for SEND families and children harmed by education policy

A Vibrant Dance Residential to London

By Eleanor Lewis • November 5, 2025
We started off the trip by going to see the moulin rouge which was filled with incredible dancing and singing on Tuesday evening. The musical was fun and full of energy, with lots of classic songs to sing along to. On Wednesday, we had a day filled with dance workshops at various places around London. We began the day with an amazing jazz class with Cris Penfold at London Studio Centre, a dance university in London. The class was filled with great energy and enthusiasm from everyone and introduced a new and unique style on jazz inspired by the great Gatsby. After this, we visited Pineapple studios in which we had a commercial class with Christina Andrea. She created a fun yet challenging atmosphere, pushing us out of our comfort zones focusing on our energy and versatility as dancers. Finally, we took part in a workshop with an original cast member of the Moulin Rouge in which we were able to learn repertoire from the show we had watched the previous night. She gave us an in-site into life in the industry which was very inspiring. Overall, the trip was one to remember and definitely a highlight in the dance calendar!  - Aggie Johnson, U5

Keeping Track of Cross Country After October Half Term

By Eleanor Lewis • November 4, 2025
On Tuesday 4 November, 13 runners from the Cross Country Club travelled to Witney in Oxfordshire for the Regional Round of the English Schools Cross Country Cup, having qualified last month in Woodbridge. The course was flat and fast, and the competition was fierce, with all runners having qualified from their county rounds to get there. In the Junior Boys race both Joshua Bevan and Jonty Croskell were racing against pupils a year older and ran strongly to finish 64 th and 85 th respectively. In the Junior Girls race, there were 80 runners from 14 schools, and our girls finished 11th, with excellent performances from Annabelle Hitchings, Iris Wells, Poppy Short and Emi Muntingh. Emi came 7 th overall. In the Senior Girls, our first finisher was Minnie Andrews in 25th place. The rest of the team were closely bunched with Bea Green, Izzy Last and Amelie Ivie all finishing in the top 35 and Olivia Allen and Bella Muntingh also finishing high in the results to secure 8 th place for the team. Well done to all those who took part.

Upper 4 Pupil, Timothy Madders, Selected for National Children’s Orchestra Of Great Britain

By Eleanor Lewis • October 30, 2025
I am very excited to announce that I have passed the audition and have been selected to be a member of the National Children’s Orchestra Of Great Britain 2026 playing my harp! The NCO is for children aged 8-14 and you can audition for either weekends or residential weeks. As this is my first national audition I decided to audition for weekends. This means I will be going to Birmingham in the Spring and Summer and also taking part in online creative activities, meet ups and webinars. Auditions for the NCO are done online. I had to play two contrasting pieces and give a small speech about why I like playing in ensembles and orchestras. The pieces I wanted to play were both too long so I had to make a few adaptions! Also, I am very grateful to have received a grant from the North Norfolk Festival of Performing Arts who have kindly paid the NCO membership fee for me. I am really looking forward to meeting other young people and harpists at the NCO weekends and learning more about playing in a large orchestra. - Timothy Madders, U4

Greece Trip 2025

By Eleanor Lewis • October 27, 2025
59 pupils in L5 to U6 and 6 members of staff set off for a fully packed 5 day tour around mainland Greece during half term. Covering almost the whole of the mainland, we visited 2 of the Panhellenic Greek sanctuaries, Delphi and Olympia, where we ascended the sacred way to the temple of Apollo and the site of the oracle who spoke the predictions of the god and we ran (staff included) the original 200m race in the stadium at Olympia. In the successive days we walked in the footsteps of the apostle Paul in the town of Corinth and the immense fortifications of the Bronze Age citadel of Mycenae; a staggering 1600 years before Christ's birth.  We topped off our tour in Athens with a truly special experience of seeing the Parthenon free of its scaffolding and in all its glory for the first time in more than 20 years as well as the stunning Acropolis museum and a sunset view of the Acropolis. Pupils and staff learnt a huge amount about Greek religion, architecture and sculpture as well as Greek history spanning from the Bronze Age through to the Ottomans as well as current Greek culture in our visit to the changing of the Evzones guards as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The weather afforded us the very special chance at our beachside hotel at Tolo to play a few games of rugby and sandcastle building in the sun as a great chance to let off some steam. A truly inspiring group of pupils at fantastic sites.
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