Senior School

2026 is National Year of Reading and we are going all in here at Norwich School! We know reading expands worlds, sharpens minds, and fuels creativity, so let's get inspired! Every month we are focusing on a different genre and hearing from a member of staff about what they like to read, why, when and where! For the start of a new school year, we’re talking to Mrs Hewitt about her favourite genre. Let's find out more about why Mrs Hewitt loves the great American novel... . Tell us a little bit about the genre; what common themes or elements do you particularly enjoy? I’m not completely sure this is an accepted genre, but I have always been drawn to American novels from the 20th century. Characters in these novels live harder lives than me. Life is not generally kind to them and they are not always kind to others nor make the ‘right’ choices. You can explore human frailty and resilience in the face of poverty, social disapproval or upbringing without ever leaving your cosy armchair. What was the book that introduced you to American novels? Was there a particular book or author that made you fall in love with this genre? Children’s books were nowhere near as varied and diverse when I was young. I grew up reading Noel Streatfield, Enid Blyton and Louisa May Alcott and other books written when my grandparents were young and if they weren’t written ‘in the olden days’, they were set ‘in the olden days’. Studying A-level English, French and German literature meant that I had many weighty tomes to plough through in my late teens, so discovering The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger in the school library opened my eyes to the idea that a book’s hero could be my age with a teen’s outlook. They put me in the shoes of people who were far bolder, more unconventional and exciting than me. Has your taste in this genre changed over time? Yes. I am less inclined to accept misogyny in books now. You could argue that Charles Bukowski intentionally set out to make his nihilistic alter ego Henry Chinaski to be unpleasant and repellent, but if I were to reread, I would rather choose The Best of Everything by Rona Jaffe, which is a great insight into life for young women in the early 50s dealing with such attitudes. Would you recommend this genre to someone who doesn’t usually read it? Why? I’m happy to tell people about books I’ve enjoyed, but rarely recommend any, as enjoyment of a book is so personal. I’ve recommended some of these to my son, but he won’t be told and flat-out refusal is just annoying. So, all I can say is that millions of people have loved them, but you may not. What do you enjoy most about reading, whether an American novel or anything else? I read to experience lives I will never live and to get to know people I will never meet. When and where is your favourite time and place to read? On public transport, as there are no other tasks or distractions to take me away from my book. I can fully disconnect from what is around me. A three-hour train journey? Divine. Yes please. Tell us a little bit about the genre; what common themes or elements do you particularly enjoy? I like the fact that I never know if the ending will be happy. The genre is typically described as ‘gritty’. These books focus on people who are on the edges of society, whether by choice or by circumstance, in a time of powerful, narrow-minded social judgement. I saw New York through the eyes of James Baldwin’s gay, black jazz musician Rufus in Another Country ; I enjoyed pool-hall hustles in Hard Rain Falling by Don Carpenter, a 24-hour dance competition in They Shoot Horse Don’t They? (Horace McCoy) and came face-to-face with the grim reality of war for young soldiers in Norman Mailer’s debut novel The Naked and the Dead. If you could step into the world of any book, which would it be and why? Well, I certainly wouldn’t step into In Cold Blood by Truman Capote and I’m not sure if I would survive On The Road in the way that Kerouac did, although I’d certainly enjoy travelling across America. Perhaps I would do this with Joan Didion instead in The White Album , or with John Steinbeck and his dog in his caravan while he wrote Travels with Charley and I could tell him how much I love East of Eden . Click here to see the monthly reading list!

The final of RELEASE 2026 , Guildhall Young Artists’ (GYA) composition competition, was held on Saturday 12 September at Guildhall School’s Milton Court Concert Hall. The event was hosted by Jeffery Wilson, founder and Creative Director of RELEASE, and actor and Guildhall alumna, Sophia Roberts, and featured premiere performances of twelve new compositions. The finalists were chosen by an adjudicating panel consisting of saxophonist and owner of Saxtet Publications, Tom Bruton, Deputy Head of Electronic and Produced Music and Lead Professor of Film Music at Guildhall School Barbara De Biasi, composer, orchestrator, and arranger Matthew Sheeran, and Sub-director of Studies and Teaching Associate at St John's College, Tim Watts. Upper 5 pupil, Isaac S, won the ‘Release the Song’ category with his setting of two Shakespeare songs. Hear them here on YouTube. He will receive mentoring from ‘Audio Network’ professionals and attend an orchestral session at Abbey Road as well as a live masterclass with Paul Ressel and a cash prize. Isaac was also awarded second place with his string quartet Burnt Norton. Isaac commented: "The joy of the whole thing is that it's such an eclectic competition, there's been a really wonderful breath of entries and it offers opportunities to young composers in all genres, forms and all media. There are so many opportunities across a whole breath of disciplines out there and it represents many of them. It's wonderful to have more recognition wanting to go into composition professionally later in life."