Playing in the Leagues! - Noah Rastrick

January 22, 2025

Noah Rastrick, U6, has been playing for Ipswich for the past 3 years! To celebrate his success and love of football we asked him some questions.

How long have you been playing football?
A very long time, I can’t remember a time where I didn’t play football. I’ve always been around football because of my dad's work, he used to work at Tottenham and he now works at Norwich as the academy director. I have played local football all through when I was younger, U14 was my first and I got signed U15 and have been there ever since, now I’m in U18s.

So how did you originally get signed onto U15s at Ipswich?
There was someone from Ipswich when I was playing a game through a local team and then my dad spoke to someone about it and I was given the opportunity to go and play for them, in a showcase game, and from there they offered me a formal trial. In the trial I did well and I was signed on 6 weeks afterwards.

And what is the week-by-week of that? In terms of training?
Up to year 11, you are training usually 3 times a week in the evening so mine was Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and then you play a game on the Saturday. Once you get to U17 (in 6th form) a lot of the boys go full-time but my parents and I decided it was best for me to go through a hybrid program where I did my school work at the school and then try and play as much football as possible. I have been aiming for 2 days a week around my lessons and then I am involved in the match day around my academic studies.

What A Levels do you study?

Psychology, Business and Sports Science.

Has studying sports science helped your sporting journey?

Absolutely, there’s plenty of things you can take from the course and apply to football and the same goes the other way around. I’ll be sitting in class, and we will learn about motivation/teamwork, and I can pinpoint moments in football where that is relevant, it’s helpful to be able to link that to real life experiences.

And what’s your future educational plans?

Ideally I would love to study in the United States, I would really like the opportunity to get access to the elite sports that they have there and to combine that with my academics.

Are there any that you are looking into at the moment?

Not specifically, I’m keeping my options open, I have some agents that are helping me with the process which is exciting.

So how do you fit your football life into your school life? How do you balance it with your A Levels?

It can be difficult especially right now as we have just had mock examinations but I think I have learnt to cope with it pretty well and knowing that if I need help that the people at Ipswich and Norwich School are very good and they help me with balancing it. There are times as well when football can be very intense but on the whole it is manageable whilst difficult, but I have learnt a lot from it.

Great, and do you also play for the school’s 1st Team?

Yes I do.

How much of your week is taken up by football?

In those weeks where I am playing both for the school and Ipswich it is quite a large amount! Mr Cole is very good, he has a great program where we do off the pitch sessions as well, so we do Yoga, 5-a-side, it’s very good! Ipswich is also very intense. So for example, last term was Boys Football term, on Monday I would have Yoga with Mr Cole and then I’d go and do my own training in the evening. Tuesday with the school usually playing a game, Wednesday with the school, Thursday I’d be with Ipswich, Friday was a free day and Saturday I’d either be training or playing with Ipswich.

And with a lot of people in sports a strict routine and diet is something that can be quite important, is this something that you find helpful at all?

I think I have always been quite good with that, I’m very disciplined with diet and routine As I understand the importance of good behaviours and how it can benefit performance . I think that comes from the 3 years of being at an elite club and to keep up with the other players you have to adapt.

Have you ever played much nationally with Ipswich?

Yes we have a great games program where we play other clubs around the country. During my time at Ipswich I’ve played teams like Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester United, Arsenal. Scoring a few times against some of them!

Does this involve a lot of travel then?

Yeah we have done overnight trips at Fleetwood, Cardiff, Swansea, Burnley, it’s been a good summer travelling! Alongside this I have to travel to training and games whenever I go, which can be very draining and repetitive. But I believe it’s taught me the importance of discipline and made me understand how hard the world of football truly is mentally.

And this might be a bit of a difficult one but why Football? Why not hockey or rugby?

I think it’s because its more of a family thing for me, as I said earlier I have always been around it. It’s just been what I’ve done, even when I was in the Lower School I just tried to play football at every opportunity, I played rugby and hockey also but football was just what I liked to do.

