On the weekend of 12 th /13 th October the ESSKIA English schools ski finals were held at our home slope in Trowse. On Saturday it was the Team age group finals with the Boys U19 team George Snelling, Rufus Snelling, Marcus Pop and Toby Watson ensuring Norwich boys won for the 3 rd year in a row. The girls team of Mirabelle Harden, Sophie Slinger, Ella Barnovschi and Antonia Watson finished 5 th representing their best result yet. On the Sunday it was the Open team and Individual finals. Our teams from Saturday were joined by a second boys team of Jake Roper, Charlie Barker and newly selected Snowsport England Freestyle squad member Harry Croft. They produced 5 good runs between them out of 6, but one mistake meant no finishing position. The boys first team all stepped up their levels from Saturday and retained the Open English title by a clear margin. The girls team skied well and finished 7 th meaning both teams have qualified for the British finals in Wales in November. In the individual competition, Antonia led after run 1 and when put under pressure in run 2 put down the fastest time of the day by a good margin to retain her individual female title. Toby was battling the highest ranked dry slope skier in the UK but came out on top with the 2 fastest runs of the day to also retain his individual male title. Marcus and Rufus were 1 st and 2 nd in the U16 age category.  Well done to all who raced.

It was an evening to remember for the audience at last night’s Informal Concert featuring pupils from Lower 1 and Upper 1. Some pupils were performing their pieces for the very first time and what a concert they delivered! Full of excitement and enthusiasm and some truly breathtaking performances. Improvised piano pieces sat alongside brand new written songs, Beethoven alongside Bruno Mars and even an epic drum version of Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall! It was wonderful to see such confidence in the children, performing with such passion and presence. Every pupil sparkled and shone and enchanted the audience.  Congratulations to everyone who performed rounding off the Informal Concerts for the Michaelmas Term.

On Wednesday 9 October, the Lower School celebrated National Bring Your Bear to School Day. Pupils arrived with their favourite cuddly toys, turning the library into a temporary toy shop! From classic teddy bears to unique cuddlies like axolotls, and even Pikachu, there was no shortage of adorable friends to share the day. At lunchtime, the library became a cosy haven for students and their stuffed animals. Pupils gathered to snuggle up with their bears while enjoying a good book, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere. It was a perfect blend of comfort and reading—a day that highlighted the joy of both literacy and friendship. 

"Being chair of the Close Conversations podcast was by far the highlight of the Lower 6th Year. Taking over from the extremely successful year prior, the pressure was high to continue the standard, but I am glad to say that I believe we did this with resounding success. We began by recording shorter episodes, touching on events throughout the year, including foundation of different societies, such as the Wellington Geo-Politics Society, and Charitable events, such as Challenge 29, whereby participants would challenge themselves to 29 different things throughout the month of February. As a result, this saw many, both pupils and staff, choose to get more involved in these events throughout the year. Moving Further into the term, we slowly extended the lengths of our episodes, to be more in depth and cover a range of both studio and in person interviews. Consequently, we expanded out topic areas into the wide range of sports and their fixtures played here at Norwich School, our first of which was covering the much-anticipated hocky block fixture against Gresham’s. However, this swiftly expanded, as we were lucky enough to interview members of the Dance team, surrounding the Senior Dance Festival, and members of the Cricket First Team, surrounding their Tour in South Africa. As we entered the hight of the school year, there were a number of events to be covered. Most notably, both the Annual School Cup Run, and the Senior play: Clue, took place. Despite the obvious mixed feelings towards Cup Run, the rest of the of the Close Conversations team and I were able to get a plethora of interviews on the day, as well as previous winners Bea Wells and Nick Conway in the studio for a more in-depth discussion about the event and their feelings towards the event as a whole. As a result, we were able to put together what is my personal favourite episode of the year, as well as the longest. Overall, as previously stated, being Chair of the Close Conversations podcast was by far the highlight of my Lower 6th year, having strongly influenced my university degree choice, of media and communications. Despite the challenges faced of organising interviews, tireless editing, and the radio room going under reconstruction in the Trinity Term, resulting in some creative solutions to keep the podcast up and running, I could not have asked for a greater experience, or a greater team. I am so thankful for the opportunity to have taken on such as role and would highly recommend it to anyone who has the chance." - Chris Doylend, U6

