On a Friday morning, Norwich School community gathered in the Cathedral for an address from Rev Corin Child about the importance of humility and graciousness in leadership. 

"Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’ (Matthew 20:25-28)

One of the most significant national events of this year has been the King’s coronation. That was back in May; I wonder how much you remember of the event. One of the things that has stayed with me was that the King looked quite humble, in the middle of all the pageantry and regalia. The very first words he said in the coronation service set the tone. The Archbishop of Canterbury, who was leading the service, said these words of greeting:

"Your Majesty, as children of the kingdom of God we welcome you in the name of the King of kings."

And the King replied:

"In his name and after his example I come not to be served but to serve."

And in saying that, you may have spotted that he was echoing the words of Jesus that we’ve just heard in our Bible reading.

A less obvious feature of the coronation, but a significant one, was that the King remained more or less at ground level throughout the service, reflecting his wish to be among the congregation, not elevated among them. By comparison when Queen Victoria was crowned the coronation throne was placed on a high platform with several steps leading up to it – making the point that this was the sovereign – this was the Empress – this was the boss.

Even on that occasion, though, there was a moment of humanity and humility which was appreciated by those who witnessed it. It was during the traditional part of the service where the nobility came forward to pay homage and pledge allegiance to the new monarch. Each ascended the steps in turn and knelt before the Queen, making the point that even people with titles would bow and submit to Her Majesty.

Then it came the turn of Lord Rolle, who was 82 years old, very frail, and perhaps struggling with the 5 hour service. The steps proved to be too much for him – he fell and rolled back down them. (People later commented that Lord Rolle did exactly what his name suggested.) He gathered himself and was about to try again, when the queen got up from her throne, and came down to him so that he could kneel where he was.

It was a brief moment, but one which didn’t go unnoticed. Someone later described it as “an act of graciousness and kindness which made a great sensation”. There is even a painting of that moment in the Tate Gallery in London.

When leaders carry out acts of service and kindness it does make a strong statement. You don’t need to be at Norwich School very long before you hear us using the words ‘leadership’ and ‘service’ in the same sentence. In your time here we want you to discover – in depth – what both of those words mean, so that you can carry out the challenging task of leadership as an act of service; so that you will have your own acts of graciousness and kindness which make an impression.

You can see leadership and service starting up all around at the beginning of term. You can see it in your House Music Leaders who are bringing you and your house songs together. You can see it in school activities like Amnesty and our sailors who have raised money for the Nancy Oldfield Trust (we’ll be hearing from them next week). You can see it in unexpected everyday encounters. I heard a remarkable story this week about one of our pupils helping a child who had become separated from his mother. We’re so proud of you when you do things like that.

No matter where you’ve got to in the school, no matter what heights you have risen to – look out for those opportunities to be servant-hearted"