What do you like about it?

Genuinely everything. Whilst, its difficult at times and very demanding and when the level increases it gets more difficult, but I’d say everything. I love being in the game, watching football, talking about football and just being around football!

What are your future hopes? What’s the dream?

At the minute the dream is to hopefully go to the US to play college football, of course I would to do as well as I can over there and see where I end up with that. They seem to have quite a good system of getting players through to the Major Leagues Soccer, and if that’s an opportunity I could grasp then that would be amazing and see how far football takes me. I would love to have a playing career if possible but it’s very difficult and quite unpredictable, after that I would love to work in football, so whether that be coaching, scouting or another role I’d love to work in it.

Have you ever coached before?

I have done little bits here and there, Mr Cole has helped me with finding opportunities to coach younger years and I have also helped out with Girls Football as well. It’s good to try and explore what I would like to do.

And how, in your experience, does Girls and Boys football differ? Do you think it differs?

It’s the same game but its also different in a lot of ways as well. It is definitely a growing game and I think it is important that people get involved. It’s brilliant with what they have done here at Norwich School. Mr Cole has replicated the Boys Football program for Girls Football, so they also get the same coaching, the yoga, the 5-a-side and all of those things. They have a group of I believe 20-30 girls and I think it’s really great for girls to get involved.

How much of your week is taken up by football?

And with a lot of people in sports a strict routine and diet is something that can be quite important, is this something that you find helpful at all?

I think I have always been quite good with that, I’m very disciplined with diet and routine As I understand the importance of good behaviours and how it can benefit performance . I think That’s come from the 3 years of being at an elite club and to keep up with the other players you have to adapt.

Have you ever played much nationally with Ipswich?

Does this involve a lot of travel then?

Yeah we have done overnights at Fleetwood, Cardiff, Swansea, Burnley, it’s been a good summer travelling! Alongside this I have to travel to training and games whenever I go, which can be very draining and repetitive. But I believe it’s taught me the importance of discipline and made me understand how hard the world of football truly is mentally.

And this might be a bit of a difficult one but why Football? Why not hockey or rugby?

What do you like about it?

What are your future hopes? What’s the dream?

At the minute the dream is to hopefully go to America to play college football, of course I would to do as well as I can over there and see where I end up with that. They seem to have quite a good system of getting players through to the Major Leagues Soccer, and if that’s an opportunity I could grasp then that would be amazing and see how far football takes me. I would love to have a playing career if possible but it’s very difficult and quite unpredictable, after that I would love to work in football, so whether that be coaching, scouting or another role I’d love to work in it.

Have you ever coached before?

And how, in your experience, does Girls and Boys football differ? Do you think it differs?

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Representing England at the Under-19 European Korfball Championships

By Eleanor Lewis • June 19, 2026

Cara B, Lower 6, represented England in their Under-19 squad at the European Korfball Championships in Türkiye. Cara shares her experience below. Over the Easter holidays, I had the incredible opportunity to represent England as part of the Under-19 squad at the European Korfball Championships in Turkey. Korfball is a mixed-gender team sport that originated in the Netherlands and combines elements of basketball and netball. Each team consists of four male and four female players, with players switching between attack and defence every two goals. The tournament began with group-stage fixtures against Czechia, Slovakia, Poland, Portugal and Hungary. Our opening match was against a strong Czech side, who went on to come second overall. Despite a determined effort, we were defeated 17-8 in our first game. However, we responded brilliantly later that day with a convincing 12-2 win over Slovakia. At the end of day 1, we remained in contention for a strong finish in the competition. Day 2 proved to be another challenging but rewarding day. We started with an impressive 13-8 win against Poland before facing Portugal in a crucial match. Despite our efforts, Portugal edged us out in a hard-fought 13-10 defeat at full time after a goal for goal match. We finished the day strongly with an excellent 23-14 victory over Hungary, one of our highest-scoring performances of the tournament. Going into the final day, we were determined to secure the highest possible placing. This set up a closely contested placement match against the host nation, Turkey. The game was highly competitive, with both teams going goal for goal for much of the match. We held our nerve in the closing stages to secure a 16-13 win, earning England a final placing of 5th in Europe. Cara's recent success at Korfball, has been mirrored by an outstanding performance on the netball court this season. Cara was a key member of the Norwich School 1 st VII who finished an impressive 11 th in the country this season, as well as representing her netball club, Norfolk United in the National Premier League, the highest club league in the country. Head of Netball, Gemma Ashton comments "Cara has made an immense contribution to Norwich School Netball since joining us in L6 and her considerable talent on court is matched by her dedication and commitment off it. Her success this season is fully deserved and we are very proud of all she has achieved. Cara is also a Norwich School Sport Scholar, and we are delighted that this programme was able to contribute towards funding her attendance at the Korfball European Championships."