Rev Child addresses Lower School pupils at the annual Harvest Festival. "The annual Lower School Harvest Festival is a warm-hearted occasion. The sun always seems to shine and, for pupils who are new to the school, it is an excellent introduction to the school’s fourteenth century chapel. Pupils are invited to bring a contribution to the harvest collection, which is piled up in front of the altar before the service begins. These are contributions of non-perishable food items which we can donate to the Norwich Foodbank. The display means that even before the service starts we begin to think about the good things we can afford and the way we can make a difference by sharing with others who need a little help. In my address this year I told a story about bringing what we can. Jesus once told a similar story about a woman who was only able to make a donation of two coins – this was recognised as a generous act because it was all she had. Our impressive harvest collection also showed that, if everyone brings the little they can, the overall impact can make a big difference. Thank you to everyone who brought something and who took part in the service."

In 2023 Gagosian presented their exhibition Friends and Relations: Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon, Frank Auerbach, Michael Andrews, at their gallery in Grosvenor Hill, London. Curated by art historian Richard Calvocoressi, the exhibition Friends and Relations contextualized key works by four era-defining artists. Taking as its inspiration a famous John Deakin photograph of the four painters in Soho in 1963 (along with much younger painter Timothy Behrens) the exhibition presented over forty key paintings by these four artists from the so-called ‘School of London’ and elucidates the connections between their respective practices.  Portraiture was at the heart of Freud’s, Bacon’s, Auerbach’s, and, less directly, Andrews’s practices. The exhibition’s title echoes not only the four artists’ camaraderie and interrelationships, but also the intimate relationships between artist and sitter, including artist and lover, partner, and offspring. Wednesday 16 October, 19:00 - 21:00pm Norwich School Blake Studio, Norwich NR1 4DD (FREE Car Park) Members £5.00, non-members £8.00 NUA, UEA, City College and Norwich School students FREE Wine and soft drinks will be available after the talk.

On Monday 7 October 2024 we hosted our annual Scholars' Dinner for all scholars and exhibitioners in M5 and above. This year's speaker was Dr Tara Talwar Windsor, a Research Associate from the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages at the University of Cambridge. The title of the talk was "Knowing the Stasi: The East German Secret Police in History, Culture and Memory" and this covered a broad range of topics such as the nature of the Stasi and how it was perceived by East German citizens, the fall-out of this after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and more contemporary depictions of this period in song, film and literature. There were some great questions following the talk and this led into our delicious dinner in the refectory where conversations continued. Some sixth formers even had the chance to find out more about language courses at Cambridge. Dr Tara was a wonderful guest who really reflected the scholars' vision of interdisciplinarity. We hope to follow up on this evening next term by looking into the topic of the Stasi in more detail as part of the scholars' enrichment programme. 

The Upper Three residential trip to the Peak District began with gem panning at the National Stone Museum, sparking interest in geology, looking at gems that have been formed deep within the Earth's crust under high pressure and heat. The next day, pupils explored Dovedale's rock formations, learning how hydraulic action and the melting ice sheets from 15,000 years ago shaped the caves, as well as admiring the range of natural springs. Finally, we hiked up Mam Tor, enjoying stunning views and engaged consistently in educational discussions with our peers. The trip concluded with a guided tour of Treak Cliff Cavern, exploring its geological features, as one of the only places in the world where the rare Blue John stone, a unique form of banded fluorite, is found! The pupils had a wonderful trip! 

On Thursday, 3 October, Norwich School celebrated National Poetry Day with an exciting Poetry Slam hosted by the library. Pupils from all year groups came together to share the stage, reading aloud their own original works or cherished favourites. The event featured a fantastic variety of poetry, with everything from acrostics to found poems, showcasing the creativity and diversity of voices within our school. The English Department joined pupils in support, delighted to hear the talent and passion on display from their students. The poetry slam has become a treasured annual tradition, uniting our community in a celebration of poetry in all its forms.