The England Flag: An Address from Revd Child

By Eleanor Lewis • June 19, 2026

(This assembly was delivered two days after England’s first world cup match of 2026, with a large England flag draped over the front of the pulpit.) God says: “ It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth .” (Isaiah 49:6) You may have noticed that I’ve decorated the pulpit this morning. I want to start by asking you this question: what was the first thing that went through your mind when you saw this England flag? Right now, of course, there’s a good chance that it reminded you of the England men’s football team, who kicked off their World Cup on Wednesday. Perhaps seeing this gave you a surge of national pride. (4-2: the first time we’ve scored that in a World Cup since 1966.) On the other hand, if you don’t think of this so much as your flag – for instance, if you’re from a different UK nation or from Europe – then this flag may stir feelings of rivalry. Context is everything. To see the flag flown on Windsor Castle on St George’s day in 2026 is very different to seeing the red cross on the front of crusader shields in the 13th century. Seeing the flag displayed on a church or a town hall is different to seeing it cable-tied to lampposts and painted on roundabouts. There was a spate of this a year ago which spread across the country. ‘Flagging’, as it became known, started in the month after the England Women’s football team won the Euros. (You may remember that moment of national pride – Chloe Kelly’s winning penalty, Hannah Hampton’s heroics in goal, Lucy Bronze somehow playing through the tournament with a fractured tibia. It’s just been announced that six members of that team will receive an MBE for their services to football and to the country.) Of course, all this meant that there were lots of England flags available to buy in the shops. And when they started going up in the streets, some people said it was patriotism. But it wasn’t just patriotism – there was also something more sinister and territorial going on. The context shifted, and the flags became associated with anti-immigration and extremist politics. All of that meant that, when I went into Home Bargains to buy this flag for my assembly, it felt like the shop staff were giving me funny looks. ‘What is he?’ they seemed to be asking themselves. ‘Is he an England fan… or is he a racist?’ There is a scene in the excellent TV drama Dear England, which is on iPlayer at the moment, where the then England manager Gareth Southgate hangs a St George’s flag in the goalmouth and gets all the players to discuss it. He begins by pointing at the flag and saying: ‘These things can be emotive and complicated.’ To get some perspective on all this complexity, I want to step away from England for a moment, and take note of a different nation in a different time – the Old Testament nation of Israel in the Bible. One of the developing themes of the Bible is what God’s chosen people think their nation is for. There are times where they retreat into self-isolation – they feel a need to pull up the drawbridge and protect their identity. But there are other times when they realise their blessings are for sharing with the world, rather than clinging onto. ‘It is too small a thing,’ God says to his people in that reading we heard earlier, it is too small a thing just to be concerned with the tribes of Israel. ‘I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.’ In other words, the blessing that God’s people have is for spreading, not for desperately protecting. Christians believe that the ultimate expression of this is in the person of Jesus Christ, born a Jew, but a saviour for all peoples – the ‘salvation that reaches to the ends of the earth.’ Returning to England, I think we can learn something from our local heroine Edith Cavell, whose grave is outside the east end of the cathedral. She famously said before her wartime execution, ‘Patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone.’ Perhaps we could adapt that line as: ‘Patriotism alone is too small a thing.’ No doubt the meaning of the England flag will continue to change as history unfolds. But here are my hopes for it. I hope that the current world cup tournament will reclaim the flag of St George from the tensions of last summer, and that it would help us feel united as a country, not divided. And I hope that as a country, we would discover generosity and hospitality towards other nations in the style of Isaiah 49. I hope we become the sort of country that is patriotic and outward-looking at the same time. In the end I want to live in a world where, when I buy a flag like this from Home Bargains, the staff think to themselves, ‘there goes a good person.'

Dylan, Lower 2, Aspires to Make a Difference

By Eleanor Lewis • June 19, 2026

Over the May half term, Lower Two pupil Dylan travelled to Kenya with his family and other volunteers to help with building work at the Jubilee Academy, Nakuru. The school was built in corrugated steel in 1998 to provide free schooling to local children. It was subsequently closed in 2019 when a new law was introduced that insisted that all schools should be made from brick. Undeterred, work started to rebuild the school. Currently, it is an infant school. However, due to the difficulty its pupils have in finding a school to attend once they have left, Jubilee Academy is committed to expanding to allow the children to continue their education. School can be the only place where children have a nutritious meal, so if they stay in school they have a greater likelihood of remaining healthy. Work had already started on building new classrooms, so Dylan helped to decorate them and worked on creating a new toilet block. During his rest periods he enjoyed playing football with the pupils there. Before the trip, he had called upon his year group to raise money to buy backpacks for the school in return for wearing Kenya's national flag colours for a day. Lower Two pupils were keen to do this and they also wrote letters to the children at Jubilee. Dylan's mother commented, "Seeing the children open the letters and see that someone has written them a letter just to them was priceless. I will remember their reactions for ever." Receiving replies from their Kenyan friends was equally exciting and fulfilling for our Lower Two pupils. Dylan worked incredibly hard in Nakuru as the youngest volunteer the organisation had ever welcomed. Not only did he learn new practical skills in painting, plastering and carpentry, he gained new friends, and discovered that football really is a shared language across the world. His friends and teachers are proud of what he helped to achieve on his trip.

A Successful Day at the Schools Simulated Shooting Event

By Eleanor Lewis • June 18, 2026

On Thursday 18 June, the inaugural Schools Simulated Shooting Event took place at the Euston Estate near Thetford. Norwich School was represented by two teams each consisting of four pupils. The event was hosted jointly by the Euston Estate and the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT); participants were given a warm welcome by the Duke of Grafton before a representative of the GWCT explained how science was used to promote biodiversity and conservation. After a safety briefing, 15 teams, aged from 12-16, from 7 different schools, competed in a 50 bird (clay pigeon) sporting day during which they received expert coaching on each stand to hone their skills. The day was an enormous success: the teams enjoyed themselves, learnt more about estate management and conservation and improved their skills in the Olympic sport of clay pigeon shooting. Huge thanks to all involved and here's to returning next year!

Upper 1 Enjoy a Fantastic Day at Cromer!

By Eleanor Lewis • June 18, 2026

Upper 1 had a wonderful day out in Cromer, packed with learning, adventure and lots of fun in the sunshine! Our first stop was the famous Cromer Lifeboat Station, where we took part in a fascinating workshop led by the amazing RNLI volunteers. The children listened about the important work carried out by lifeboat crews and how they help to keep people safe at sea reinforcing their learning in Topic. One of the highlights of the visit was trying on real lifeboat crew uniforms. The children loved discovering how the special clothing helps to protect the volunteers in all weather conditions. We also enjoyed a close-up look at the RNLB Lester and a visit to the Crew Room, where the lifeboat crew prepare before responding to emergencies. The children asked some excellent questions and learned a great deal about water safety and teamwork. After our workshop, we headed to the beach where the beautiful weather provided the perfect setting for lunch. The afternoon was full of excitement as the children had great fun paddling in the sea and then built impressive sandcastles and dug moats. Everyone enjoyed an ice cream to finish off the day!

Girls 1st XI Progress to the Regional Finals of School Sports Magazine Cup

By Eleanor Lewis • June 17, 2026

The Girls' 1st XI cricket team are enjoying a fantastic season, having won eight of their nine fixtures so far. The squad has produced several impressive performances, including a memorable double victory over a strong Ipswich School side and, more recently, an excellent cup win against The Leys. Despite balancing a demanding fixture schedule alongside the challenges of the examination period, the players have continued to deliver superb performances. The team now faces a significant challenge on Friday 19 June when they take on Cranleigh School on Lower Close in the quarter-final of the National Girls' U18 Cricket Paper 100 Ball Plate competition. Victory would secure a place at Finals Day, to be held at Stowe School on Tuesday 23 June. The squad has also kept its hopes alive in the School Sports Magazine Cup following a superb victory against The Leys last Friday. They now progress to the regional final, where they will face Berkhamsted School for a place in the next stage of the competition. With two major cup campaigns still very much alive and an impressive record already established, the Girls' 1st XI can look back on an outstanding season to date and look forward to an exciting conclusion to their campaign.

International ON, Lily Yu, Receives Her Gold DofE AwRD

By Eleanor Lewis • June 16, 2026

One of our international ONs (Lily Yu 2023-2025) recently received her Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award at Buckingham Palace. She completed the whole award during the two years she spent at Norwich School in our Sixth Form. As someone who has completed the rigorous Gold award, she was invited to attend a special celebration event with her mum in the gardens of Buckingham Palace, where her hard work and dedication required to complete the award was celebrated. To get so far, Lily had to take part in physical activities, volunteer in the local community and complete the tough expedition to the Lakes which helped her build her confidence and sense of teamwork. During the garden party, Lily saw the Duke of Edinburgh himself as well as the beautiful Palace gardens. Lily should be justifiably proud of the perseverance, leadership and commitment she has shown during her time at Norwich School to complete the Award. Visiting the Palace with her mum, who flew over from Beijing, made her achievement even more significant.

Lower School Dance Company Finishes in the Top 5 at National Finals

By Eleanor Lewis • June 15, 2026

Congratulations to our Lower School Dance Company, who have achieved an incredible Top 5 finish at the Great Big Dance Off National Finals for the third consecutive year! They were also the highest-placed school from the East Region , an outstanding accomplishment. The dancers performed their captivating Traitors -themed routine at the national finals, showcasing months of dedication, creativity and hard work. Their commitment throughout the year was reflected in an outstanding performance on the national stage. The team represented the school with pride, demonstrating exceptional teamwork, professionalism and talent. To reach the national finals for three years running is a remarkable achievement, and finishing in the Top 5 in the country is something they should all be immensely proud of. Congratulations to every member of the Lower School Dance Company on this fantastic success!

Lower 3 Brings India to Life through Bollywood Dance

By Eleanor Lewis • June 12, 2026

On Thursday 11 June, Lower 3 immersed themselves in their India Case Study with a vibrant, fun-filled hands‑on celebration of culture. Throughout the afternoon, they explored Bollywood dance, experimented with colourful Indian art, and learned about traditional clothing and adornments. The finale to their afternoon was a joyful performance wearing saris, bindis, ghungroo bells and other cultural accessories, bringing their Geography learning to life with energy and creativity.

Norfolk Young Artists Bring their Churches to Life

By Eleanor Lewis • June 12, 2026

Over 600 artworks by Norfolk primary schoolchildren go on display at the Crypt Gallery, Norwich School from 15th – 20th June 2026.